Allocate Capital Across a Software Portfolio
Calculate relative share, challenge provisional labels and propose evidence-gated allocation.
20 minutes
Scenario
A software group owns four products competing for next year’s investment budget. Management has assigned quadrant labels but has not validated the calculations or cross-product value.
- Your role
- Portfolio manager
- Method
- BCG Matrix
Evidence pack
Core CRM
Market growth 4%; our share 30%; largest competitor 20%; operating cash flow €4.2m.
AI Support
Market growth 22%; our share 9%; largest competitor 36%; cash burn €1.8m.
Billing Add-on
Market growth 3%; our share 11%; largest competitor 40%; standalone profit €0.2m; used by 60% of retained CRM accounts.
Field Service
Market growth 15%; our share 24%; largest competitor 20%; cash burn €0.6m.
Budget
New investment budget is €3m.
Constraints
- Relative share must be calculated explicitly.
- Cross-product retention value must be considered.
- No quadrant creates an automatic action.
Case steps
Work through each prompt using the evidence pack. Answers and rubric weights stay protected in the interactive flow.
Calculate relative share for p1–p4.
Assign provisional quadrants using the supplied growth and relative-share data.
Identify two pieces of evidence that should change or qualify a label-based recommendation.
Allocate the €3m budget using at least one evidence gate and one stop condition.