Portfolio Items Overview
Portfolio Items Overview
A Portfolio Item is the central unit of work in Vane Loop. It represents a data asset or AI use-case — a dataset, model, report, pipeline, or AI solution — whose feasibility and value you want to understand and track.
Everything in Vane Loop connects back to portfolio items: drivers assess their feasibility, initiatives improve them, costs and savings define their financial picture, and analysis tools compare them across your portfolio.
Two Types of Portfolio Item
When creating a portfolio item you choose one of two types, which determines which module it belongs to:
| Type | Use for |
|---|---|
| Portfolio Item (Data) | Datasets, reports, pipelines, and other data assets |
| Portfolio Item (AI) | AI applications, models, agents, and AI-powered solutions |
Both types work identically within Vane Loop — they share the same structure, tabs, and analysis tools. The type can be changed later from the Overview tab.
Item Status
Each portfolio item has a status reflecting where it is in its lifecycle:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Idea | In early exploration, not yet in active development |
| In Development | Being built or configured |
| Running | Live and in active use |
The desktop Portfolio zone counts how many items are currently Running.
The Detail Window
Opening a portfolio item launches its detail window, which has five tabs.
Overview
The core information for the item. All fields are editable inline:
- Name — the item's display name (up to 120 characters)
- Status — Idea, In Development, or Running
- Domain — the business or technical area this item belongs to; a new domain can be created inline if needed
- Description — a free-text description of what this item does and why it matters
- Business Case Type — Strategic or Monetary (controls how value is measured in the Business Case tab)
- Product Type — switch between Portfolio Item (Data) and Portfolio Item (AI)
The Overview tab also contains the Danger Zone — permanently deleting the item is done from here. Deletion requires admin permission and cannot be undone.
Business Case
The financial and strategic view of the item. Shows key metrics across a 36-month horizon:
- Value — total estimated savings or benefits, split into one-time and recurring
- Costs — total estimated costs, split into one-time and recurring
- Net Value — value minus costs
- ROI — return on investment as a percentage
- Break-even — when cumulative value is projected to exceed cumulative cost, shown visually on a chart
The tab adapts based on the Business Case Type set in the Overview tab:
- Monetary mode shows direct financial figures and allows editing savings entries
- Strategic mode emphasises qualitative impact; existing savings entries are preserved but cannot be edited from this tab
Switching from Monetary to Strategic when savings exist will prompt you to either keep or delete those savings entries before proceeding.
Feasibility Drivers
Shows the drivers linked to this specific portfolio item. Drivers are displayed in two view modes:
- Pills view (default) — compact cards per driver; click to score via the AI Agent or set manually
- Table view — editable table with weight and impact dropdowns
You can filter by dimension (Governance, Architecture, People) and add or remove drivers directly from this tab.
See Drivers Overview for a full explanation of how drivers work.
Roadmap
A timeline view showing the phases planned for this portfolio item — when work is scheduled and when value is expected to be delivered. Phases are defined at the organisational level in My Organisation and assigned per item here.
Activity
A chronological log of all changes made to this item — fields updated, drivers added or removed, scores changed, and comments left by team members. Team members with comment access can add notes directly from this tab.
Favouriting an Item
Click the star icon in the item's title bar to add it to your favourites. Favourited items appear directly on the desktop in the Portfolio zone for one-click access.
