LPM Lesson 1 - Introducing Lean Portfolio Management

Question 1

What are the 2 primary aspects of Lean-Agile Mindset?

Answer 1

1. Thinking Lean with the SAFe House of Lean

2. Embracing Agility with the Agile Manifesto

Question 2

What are the 3 essential collaborations for LPM to realize its responsibilities?

Answer 2

1. Strategy & Investment Funding
2. Agile Portfolio Operations
3. Lean Governance

Question 3

What are the 4 pillars to the House of Lean?

Answer 3

1. Respect for people and culture
2. Flow
3. Innovation
4. Relentless Improvement

Question 4

What is the roof to the House of Lean?

Answer 4

Value

Question 5

What is the foundation to the House of Lean?

Answer 5

Leadership

Question 6

Name 5 key SAFe Lean-Agile Principles to apply to Portfolio

Answer 6

#1 - Take an economic view
#5 - Base milestones on objective evaluation of working systems
#6 - Visualize and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, manage queue lengths
#9 - Decentralize decision-making
#10 - Organize around value

Question 7

What are 3 keys to implementing flow (principle #6 - Visualize & Limit WIP)

Answer 7

1. Visualize and limit WIP (to match demand to actual capacity)
2. Reduce batch size of work (smaller batches go through the system faster with lower variability)
3. Manage queue lengths (decrease delays, reduce waste, improve predictibility of outcomes)

Question 8

What decisions should be centralized?

Answer 8

Centralize strategic decisions - those thta are infrequent, long lasting, and have significant economies of scale. Decentralize all others.

Question 9

Development Value Streams are realized by what?

Answer 9

ARTs

Question 10

What is the purpose of an ART?

Answer 10

ARTs build, support and maintain solutions within a Development Value Stream

Question 11

How do feature overruns or changing priorities impact Lean Budgets?

Answer 11

They don’t - lean budgets are fixed per PI.

When a feature takes longer than planned, keep people working on the right feature for the right reasons, delay next feature as necessary.

Question 12

What are the 2 types of Value Streams?

Answer 12

1. Operational Value Streams (Sequence of activities needed to deliver a product or service to a customer)
2. Development Value Streams (Sequence of activities needed to convert a business hypothesis into a technology-enabled solution that delivers customer value)

Question 13

What is used to identify the portfolio around value?

Answer 13

Strategic Themes

Question 14

What are the 4 key benefits to organizing around value?

Answer 14

1. Enables long-lived, stable teams
2. Enables faster learning and shorter time-to-market
3. Contributes to higher quality and more productivity
4. Supports leaner budgeting mechanisms

Question 15

What is a SAFe portfolio?

Answer 15

A collection of Development Value Streams

Question 16

What are the 2 trademarks of a Development Value Stream?

Answer 16

1. Each DVS builds, supports and maintains solutions

2. Solutions are delivered to the Customer, whether internal or external to the Enterprise

Question 17

Y/N - Can an enterprise have more than one Portfolio?

Answer 17

Yes - an Enterprise may have one or multiple portfolios.

Question 18

Does LPM organize around people?

Answer 18

No - it organizes around value.

Organizing around value and applying cadence-based planning aligns all teams to a shared mission and vision. Traditional project portfolio approaches and siloed organizational structure inhibits the flow of value and innovation.

Question 19

Which is LPM - annual planning or rolling wave budgeting?

Answer 19

Rolling wave budgeting

Enables adapting to change

Question 20

Which is LPM - perpetual overload of demand or matching demand to capacity?

Answer 20

Matching demand to capacity

Increases flow through the system

Question 21

Which is LPM - phase gate approvals or incremental value delivery?

Answer 21

Incremental value delivery

Delivers working solutions faster and earlier than phased-gate approaches. Learning is continuous and adjustments can be made incrementally each iteration.

Question 22

Which is LPM - overly detailed business case or lean business case?

Answer 22

Lean business case

Provide just enough detail to establish viability, define MVP with a business outcome hypothesis, and deployment impact.