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Manage Strategic Themes

Manage strategic themes to reflect top-tier strategic planning and align portfolio development with organizational priorities. Use strategic themes to divide, group, and prioritize portfolio items based on company targets and strategic objectives.

Permission requirement: Creating, editing, closing, and deleting strategic themes requires Site Admin or Portfolio Manager permissions. All users can view strategic themes and see portfolio items assigned to themes they have access to.

Who Uses Strategic Themes​

Strategic themes support alignment at multiple levels:

  • Portfolio Managers create strategic themes reflecting company priorities and align portfolio items to ensure development efforts support organizational goals.
  • Product Owners assign portfolio items to strategic themes to demonstrate how features contribute to business objectives and strategic targets.
  • Executives review progress across strategic themes to assess portfolio investment alignment with company strategy and adjust priorities.
  • Program Managers use strategic themes to coordinate cross-program initiatives and ensure program increments support strategic direction.

What you can do with strategic themes​

  • Create strategic themes to represent organizational priorities
  • Assign portfolio items to one or more strategic themes
  • Track progress across products toward strategic objectives
  • Edit strategic themes to adapt to changing priorities
  • Close completed strategic themes
  • Delete unnecessary strategic themes

Understand strategic themes​

Strategic themes are assets that reflect company or organizational level strategic planning activities. Product owners use them to organize and prioritize top-level portfolio items in a way that aligns with strategic targets.

Key capabilities​

  • Multiple assignments: Associate a portfolio item to more than one strategic theme
  • Birds-eye view: See progress across all products toward specific objectives
  • Strategic alignment: Keep development plans aligned with company priorities
  • Portfolio grouping: Divide and organize portfolio items by strategic focus

Strategic theme levels​

  • Portfolio: Drive enterprise initiatives, development value stream funding, and epic-level decision making
  • Value Stream: Plan, track, and deliver large, complex systems consisting of multiple agile release trains
  • Program: Align and integrate the efforts of multiple teams in a program

Access strategic themes​

Navigate to the Strategic Themes page to manage all strategic theme activities.

How to access strategic themes​

  1. Click the hamburger icon Hamburger icon > Portfolio > Strategic Themes.
  2. View all existing strategic themes in your portfolio.
  3. Select specific themes to view, edit, or manage.

Create a strategic theme​

Set up new strategic themes to represent organizational priorities and strategic objectives.

How to create a strategic theme​

  1. From the Strategic Themes page, click Add Strategic Theme.
  2. In the Strategic Theme dialog box, enter the required information:
    • Title: Enter a descriptive theme name
    • Project: Select the associated project
    • Description: Provide a brief description of the strategic theme
    • Level: Choose Portfolio, Value Stream, or Program
    • Comments: Add any additional context or notes
  3. Click Save to create the theme.

Theme creation tips​

  • Clear naming: Use names that clearly communicate the strategic objective
  • Appropriate level: Choose the level that matches the scope of the initiative
  • Meaningful descriptions: Explain the strategic importance and goals
  • Project alignment: Associate with the right project in the hierarchy

Assign strategic themes to portfolio items​

Associate portfolio items with strategic themes to track alignment and progress toward strategic objectives.

Option 1: Assign in the Portfolio Tree grid​

  1. Click the hamburger icon Hamburger icon > Portfolio > Strategic Themes.
  2. If not visible, add the Strategic Themes column to the grid.
  3. Double-click the Strategic Themes column heading to make it editable.
  4. Select or search for the strategic themes you want to assign.
  5. Click Save.

Option 2: Assign on the Portfolio Item Details page​

  1. Open the details page of a portfolio item.
  2. In the Strategic Themes field, select one or more strategic themes.
  3. Use the search capability to find themes from throughout the system.

Assignment tips​

  • Available themes: The list shows themes from the portfolio item's project or parent projects
  • Search functionality: Start typing to find themes from anywhere in the system
  • Multiple assignments: Assign a portfolio item to multiple strategic themes as needed
  • Strategic visibility: Assignments provide cross-product visibility toward objectives

Edit strategic themes​

Modify strategic theme details to adapt to changing priorities and requirements.

How to edit a strategic theme​

  1. From the Strategic Themes page, locate the theme to modify.
  2. Click Edit to the right of the strategic theme.
  3. Make your changes to any of the theme details.
  4. Click Save to apply changes.

When to edit themes​

  • Priority shifts: Organizational priorities or focus areas change
  • Scope adjustments: Theme scope or objectives need clarification
  • Information updates: Add context or update descriptions
  • Level changes: Move theme to different organizational level

Close strategic themes​

Mark strategic themes as closed when objectives are achieved or initiatives are complete.

How to close a strategic theme​

  1. From the Strategic Themes page, locate the theme to close.
  2. Click Close Strategic Theme from the Edit drop-down menu.
  3. The theme is marked as closed.

When to close themes​

  • Objectives achieved: Strategic goals have been met
  • Initiative complete: Associated work is finished
  • Planning cycle end: Theme was tied to a specific timeframe
  • Portfolio review: Regular review identifies completed themes

Delete strategic themes​

Remove strategic themes that are no longer needed or were created in error.

How to delete a strategic theme​

  1. From the Strategic Themes page, locate the theme to remove.
  2. Select Delete from the Edit drop-down menu.
  3. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Delete.

Best practices for strategic theme management​

Effective theme planning​

  • Align with strategy: Ensure themes reflect actual organizational priorities
  • Limit quantity: Use a manageable number of themes to maintain focus
  • Clear ownership: Assign responsibility for each strategic theme
  • Regular review: Assess theme relevance during planning cycles

Theme assignment and tracking​

  • Consistent application: Apply themes systematically across portfolio items
  • Progress monitoring: Track completion of theme-related work
  • Communication: Share theme status with stakeholders regularly
  • Refinement: Adjust theme structure based on usage and effectiveness

Use Cases​

Executive Creating Annual Strategic Themes for Portfolio Alignment​

An executive leading digital transformation creates three strategic themes for the fiscal year: "Customer Experience Excellence", "Platform Modernization", and "Operational Efficiency". From the Strategic Themes page, they click Add Strategic Theme three times, entering a title, description, and level (Portfolio) for each. They assign 25 epics across these themes: 12 epics to Customer Experience, 8 to Platform Modernization, and 5 to Operational Efficiency. Using filters on the Portfolio Tree, they view progress by strategic theme, seeing Customer Experience is 40% complete (5 of 12 epics done), Platform Modernization is 62% complete (5 of 8 epics done), and Operational Efficiency is 20% complete (1 of 5 epics done).

Product Owner Assigning Multiple Strategic Themes to a Cross-Cutting Initiative​

A product owner works on a "Payment System Upgrade" epic that supports two strategic themes: "Revenue Growth" and "Security & Compliance". They open the epic's details page, locate the Strategic Themes field, and search for both themes. They select both "Revenue Growth" and "Security & Compliance", assigning the epic to two themes simultaneously. This dual assignment ensures the epic appears in reports and views filtered by either strategic theme, providing visibility to stakeholders focused on revenue goals and those focused on compliance initiatives.

Portfolio Manager Closing Completed Strategic Themes at Year End​

At the end of Q4, a portfolio manager reviews all strategic themes from the fiscal year. They open the Strategic Themes page and identify three themes marked for annual completion: "Cloud Migration", "Mobile App Launch", and "Data Privacy Initiative". All associated epics are complete. They select Edit > Close Strategic Theme for each completed theme. Closing these themes removes them from active planning views while preserving historical data. In next year's planning, they create new strategic themes aligned with the updated organizational strategy, keeping the active theme list focused on current priorities.

Program Lead Using Strategic Theme Reports for Quarterly Business Review​

A program lead prepares a quarterly business review presentation. They navigate to the Portfolio Tree, add the Strategic Themes column to the grid, and filter by Strategic Theme "Market Expansion". The view shows 8 epics assigned to Market Expansion with a total of 180 story points (120 complete, 60 remaining). They export this data to show the executive team that Market Expansion is 67% complete. They repeat this process for three other strategic themes, creating a comprehensive progress report showing how portfolio work aligns with and advances each strategic objective.

Value Stream Engineer Organizing Themes by Organizational Level​

A value stream engineer manages strategic themes across three organizational levels. They create Portfolio-level themes for enterprise initiatives ("Digital Transformation", "Global Expansion"), Value Stream-level themes for major system efforts ("E-Commerce Platform", "Supply Chain Modernization"), and Program-level themes for team-specific goals ("API Standardization", "Test Automation Improvement"). This hierarchical structure allows executives to track Portfolio themes, value stream leaders to focus on Value Stream themes, and program managers to monitor Program themes, each with appropriate visibility and granularity.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Can a portfolio item be assigned to multiple strategic themes?​

Yes, portfolio items can be assigned to more than one strategic theme. This is useful for cross-cutting initiatives that support multiple organizational objectives. For example, a "Customer Portal Enhancement" epic might support both "Customer Experience" and "Digital Transformation" strategic themes. When assigning themes from the Portfolio Item Details page or Portfolio Tree grid, select multiple themes using the search and selection controls. Multi-theme assignments ensure the portfolio item appears in filtered views and reports for all associated strategic themes.

What's the difference between Portfolio, Value Stream, and Program levels for strategic themes?​

The level indicates the organizational scope and audience for the strategic theme. Portfolio-level themes represent enterprise-wide strategic priorities typically set by executives (e.g., "Revenue Growth", "Market Expansion"). Value Stream-level themes align with major product or technology platforms managed by value stream leaders (e.g., "E-Commerce Modernization", "Cloud Migration"). Program-level themes support team or program-specific objectives managed by program managers (e.g., "Mobile Feature Parity", "API Performance"). Choose the level that matches the theme's scope and the organizational role responsible for tracking its progress.

How do I view all portfolio items assigned to a specific strategic theme?​

Navigate to the Portfolio Tree or Portfolio Kanban board and use filters to show items by strategic theme. Click the filter icon, select Strategic Theme as the filter criterion, and choose the theme you want to view. The board or tree displays only portfolio items assigned to that theme. For example, filtering by "Customer Experience Excellence" shows all epics, features, and other portfolio items supporting that strategic objective. You can also add the Strategic Themes column to grid views to see theme assignments alongside other portfolio item details.

Should I edit or close a strategic theme when priorities change?​

Edit the strategic theme if the fundamental objective remains valid but needs adjustments (e.g., updated description, clarified scope, changed owner). Close the strategic theme if the objective is fully achieved, no longer relevant, or replaced by a new priority. Closing preserves historical data and theme assignments for reporting purposes while removing the theme from active planning. If a theme is replaced (e.g., "Mobile App Launch" becomes "Mobile App Growth"), close the old theme and create a new one, reassigning active portfolio items to the new theme as appropriate.

Why don't I see strategic themes when selecting All Projects?​

Strategic themes are visible based on project selection in the Project Navigator. When viewing individual projects, you see themes defined for that project or available from parent projects in the hierarchy. Strategic themes are designed to work across project boundaries, so they may be defined at higher organizational levels and accessible to multiple projects. Check your project hierarchy selection to ensure you're viewing the appropriate scope. If themes are defined at the parent level, select the parent project to manage them, and they'll be available for assignment to portfolio items in child projects.

Can I assign strategic themes to backlog items (stories) or only to portfolio items?​

Strategic themes are designed for assignment to portfolio items (epics, features, capabilities) rather than individual backlog items like stories or defects. This design reflects that strategic themes represent high-level business objectives aligned with substantial initiatives, not individual stories. If you need to track strategic alignment at the story level, assign the parent portfolio item to a strategic theme; stories inherit strategic alignment through their portfolio item hierarchy. Alternatively, use backlog groups or custom fields for story-level functional categorization.

How many strategic themes should our organization maintain at one time?​

Most organizations maintain 3-7 active strategic themes to ensure focus and clarity. Too few themes (1-2) may oversimplify strategy and limit portfolio organization flexibility. Too many themes (15+) create confusion, dilute focus, and make prioritization difficult. A recommended approach is 3-5 Portfolio-level themes for enterprise strategy, with additional Value Stream and Program-level themes as needed for more granular tracking. Review themes quarterly and close completed or obsolete themes to maintain a current, actionable list aligned with organizational priorities.