LPM Lesson 5 - Managing Portfolio Flow Flashcards
Establishing flow with the Portfolio Kanban Sequencing Epics for implementation with WSJF
What is the Portfolio Kanban?
Visual tool for monitoring and managing workflow.
Is the Portfolio Kanban a “Push” or “Pull” system?
Pull - Epics are pulled across the Kanban as WIP limits and other policies permit.
What are the 5 benefits to a Portfolio Kanban?
- Makes the largest business and technical initiatives visible
- WIP limits ensure that the teams review and analyze responsibly, preventing unrealistic expectations
- Helps drive collaboration among key stakeholders
- Transparency in evaluating the business outcome hypothesis
- Brings structure to Epic analysis and go/no-go decisions.
What are the 6 stages in the Portfolio Kanban?
- Funnel
- Reviewing
- Analyzing
- Portfolio Backlog
- Implementing
- Done
Which Kanban stage identifies new big ideas?
Funnel
True/False - all work intake is captured in the Funnel stage?
False. Only potential Epics should go in the funnel; it is not a central intake for all work.
Which Kanban stage creates the Epic Hypothesis statement?
Reviewing
What is the purpose of the Reviewing stage?
Where stakeholders agree on the Epic’s intent and definition.
Refine understanding, create Epic hypothesis statement, preliminary cost estimate with WSJF, and WIP limited
True/False, all Epics are pulled into the Reviewing state when WIP limits permit.
False. Only those Epics that exceed the Epic threshold criteria are pulled.
When does an Epic Owner assemble the group of stakeholders who will help analyze the Epic (Kanban stage).
Analyzing is for Epics that deserve more rigorous analysis and investment.
Activities include:
- Identify Solution alternatives
- Define MVP
- Create Lean Business Case
- Refine cost estimates and WSJF
- WIP Limited
- Go/No Go decision
What Kanban stage holds Epics once they have been approved for implementation?
Portfolio Backlog.
After approved by LPM and sequenced using WSJF
What Kanban stage includes a Go/No Go decision?
Analyzing
What are the two phases in the Implementation Kanban stage?
MVP and Persevere
If the Epic Hypothesis is proven, do you (A) Persevere until WSJF determines otherwise or (B) Pivot to a new Epic?
A - When the hypothesis is proven, the Epic moves to the Persevere state where ARTs continue development of the new offering.
What are the 2 options if the Epic Hypothesis is not proven?
Pivot (a structured course correction designed to test a new hypothesis) or Stop (development stops).
What are 2 conditions for an Epic to be considered done?
- Business outcome hypothesis is proven false
- The hypothesis is proven true and LPM has determined that additional Portfolio governance is no longer required for the Epic.
True/False - New work can only originate at the Portfolio level.
False - Work originates at all levels of SAFe - it is not just a top-down system.
What are the 2 things needed to know when applying WSJF?
1 - Cost of Delay (CoD) - the amount of money lost due to delaying the delivering of value
2 - Duration - the time it takes to deliver the epic.
Since it is difficult the know the Epic’s duration, what is a good proxy we can use?
Cost of an Epic. Larger Eics typically take longer to deliver than smaller ones
What is the WSJF forumula?
WSFJ = Cost of Delay (value) / Duration (cost)
How do you calculate value in WSJF?
Cost of Delay is the metric for value
What are the 3 components to Cost of Delay?
1 - User-Business Value
2 - Time Criticality
3 - Risk Reduction & Opportunity Enablement (RR&OE)
How do you normalize costs to simplify WSJF?
Give the lowest cost Epic a 1.0, then divide the cost of subsequent Epics by the cost of the first Epic
How do you calculate the Cost of Delay?
CoD = User Busines Value + Time Criticality + RR/OE
