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Scenario planning

Portfolio scenario planning that shows the impact before you commit.

Model a funding shift, team move, or date change against live portfolio data, and see the budget, resource, and schedule impact together. The scenario stays separate from the real portfolio until you apply it.

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  • Live in weeks, not quarters
  • No system integrator required
ScenarioAPAC Expansion ProgramScenario A, Phased rollout
Not yet applied
Budget
$1.8M$2.04M
+$240K
Utilization
82%97%
+15 pts
Delivery
Oct 12Nov 9
+4 weeks
2 linked projects affected Apply scenario

Test the decision without changing the decision.

A scenario starts from the data the portfolio already runs on, carries a proposed change through to a real answer, and touches nothing live until you say so.

  • 1

    Start from live data

    The actual current state of the portfolio, not a stale export.

  • 2

    Build a scenario

    Shift funding between initiatives, move people, or push a date.

  • 3

    See the impact

    Budget, resources, and schedule together, marked as modeled.

  • 4

    Compare options

    Set two scenarios side by side against the same baseline.

  • 5

    Apply when ready

    An explicit action, on your timing.

Situation one

APAC has to absorb new scope. Who ends up overloaded?

Build the change as a scenario and the demand lands on the same people and allocations the portfolio already runs on, marked as modeled. Utilization moves per person, not just as a portfolio average, so an over-capacity name is visible while the change is still a draft.

It is Resource & Capacity Planning applied to a decision that has not been made yet.

Resource allocation
Scenario A, Phased rolloutNot yet applied
MR
M. ReyesProgram Manager, Toronto
3Assigned projects
80%Current utilization
108%Under scenario
512 hrsTotal forecast
ProjectUtilizationActualsForecast
APAC Expansion28%0 hrs146 hrs
Platform Migration45%82 hrs210 hrs
Q3 Roadmap35%60 hrs156 hrs
Total108%142 hrs512 hrs
Normal Moderate High Hatched = modeled
Wk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4 Mon80%80%100%108% Tue80%80%100%108% Wed80%80%105%110% Thu80%80%100%108% Fri80%80%100%105%
Solid cells are committed allocations. Hatched cells are what the scenario proposes.
Scenario detail
MR
M. Reyes, Wk 4 peakWed, modeled
110%
Committed allocations stay at 80% until the scenario is applied.

A scenario stays a scenario until someone applies it.

Modeling is meant to be explored freely. Nothing calculates its way into the real portfolio on its own, and applying a scenario does not replace the approvals your organization already relies on to fund and commit work.

  • Applying is explicit

    You choose the moment a modeled change is written into the live portfolio. There is no automatic promotion.

  • Your approval process still applies

    A funding or scope change still goes through whatever review your organization requires. A scenario informs that decision, it does not replace it.

  • Keep it or discard it

    A scenario you do not apply can stay on file as a record of the option not taken, or be discarded. Either way, the live portfolio is untouched.

Scenario A, Phased rolloutNot yet applied
APAC Expansion Program, built on live portfolio data
Budget+$240K
Utilization82% to 97%
DeliveryOct 12 to Nov 9, +4 weeks
Apply scenario Discard The live portfolio holds until Apply is chosen.
Situation two

What does it cost, and what else moves?

A scenario carries the same budget fields as a live commitment in Financial Management, approved, forecast, and estimate at completion, so the case for a decision is a real figure, not a rounded guess.

  • Shift funding between initiatives

    Move budget inside the scenario and see the effect on the portfolio total, not just one line.

  • Budget and schedule in one scenario

    The cost of a change and the dates it pushes are modeled together, so neither is a separate estimate to reconcile.

  • Linked projects move with the date

    Push a date and see which linked projects shift with it before anything is committed.

APAC Expansion ProgramScenario A, not applied
$1.80M
$2.04M
$2.11M
-$310K
Actuals vs BAC (committed)$180K spent
Scenario EAC vs BAC (modeled)117% of BAC
Schedule impact, 2 linked projects move
APAC Expansion, Oct 12 to Nov 9+4 wks
Platform Migration+4 wks
Q3 Roadmap+2 wks
Situation three

Phased or fast-track? Weigh both against the same baseline.

A single scenario tells you what one change does. A second one, built from the same live starting point, tells you which of two paths is the better call, before either is real.

  • Same starting point, two directions

    Both scenarios draw from the same live portfolio, so the comparison is fair.

  • Apply one, keep the other on file

    Choose a path, apply it, and leave the other as a record of the option not taken.

Scenario APhased rollout
Not yet applied
+$240K$2.04M forecast
97%
+4 weeksNov 9
Scenario BFast-track rollout
Not yet applied
+$410K$2.21M forecast
118%
On scheduleOct 12
Fast-track against phased
+$170Kmore budget +21 ptsutilization 4 weeksearlier delivery

A scenario feeds the decisions you already run.

Scenario planning is not a separate tool off to the side. It is part of how portfolio management works day to day, and it connects into the disciplines here.

See project portfolio management

Project Scheduling

Test a date change and see which linked projects move with it before anything is committed.

Portfolio Prioritization

Weigh two scenarios against the same baseline to see which option the portfolio can absorb.

Portfolio Strategy

Check whether a funding, capacity, or timing choice still supports the objectives the portfolio is meant to advance.

Governance

Applying a scenario sits alongside the approvals your organization already runs, it does not replace them.

For the PMO

Give the PMO a way to test a trade-off before it is presented as a decision.

PPM Software

Scenario planning is one capability of a single platform for the whole portfolio.

Scenario planning, common questions

What is scenario planning software?
Scenario planning software lets a PMO or portfolio leader build a what-if scenario for a funding shift, team move, or timeline change, then preview the effect on budget, resourcing, and schedule before committing to it. In Completix, a scenario draws from the live portfolio without changing it.
A spreadsheet model is built by hand from an export, so it goes stale the moment the real portfolio moves and usually handles one variable at a time. A Completix scenario shows data in real time from the live portfolio and carries budget, resourcing, and schedule together, so the comparison stays current and complete.
No. A scenario sits on top of live allocations, budget, and schedule without changing any of them. Modeled data is marked as modeled throughout, and nothing is written into the real portfolio until the scenario is applied.
Yes. A scenario can shift funding between initiatives, move people, and push dates in one place, so you see the combined effect on budget, utilization, and linked projects rather than testing one variable in isolation.
Yes. Two scenarios built from the same live starting point can be reviewed side by side, so the difference in budget, utilization, and delivery date comes from the options themselves rather than from different assumptions.
It can stay on file as a record of the option not taken, or be discarded. Either way, the live portfolio is not affected.
No. Applying a scenario is an explicit action you take, and it does not replace whatever funding or scope review your organization already requires. A scenario informs that decision, it does not substitute for it.

See a real portfolio decision modeled, live.

Book a demo and we will load a real change into a scenario, and show you the impact before anything is committed.

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