Alternative ways of assessment /portfolio. Plan: The issues with conventional assessment methods Advantages of Alternative Assessment

The case for portfolio development and assessments
The funny thing is, I have come across many great teachers and entrepreneurs who do not have a university degree and who are way more successful than graduates. Some are even school-dropouts. These individuals have one thing that makes them very employable, very skilled, and very much in demand: Their method of assessment is based on what the market dictates. This method is the school of hard knocks. 
All of them have humble beginnings, and all of them have deep and many battle scars. They develop their portfolios (e.g. 'I am an email marketing consultant', 'I am a boutique guitar luthier', 'I am a rock guitarist', 'I am a travel blogger', 'I am a mixed martial artist'), and offer their services to others. They learn what works, what doesn't, adjust accordingly, and try again. These lessons are often painful, but they made these individuals resilient, wiser, and skilled in their profession. This approach helps them to accelerate their STAMP of success. 
Of course, I am not saying that university lecturers should tell their students to quit school and get into the entrepreneurship world. What I'm saying is, there is so much to learn from beyond the world of academia and conventional assessments. The best form of experiential learning comes from the development of portfolios. Portfolios can also act as a CV, to help prospective employers to see what the candidate is truly capable of. 
Suggested methods to implement portfolio assessments
Okay, if you have read this far and I have gotten your attention as to why portfolios are powerful alternative assessment methods, here are some principles, and suggested guidelines of implementation. 
Principle 1: Remember your role as an educator. You are an enabler. You will provide the tools (knowledge and skillsets) that will help students to do useful things with. 
Principle 2: Remember, you are not the ultimate decision-maker of your students' portfolios. Your role is to be giving constructive feedback - whether or not they listen, it's up to them. After all, the real world's market feedback is likely to differ significantly from yours.
Principle 3: Portfolios work best without grades or numbers. The best indicator of assessments is qualitative driven. It is best to triangulate a portfolio's strength by releasing it to the market. 
Step 1: Go through your course learning outcomes together with your students. Make sure that they understand the expectations of the course i.e. they must be able to demonstrate competence. The best way to demonstrate competence is by doing something for the 'real world' or the real market.