---
sourceDocument: Zurich Strategic Portfolio Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/it-business-management

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    - zurich

ft:locale :

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ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich Strategic Portfolio Management

ft:clusterId :

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workflow :

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---

# Scenario planning in Strategic Planning

# Scenario planning in Strategic Planning {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Zurich
* 
* Updated July 31, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI  
This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.  

## Summary of Scenario planning in Strategic Planning

Scenario planning in Strategic Planning empowers organizations to create, evaluate, and approve strategic scenarios that align with their organizational goals and priorities.
This capability allows customers to simulate different strategic approaches safely without impacting the live plan.
By visualizing alternative plans, organizations can anticipate challenges, assess impacts, and make informed decisions before implementation.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **Scenario Creation:** Customers can build simulated plans (scenarios) to explore various strategic approaches, adjusting priorities and timelines as needed.
* **In Plan Toggle:** This feature enables users to prioritize or de-prioritize planning items within a scenario. By default, prioritized or completed items with valid dates are toggled as in-plan.
* **Date Management:** Start and end dates for planning items in scenarios are auto-populated from existing plan data but can be updated during scenario development. Approved dates are recorded upon scenario approval, with out-of-range dates visually highlighted.
* **Scenario Comparison:** Multiple scenarios can be compared side by side to evaluate differences in goal alignment, trade-offs, and financial benefits, helping identify the optimal scenario.
* **Approval Process:** Organizations can approve the scenario that best aligns with their strategic objectives, officially updating the live plan accordingly.
* **Budget Targeting:** Set target portfolio budgets for various planning cycles (fiscal period, quarter, year) and evaluate proposed budgets and monetary benefits from prioritized items.
* **Workflow Roles:** The scenario planning workflow involves execution owners who create and adjust scenarios and portfolio owners who oversee approval and budget assessments.

## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

By leveraging scenario planning, ServiceNow customers can:

* Explore multiple strategic options without risking disruption to live plans.
* Make data-driven decisions by comparing scenarios on goal alignment and financial impact.
* Adjust priorities and timelines flexibly during planning cycles.
* Ensure alignment between strategic plans and organizational goals through formal scenario approval.
* Manage portfolio budgets effectively by evaluating target versus proposed spending.

This structured approach enhances strategic agility, reduces risk, and supports effective resource allocation within the ServiceNow Strategic Planning environment.  
Create and evaluate strategic scenarios to explore different planning approaches. Approve the optimal scenario that aligns with the organizational goals and strategic priorities.

## Scenario planning overview {#scenario-planning-in-strategic-planning__Overview}

Scenario planning in Strategic Planning enables organizations to create, evaluate, and approve the best strategic scenario that aligns with their strategic goals and intended business outcomes. This process helps in
visualizing different approaches, assessing their impacts, and making informed decisions before implementing the live plan. By using scenario planning, organizations can anticipate potential challenges.

## What is a scenario {#scenario-planning-in-strategic-planning__Scenario}

A scenario in Strategic Planning is a simulated version of a plan that enables you to explore a strategic approach without affecting the live plan. It provides a safe environment to prioritize items, adjust timelines,
and evaluate the potential impacts of each approach.

As compared to a plan, a scenario additionally has the following:

* In Plan toggle: The In Plan toggle enables you to prioritize or de-prioritize the planning items in the scenario you're creating. By default, when you create a scenario, the In Plan toggle is turned on for planning items that have all of the following field values:
  * Planning state as Prioritized or Done
  * Start and end dates within the portfolio plan dates.
  {#scenario-planning-in-strategic-planning__ul_qmy_4pd_bcc}
* Date fields: The Start date and End date fields for the scenario are automatically populated based on either the planned or actual start and end dates of the planning items. You can update these dates during the scenario planning process. Once the scenario is approved, the updated dates are recorded as the approved dates for the planning items. If the updated dates fall outside the acceptable range, they're highlighted in yellow.

{#scenario-planning-in-strategic-planning__ul_gzg_llz_zbc}

For more information on portfolio plans, see [Portfolio plans in Strategic Planning](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/1r4l2vJcSEkw_vqq~9o_Aw "Personalized portfolio plans help you align work with your company's objectives and roadmap the right work for the right time. Drive shared strategy using planning insights from portfolio plans and improve enterprise planning.").

By comparing scenarios side by side, you can assess the differences in goal alignment and trade-offs between each scenario. This comparative analysis helps identify
the scenario that best meets strategic objectives. For more information on comparing the scenarios, see [Compare scenarios](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0EF4~lNegkn4iHi_y_oYZQ "Compare scenarios side by side to confirm alignment with primary goals, evaluate comprehensive planning, optimize resource usage, confirm feasibility, and financial information.").

## Scenario planning workflow in Strategic Planning {#scenario-planning-in-strategic-planning__scenario-planning-workflow}

Using the Scenario Planning feature in Strategic Planning, you can perform the following activities:

* Create a scenario to explore different strategic approaches and business outcomes. For more information, see [Create a scenario](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/LRVQpWQTV4tkrP1gSfmFBw "Create a scenario from a live plan or another scenario in a simulated environment to compare the scenario with the live plan and other scenarios.").
* Adjust and compare multiple scenarios side by side to evaluate differences in goal alignment, trade-offs, and financial benefits. For more information, see [Compare scenarios](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0EF4~lNegkn4iHi_y_oYZQ "Compare scenarios side by side to confirm alignment with primary goals, evaluate comprehensive planning, optimize resource usage, confirm feasibility, and financial information.").
* Approve the best scenario that aligns with the organizational goals. For more information, see [Approve a scenario](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kBqreo5W6iDYNeO3AYbSrA "Approve a scenario that aligns with your organizational goals and offers the best business outcomes to make the scenario your current plan.").
* Set a target portfolio budget for each of your planning cycle, which can be for fiscal period, quarter, yearly, or portfolio timeline.
* Evaluate the target vs proposed budget of In-plan items and review the monetary benefit from the prioritized items.

## Scenario Planning workflow overview {#scenario-planning-in-strategic-planning__scenario-planning-workflow-overview}

The scenario planning workflow involves an execution owner and a portfolio owner. The following illustration illustrates how scenario plans are created based on the planned or actual dates of planning items and how the
In-plan toggle is adjusted based on the states of these planning items.
Figure 1. User journey in Scenario planning

For more detailed guidance on using scenario planning to enhance your Strategic Planning process, see [Optimizing planning with scenario planning in Strategic Planning Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/hlTweaUSbc9PppS2CKXHcQ "As a portfolio manager, optimize your portfolio planning by comparing potential outcomes, assessing their alignment with strategic goals, and approving the best scenario as your live plan.").