Creating a variant in SPW

[MattK]

Hello,

We are using extended tables for Portfolio, Program, and Project tables.  In Strategic Planning Workspace, we don't want to change the OOTB configuration, so we have opted to create a variant of the existing page.  However, this has proved to be much more a heavy lift than we anticipated (UI Builder, configuration, etc).  Has anyone had a successful experience with this and could provide some guidance to help us along?

Thanks,

Matt

[Namita Mishra]

Greetings Matt !

Before we get into the SPW configuration itself, I'd like to better understand the rationale for not using the out-of-the-box tables. Could you share the business requirement that led to extending these tables?

In general, I recommend leveraging the base SPM data model wherever possible. However, before making any recommendations, I'd first like to understand your specific use case and the outcomes you're trying to achieve.

Strategic Planning Workspace (SPW) has been designed, optimized, and thoroughly tested with out-of-the-box SPM data model.

While Portfolio, Program, and Project are key records, SPW relies on a much broader ecosystem of tables, relationships, data resources, planning constructs, and persona-based experiences. The various lenses and workspaces are intended to surface relevant information to different stakeholders while maintaining a consistent user experience.

When custom child tables are introduced, the impact extends beyond the three tables themselves. 

Another important consideration is long-term maintainability. The initial implementation effort is only part of the overall cost. Every upgrade requires validation of the customizations, and the maintenance burden tends to increase over time.

AI-native experience is a focus in every release. Custom page variants and extensive workspace customizations can make it more difficult to adopt these innovations and may require additional rework to take advantage of new functionality delivered in future releases.

For a better experience, try not to do heavy customizations and use out of the box tables.

You may want to re-think if you really want to remain on extended tables or  determine whether:

• The requirement can be addressed through additional fields on the OOTB tables.
• Alternative approaches such as views, form layouts, access controls could provide the objective.

I know I have not answered your customization question and that is because I suggest you to re-assess the ways to come back to out of the box and not go customization route.

Happy SPM Journey!

Thank You!

Namita Mishra