Interactions and category balance
Portfolio quality depends on combinations. A dependency requires another initiative; an exclusion prevents a pair from coexisting; a synergy changes modeled value when both are selected. Name both initiatives, document direction where relevant, and attach evidence or mark the relationship as an assumption. Never encode sequencing, correlation, or shared risk as synergy without a defined interpretation.
Category minimums and maximums can express balance across regions, asset classes, strategic themes, lifecycle stages, or mandated program areas. Explain every bound and test whether it is a true constraint, a policy preference, or a reporting lens. Poorly justified quotas can mask inequity or force low-value work; unconstrained scoring can concentrate resources and exclude essential maintenance or underserved communities.
Review transitive dependencies, cycles, contradictory exclusions, double-counted synergy, and whether protected work already makes a category or resource limit impossible. The engine enforces only the relationships represented in the model.