Portfolio Toolkit

Planning

Demand Management

Demand Management

Managing the pipeline of investment requests from intake through evaluation to portfolio entry, ensuring the organisation invests in the right things.

Table of Contents

Demand Management

Demand management is the process of capturing, evaluating, and controlling the flow of investment requests into the portfolio. It acts as the front door for organisational change — ensuring that only proposals with sufficient strategic merit, business justification, and feasibility enter the portfolio.

Purpose: Without effective demand management, organisations end up with too many initiatives competing for too few resources, resulting in slow delivery, poor quality, and strategic drift.

Why Demand Management Matters

Problem Without It How Demand Management Helps
Too many projects Controls the volume of work entering the portfolio
No strategic alignment Filters out proposals that don’t support strategy
Resource overload Matches demand to available capacity
Pet projects Applies objective evaluation criteria to all proposals
No visibility Creates a transparent pipeline of incoming work
Slow decisions Defines clear gates and decision timelines
Duplication Identifies overlapping or conflicting proposals

Demand Pipeline

flowchart LR A[Idea /
Request] --> B[Gate 1:
Initial Screen] B --> C[Proposal
Development] C --> D[Gate 2:
Business Case] D --> E[Prioritisation
& Scheduling] E --> F{Gate 3:
Approved?} F -->|Yes| G[Enter
Portfolio] F -->|Defer| H[Backlog] F -->|No| I[Reject] classDef blue fill:#108BB9,stroke:none,color:#fff class A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I blue

Gate 1: Initial Screen

The initial screen is a lightweight assessment to determine whether a proposal merits further investment of time and effort.

Submission Requirements

Field Description Required
Title Clear, descriptive name Yes
Sponsor Named executive sponsor Yes
Problem statement What problem does this solve? Yes
Strategic alignment Which strategic objective(s) does this support? Yes
Indicative benefits Order-of-magnitude benefits estimate Yes
Indicative cost Order-of-magnitude cost estimate Yes
Urgency Is there a deadline or driver? Yes
Dependencies Known dependencies on other work If applicable

Screening Criteria

Criterion Pass Fail
Strategic fit Clearly supports one or more strategic objectives No clear strategic link
Sponsor Named, appropriate-level sponsor committed No sponsor or wrong level
Feasibility Plausible at first assessment Clearly infeasible
Duplication Distinct from existing portfolio items Duplicates existing work
Affordability Within plausible funding range Clearly unaffordable

Screening Outcomes

Outcome Action
Pass Progress to proposal development
Merge Combine with an existing related proposal
Defer Good idea, not the right time — add to backlog
Reject Does not meet screening criteria — provide feedback

Proposal Development

Proposals that pass the initial screen are developed into a more detailed submission.

Proposal Content

Section Content Detail Level
Problem / Opportunity Detailed description of the business need Full
Strategic alignment Mapping to specific strategic objectives and measures Full
Options analysis At least 3 options including do nothing Summary for each
Recommended option Preferred approach with justification Full
Benefits Quantified benefits with measures and baselines Detailed
Costs Capital and revenue costs by year Detailed
Risks Key risks with probability, impact, and mitigations Top 5–10
Resources Required skills and estimated effort By role and phase
Timeline High-level milestones and target dates Key milestones
Dependencies Internal and external dependencies All known

PMO Support During Development

The PMO should support proposal development by:

  • Providing templates and guidance
  • Checking for overlaps with existing portfolio items
  • Advising on resource availability and constraints
  • Ensuring consistency of cost and benefit assumptions
  • Facilitating access to subject matter experts

Gate 2: Business Case Review

A formal review of the developed proposal to determine whether it has sufficient merit to proceed to prioritisation.

Review Criteria

Criterion Weight Assessment
Strategic alignment 25% Strength of link to strategic objectives
Financial case 20% ROI, NPV, payback period, cost/benefit ratio
Deliverability 15% Confidence in the delivery approach
Risk profile 15% Acceptability of residual risks
Resource feasibility 10% Availability of required skills and capacity
Dependencies 10% Manageable dependencies
Urgency 5% Time-sensitivity of the opportunity

Scoring

Score Meaning
5 Excellent — compelling case, high confidence
4 Good — strong case with minor gaps
3 Adequate — acceptable case, some concerns
2 Weak — significant gaps or concerns
1 Poor — fundamental issues, not ready

Minimum Threshold

Proposals must score at least 60% (weighted) to progress to prioritisation. Proposals scoring below threshold should be returned for rework or rejected.

Prioritisation and Scheduling

Proposals that clear Gate 2 join the prioritisation queue alongside existing portfolio items.

Prioritisation Process

flowchart LR A[Eligible
Proposals] --> B[Score Against
Criteria] B --> C[Forced
Ranking] C --> D[Capacity
Check] D --> E[Schedule
Sequencing] E --> F[Submit for
Approval] classDef blue fill:#108BB9,stroke:none,color:#fff class A,B,C,D,E,F blue

Sequencing Considerations

Factor Description
Dependencies Some investments must precede others
Resource availability When key resources become available
Strategic windows Market or regulatory deadlines
Benefits timing Earlier starts mean earlier returns
Risk reduction Sequencing to reduce portfolio risk
Change capacity Organisation’s ability to absorb change

Gate 3: Portfolio Approval

Formal decision to add the investment to the active portfolio, committing budget and resources.

Approval Decision

Decision Criteria
Approve Business case approved, resources available, funding allocated
Approve with conditions Approved subject to specific conditions being met
Defer Approved in principle but not yet — schedule for future start
Return for rework Case not strong enough — specific improvements required
Reject Does not meet criteria — provide feedback to sponsor

Approval Authority

Investment Size Approval Authority
< £50k PMO Head / Head of Function
£50k – £250k Portfolio Board
£250k – £1m Portfolio Board with Executive endorsement
> £1m Executive Board / Investment Committee

Managing the Backlog

Not all proposals will be approved immediately. A well-managed backlog ensures good ideas are not lost.

Backlog Management

Activity Frequency
Review backlog items Quarterly
Reassess deferred proposals When capacity becomes available
Archive stale proposals After 12 months without activity
Notify sponsors When status changes
Update estimates Annually for long-standing items

Backlog Prioritisation

Status Meaning Action
Ready Approved, waiting for capacity Schedule when resources available
Conditional Approved subject to conditions Monitor conditions
Parked Good idea, not strategically aligned now Review at next strategic cycle
Stale No sponsor activity for >12 months Archive and notify sponsor

Demand Metrics

Key Performance Indicators

Metric Definition Target
Pipeline volume Number of active proposals in pipeline Monitored, not targeted
Pipeline value Total estimated value of pipeline 1.5–2x annual capacity
Time to decision Days from submission to final decision < 60 days
Conversion rate % of submissions that enter portfolio 40–60%
Rejection rate % of submissions rejected < 30%
Screen-to-approval Average time through all gates < 90 days
Rework rate % of proposals returned for rework < 20%
Backlog age Average age of backlog items < 6 months

Roles and Responsibilities

Role Responsibilities
Sponsor Submit proposals, champion the business case, own benefits
PMO Manage the pipeline, facilitate evaluation, maintain standards
Portfolio Board Make approval decisions, set priorities
Finance Validate financial assumptions, confirm funding
Resource Manager Confirm resource availability and feasibility
Business Analyst Support proposal development and options analysis

Common Challenges

Challenge Symptoms Mitigation
Bypassing the process Projects starting without approval Executive enforcement, no funding without approval
Too slow Good opportunities missed Streamline gates, set SLAs for decisions
Too bureaucratic Small requests caught in heavy process Tiered process — light touch for small investments
Poor quality submissions High rework rate, slow progress Better templates, PMO coaching, exemplars
Political prioritisation Loudest voice wins Transparent scoring, published criteria
No capacity signal Approving more than can be delivered Mandatory capacity check before approval

Tiered Approach

Tier Investment Size Process
Tier 1: Light < £50k Single-page proposal, PMO approval
Tier 2: Standard £50k – £500k Full 3-gate process
Tier 3: Enhanced > £500k Full process + independent review

Demand Management Checklist

Setup

  • Demand intake process defined and communicated?
  • Submission templates available?
  • Gate criteria and scoring published?
  • Approval authorities documented?
  • Roles and responsibilities agreed?
  • Pipeline tracking tool in place?

Ongoing

  • All new proposals entering through the front door?
  • Gates being applied consistently?
  • Decisions made within target timescales?
  • Backlog reviewed quarterly?
  • Demand metrics tracked and reported?
  • Process reviewed annually for improvement?
Last updated: 19 March 2026