Open the Portfolio board and look at its columns before you build anything. Most Portfolio boards have one item (row) per project, plus columns that pull information up from each project's own board.
Look for these columns on the Portfolio board:
A Connect Boards column
This is what will link a Portfolio row to items on your new project board
A Status Mirror or rollup column
Pulls the current Status from the connected project board automatically
An Owner or People column
Shows who's responsible for the project
Don't edit the Portfolio board's structure
It's shared across every team, so avoid renaming or deleting its columns. If something looks wrong or missing, flag it to your team lead rather than changing it yourself.