Visual means for performing a self-assessment of patents is shown in the “Self-Assessment of Patent Portfolio” figure.  In this figure each patent of the Corporation (or for a large corporation each business unit) is plotted along two axes.  The patent’s placement on the vertical axis corresponds to the business unit whose products or services are protected by the patent. These business units are ranked by the Corporation into three categories: those that the Corporation is banking on future growth, sustaining this year’s current growth, or providing the cash cow base for the Corporation.  Placement of the patent on the horizontal axis is done by determining whether the patent’s covered product or service is (a) commercially available, (b) will become available in the next year, (c) is in the 5 or 10 year strategic plan, or (d) none of the above and outside the Corporation’s vision.  For the Corporation’s portfolio shown in the Self-Assessment of Patent Portfolio figure, the self-assessment reveals that they have underinvested in their growth and are over investing in their core businesses’ patent estate.