Portfolio Value

Visibility can only ever halve this figure, never raise it above the work itself

The multiplier runs from 0.5 at zero visibility to 1.0 at full visibility. That means the ceiling is the plain value of the projects themselves — visibility never adds anything, it only decides how much of the work you get credit for. Invisible work is worth exactly half of what it is; perfectly visible work is worth what it is and no more.

How it works

• Multiplies the number of projects by their average value to get a base figure.
• Scales that base by a visibility multiplier between 0.5 and 1.0.
• Shows the gap between what you have built and what anyone can see you built.

base value = number of projects × average project value
multiplier = 0.5 + (visibility ÷ 10) × 0.5
portfolio value = base value × multiplier

Worked example

Ten projects at an average value of 5,000, visibility rated 7.

1. base value = 10 × 5,000 = 50,000
2. multiplier = 0.5 + 0.7 × 0.5 = 0.85
3. portfolio value = 50,000 × 0.85 = 42,500
4. at visibility 0 the same work is worth 25,000
5. at visibility 10 it is worth 50,000, which is the base and the ceiling

42,500 against a base of 50,000. The 7,500 difference is not missing work — it is work that exists and cannot be seen.

Reading the result

• Because the multiplier is bounded above by 1.0, the model says something quite specific: promotion cannot make work worth more than it is, but obscurity can make it worth half. That asymmetry is a reasonable description of how portfolios are actually read.
• The average project value is the input carrying all the weight and the least evidence. Ten small projects and ten substantial ones are indistinguishable here unless you set that average honestly, and most people set it from their best piece rather than their median one.
• Counting projects rewards volume in a way real reviewers do not. One deep, finished, well-documented piece usually outperforms five half-built ones, and a portfolio is generally judged by its strongest item rather than its total.
• Visibility is not only publishing. Work behind a login, under a client NDA, or buried three clicks into a personal site is closer to invisible than most people assume when they rate themselves.

Common questions

Why can't visibility push the value above the base?

Because the multiplier tops out at 1.0. The model treats full visibility as the state where you get credit for everything you did — which by definition cannot exceed what you did. Only the downside is modelled, and it is steep.

How should I rate my own visibility?

Lower than instinct suggests, and test it. If someone who does not know you cannot find and understand a piece of your work in two minutes from a public starting point, that piece is not scoring near a 10 no matter how proud you are of it.