---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Service Portfolio Management taxonomy

# Service Portfolio Management taxonomy {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Service Portfolio Management uses a taxonomy framework to organize and manage services in a portfolio.

## Portfolio structures {#SPM2-taxonomy__section_a2n_xbg_gxb}

Prior to the Utah release, Service Portfolio Management provided one portfolio structure with taxonomy layers and nodes. With the Utah release and beyond, existing customers can move from the legacy structure to the improved standard structure by opting in via a system property. The improved standard portfolio structure no longer uses
layers in the taxonomy framework. Rather, it only uses nodes. For more information on the two types of portfolio structures, see [Service Portfolio Management portfolios](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/DvFiIVFnr_KbNwChaWbKOw "A service portfolio presents an overall top-level view of your currently available services, possible future services, and services that existed in the past. Evaluate the impact that services have on your business and manage them in a single portfolio or multiple portfolios with unique taxonomy structures, owners, and market scope.").

To upgrade to the standard portfolio structure, the portfolio_admin navigates to Service Portfolio Management \> Administration \> Upgrade to Standard Portfolio to access the system property \[standard_portfolio_construct.turn_on\]. Only existing customers see this menu path. New customers get the standard portfolio structure by default so this menu path isn't
available.

## Legacy portfolio structure taxonomy {#SPM2-taxonomy__section_xxs_5q1_ygb}

If you're working in a legacy portfolio structure, then your taxonomy framework may look something like this example.  
Figure 1. Legacy portfolio structure taxonomy example  
In this example, there are two service portfolios - IT Service portfolio and Smart devices portfolio.

* Below the service portfolios are the layers. You can have 1 to N layers and they can be a taxonomy node or a taxonomy leaf node, or both.
* Below the layers and leaf nodes are the services and service offerings.
{#SPM2-taxonomy__ul_ubf_tdg_gxb}

## Standard portfolio structure taxonomy {#SPM2-taxonomy__section_cpm_tfg_gxb}

If you're using the improved, standard portfolio structure, then your taxonomy framework may look something like this example.  
Figure 2. Standard portfolio structure taxonomy example  
In this example, there's one service portfolio at the top --- Smart devices.

* Below the service portfolio, is the node level.
  * You can have 1 to N node levels.
  * A node level can contain both a taxonomy node and a leaf node.
  * Assign multiple nodes (rather than layers) for more flexibility as you structure your service portfolios. For example, a single portfolio can have multiple levels of depth via node-to-node relationships.
  {#SPM2-taxonomy__ul_cjc_wlc_hxb}
* Below the taxonomy node levels are the services and service offerings.  
  Note:  
  You can see a visual relationship map of nodes, services, and service offerings in Digital Portfolio Management (DPM). For more information, see [Getting started with Digital Portfolio Management](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/1JU7a2miJypc2Ku5dRzLNQ "The Digital Portfolio Management (DPM) Workspace is a unified environment to view all your services, service offerings, business applications, and service instances. With the proper access, you can also view details and edit the solutions without having to leave the DPM experience.").
{#SPM2-taxonomy__ul_udh_fgg_gxb}
* **[Create taxonomy layer definitions](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0CB2ZdUqM_LGZpKs1gst~g)**   
  Create an unlimited number of taxonomy layers to organize, label, and manage your service portfolio. Taxonomy layers represent the highest containment levels of your service portfolio. Each level supports branches, or nodes, that contain child nodes or services in a hierarchical top-to-bottom structure.
* **[Create taxonomy nodes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/g1zRoPpsUI1eFvgD~I7cTg)**   
  Create an unlimited number of nodes, or branches, and add them to your service portfolio taxonomy layers. By configuring taxonomy nodes, you can successfully achieve a highly detailed and organized service portfolio containing multiple elemental layers---from general to specific.

**Related concepts**   

* [View relationship maps in Digital Portfolio Management](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/tj1XLha_ROSVhEsu8BaMqw "View a relationship map in Digital Portfolio Management (DPM) to see all relationships that make up a given solution. DPM uses the ServiceNow Unified Map to display a graphical hierarchical map based on the CMDB.")  
**Related tasks**   

* [Create taxonomy nodes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/g1zRoPpsUI1eFvgD~I7cTg "Create an unlimited number of nodes, or branches, and add them to your service portfolio taxonomy layers. By configuring taxonomy nodes, you can successfully achieve a highly detailed and organized service portfolio containing multiple elemental layers—from general to specific.")
* [Create taxonomy layer definitions](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0CB2ZdUqM_LGZpKs1gst~g "Create an unlimited number of taxonomy layers to organize, label, and manage your service portfolio. Taxonomy layers represent the highest containment levels of your service portfolio. Each level supports branches, or nodes, that contain child nodes or services in a hierarchical top-to-bottom structure.")