Navigate portfolio types in Digital Portfolio Management

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 6 minutes to read
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    Summary of Navigate portfolio types in Digital Portfolio Management

    The Digital Portfolio Management (DPM) application enables ServiceNow customers to navigate and manage three types of enterprise portfolios: service portfolios, business application portfolios, and service instance portfolios. Each portfolio type is structured in a nested content tree format, allowing easy navigation and detailed insights specific to the portfolio's focus. Enterprise portfolios are created directly in DPM as of May 2025, with business application and service instance portfolios managed through enterprise portfolio tables in the UI16 module.

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    Service Portfolios

    Service portfolios in DPM are structured with taxonomy nodes at the top, followed by services and service offerings categorized as either business or technical. Users can create service portfolios from scratch or use provided templates. Key information includes:

    • Taxonomy node: Contains performance snapshot metrics (availability, incidents, requests), ownership details, and needs attention cards highlighting critical incidents, outages, and changes.
    • Services and Service Offerings: Display status, phase, criticality, and delivery manager information, with options to add services to personal portfolios or the DPM homepage and edit details in Service Builder.

    This structure helps customers monitor service health, manage incidents, and maintain clear ownership and lifecycle statuses aligned with CSDM guidelines.

    Business Application Portfolios

    Business application portfolios begin with an enterprise taxonomy node and list business applications underneath. Important features include:

    • Enterprise taxonomy node: Shows portfolio success metrics such as availability, SLA breaches, and change success rates, along with needs attention cards for incidents, risks, and audits.
    • Business applications: Provide status, ownership, subscriber counts, and risk indicators with options to add applications to personal portfolios and access detailed views.

    This portfolio type supports tracking application performance and risk management within the enterprise context.

    Service Instance Portfolios

    Service instance portfolios share a similar nested structure to business application portfolios but focus on service instances. Key details include:

    • Enterprise taxonomy node: Displays metrics like availability, mean time to resolve (MTTR), and change success, with a comprehensive needs attention panel.
    • Service instances: Present operational status, ownership, and portfolio success metrics, with options to add instances to personal portfolios and view detailed information.

    This portfolio type allows customers to monitor operational effectiveness and incident response for individual service instances.

    Practical Use and Benefits

    ServiceNow customers can leverage these portfolio types to organize and oversee their enterprise assets effectively. The nested content tree structure and integrated metrics enable quick identification of issues, performance tracking, and clear ownership assignment. Additionally, the ability to add portfolio elements to personal portfolios or the DPM homepage enhances customization and focus on relevant areas.

    For detailed guidance on creating portfolios, using templates, and understanding lifecycle fields, customers can refer to the DPM Academy Learning Resources and related documentation.

    Navigate three types of enterprise portfolios in the Digital Portfolio Management (DPM) application — service, business applications, and service instance. The way to create a portfolio depends on the type. As of May 2025, Enterprise portfolios are created directly in DPM. Business application and Service instance portfolios are created using the enterprise portfolios tables in the DPM module in UI16.

    Enterprise portfolios are structured in a nesting content tree format so you can easily navigate each type of enterprise portfolio. Access Enterprise portfolios using the Enterprise portfolio icon (Enterprise portfolios icon.). For more information about accessing enterprise portfolios, see Navigate enterprise portfolios in Digital Portfolio Management.

    Each type of enterprise portfolio offers unique data pertinent to its type. See the DPM Academy Learning Resources, especially the video series, for more information about the difference between each portfolio, how they should be used, and who they are for.

    Service portfolios

    As of May 2025, you can create service enterprise portfolios directly in the DPM Workspace. Service enterprise portfolios are structured in a nested content tree with the taxonomy node, and then services that are in the service portfolio. You can create a portfolio from scratch or use one of the provided templates. For more information on service enterprise portfolio templates, see Navigate service enterprise portfolio templates in DPM.
    Table 1. Portfolio structure for services
    Section Description
    Taxonomy node
    • The first level in the content tree under the service enterprise portfolio.
    • The following information is provided for the taxonomy node:
      • Header with a short description, owned by name, and total subscribers.
      • Performance snapshot metrics for availability, open incidents, incidents not updated for 5 days, and new requests.
      • Needs attention cards for critical incidents, outages, and changes.
    • The View details link provides the following information about the taxonomy node.
      • Header with the service portfolio name, manager name, and total subscribers.
      • Overview tab with performance snapshot metrics and the breakdown of services in the category.
        Note:
        DPM versions prior to 2.2.15 may have duplicate services showing in the Service breakdown section. For information, see KB1123710.
      • Taxonomy node tab with all the taxonomy nodes related to the portfolio.
      • Services tab that lists all services in the portfolio, with their parent, classification (business or technical), phase, status, criticality, and owned by name. You can also select Create business service or Create technology management service to perform those tasks in Service Builder.
      • Info tab with a description and general information about the taxonomy node.
      • Needs attention panel that lists critical incidents, outages, and changes.
    Service and service offering

    Business application portfolios

    The DPM Workspace displays enterprise portfolios in a nested content tree starting with the enterprise taxonomy node at the top level (there could be more than one). After the top node, it lists the business applications that are in the enterprise portfolio. Here’s an example of a business application enterprise portfolio content tree.

    Figure 1. Business application enterprise portfolio content tree example
    Business application enterprise portfolio content tree example
    Important:
    The image shows the Portfolio field as Enterprise business applications. To select a different type of enterprise portfolio from the one you're in, delete the value in the Portfolio field, and then select the field (again) to see the other portfolio types (service, business, or service instance).
    Table 2. Portfolio structure for business application
    Section Description
    Enterprise taxonomy node
    • The first level in the content tree under the business application enterprise portfolio. Could contain a second or third level if it has child enterprise taxonomy nodes.
    • The header:
      • Short description.
      • Owned by name.
      • Managed by name.
      • Total subscribers
    • The portfolio success metrics for availability, incidents with a breached service level agreement (SLA), incidents caused by changes, and successful changes.
    • Needs attention cards for critical incidents, outages, changes,alerts, risks, and audits.
    • The View details link provides the following information about the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Header with the Owned by name and the Managed by name.
      • Overview tab with portfolio success metrics and the breakdown of business applications in the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Taxonomy nodes tab that lists all the related taxonomy nodes.
      • Business applications tab with a list of the business applications that are in the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Info tab with a description and general information about the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Needs attention panel that lists critical incidents, outages, changes, alerts, risks, and audits, for the enterprise taxonomy node.
    Business application
    • The next level in the content tree under the enterprise taxonomy node.
    • The header:
      • Short description.
      • Application owner name.
      • Business owner name.
      • Total subscribers.
      • Status.

        The Overall risk is empty.

    • The portfolio success metrics for availability, incidents with a breached SLA, incidents caused by changes, and successful changes.
    • The Needs attention cards for critical incidents, changes, risks, and audits.
    • The More menu icon (More menu icon) enables you to add the business application to a personal portfolio. For more information, see Create a personal portfolio in Digital Portfolio Management.
    • The View details link launches the business application details. For more information, see the Business applications section in Digital Portfolio Management related applications and data sources.

    Service instance portfolios

    The information in service instance portfolios is similar to that of business application portfolios with some differences that pertain to service instances.

    For information about KPI groups in service instance portfolios, see View service instance details.

    Table 3. Portfolio structure for service instance
    Section Description
    Enterprise taxonomy node
    • The first level in the content tree under the service instance enterprise portfolio. Could contain a second or third level if it has child enterprise taxonomy nodes.
    • The header:
      • Short description.
      • Owned by name.
      • Managed by name.
      • Total subscribers.
    • The portfolio success metrics for availability, mean days to resolve (MTTR), incidents caused by changes, and successful changes.
    • The Needs attention cards for critical incidents, outages, changes, alerts, risks, and audits.
    • The View details link provides the following information about the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Header with the Owned by name and the Managed by name.
      • Overview tab with portfolio success metrics and the breakdown of service instances in the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Service instances tab with a list of the service instances that are in the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Info tab with a description and general information about the enterprise taxonomy node.
      • Needs attention panel that lists critical incidents, outages, changes, alerts, risks, and audits for the enterprise taxonomy node.
    Service instance
    • The next level in the content tree under the enterprise taxonomy node.
    • The header:
      • Short description.
      • Owned by name.
      • Managed by name.
      • Operational status.

        The Overall risk is empty.

    • The portfolio success metrics for availability, incidents with a breached SLA, incidents caused by changes, and successful changes.
    • The Needs attention cards for critical incidents, changes, outages, risks, and alerts.
    • The More menu icon (More menu icon) enables you to add the service instance to a personal portfolio. For more information, see Create a personal portfolio in Digital Portfolio Management.
    • The View details link launches the service instance details. For information on what this screen includes, see the Service instances section in Digital Portfolio Management related applications and data sources.