Hans Samios' Personal Lean-Agile Knowledge Base

... absolutely #noabsolutes ...

User Tools

Site Tools

Trace:
how_do_i_facilitate_a_portfolio_prioritization_meeting

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Next revision		Previous revision
how_do_i_facilitate_a_portfolio_prioritization_meeting [2018/07/23 15:52] – created hpsamioshow_do_i_facilitate_a_portfolio_prioritization_meeting [2020/06/02 14:22] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
Line 1: Line 1:
-====== How Do I Facilitate a Prioritization Meeting ======+====== How Do I Facilitate a Prioritization Meeting? ======
  
 Or "How Do I Start to Get My Portfolio Under Control?" Or "How Do I Start to Get My Portfolio Under Control?"
Line 5: Line 5:
 ====== Premise ====== ====== Premise ======
  
-Often when we start an agile implementation it is well known that there is too much work to do, and insufficient capacity to get it done. But there is also a problem in that we have already "committed" to get all this work done, and further there is more work coming in. In many situations this is well known but there is a problem in that people feel that this is "just the way it is" and so live with the problem.+Often when we start an agile implementation it is well known that there is too much work to do, and insufficient capacity to get it done. But there is also a problem in that we have already "committed" to get all this work done, and further there is more work coming in. In many situations this is well known but there is a problem in that people feel that this is "just the way it is" and so live with the problem. In some cases the problem is exacerbated in that Teams could have their work visible in (often different) tools, feel like their work is under control and so don't see a need for a more holistic view. But a lot of WIP on Teams is directly the result of organizational WIP and so we need to understand the total picture.
  
-The problem with too much work is that for each item we have, we are typically increasing the length of time it takes to get the work done on average. This is the work-in-progress (or WIP) problem (see [[what_is_wrong_with_100_utilization_thinking|What Is Wrong With 100% Utilization Thinking?]] for more information on why this is).+The problem with too much work is that for each item we have, we are typically increasing the length of time it takes to get the work done on average. This is the work-in-progress (or WIP) problem (see [[:what_is_wrong_with_100_utilization_thinking|What Is Wrong With 100% Utilization Thinking]] for more information on why this is).
  
-As said, most people understand that this is a problem but don't see a way out of it. They feel like they have no basis for deciding, for example, which is the most important work, and which work should be scheduled later or even stopped entirely. Agile approaches provide solutions based on understanding the "Cost of Delay" to provide a more economic approach to prioritizing work. +As said, most people understand that this is a problem but don't see a way out of it. They feel like they have no basis for deciding, for example, which is the most important work, and which work should be scheduled later or even stopped entirely. Agile approaches provide solutions based on understanding the "Cost of Delay" to provide a more economic approach to prioritizing work.
  
-The question for many is "how do we start?" The following script shows one approach to starting this discussion. It calls for a facilitated discussion that can be typically done in one day to help understand the priority order of work, the capacity available, and the items that should be "stopped". While the script was originally developed to work at the enterprise portfolio level of project, there same approach can be applied at just about any level, although there is probably diminishing returns at say a Team level. +The question for many is "how do we start?" The following script shows one approach to starting this discussion. It calls for a facilitated discussion that can be typically done in one day to help understand the priority order of work, the capacity available, and the items that should be "stopped". While the script was originally developed to work at the enterprise portfolio level of project, there same approach can be applied at just about any level, although there is probably diminishing returns at say a Team level.
  
-One note: this approach is aimed at setting things up. It does not talk about how you maintain these lists in evergreen format so that you don't have to go back an reprioritize all items every (say) quarter. You should also work to determine the going forward process of accepting new work in parallel so that you don't end up with the same problem later on. +One note: this approach is aimed at setting things up. It does not talk about how you maintain these lists in evergreen format so that you don't have to go back an reprioritize all items every (say) quarter. You should also work to determine the going forward process of accepting new work in parallel so that you don't end up with the same problem later on.
  
 ====== Outcomes ====== ====== Outcomes ======
Line 20: Line 20:
  
   * Core   * Core
-     * Initial set of data to help us understand what the true capacity of organization +      * Initial set of data to help us understand what the true capacity of organization 
-     * Prioritized list of Epics so we can understand where we focus +      * Prioritized list of Epics so we can understand where we focus 
-     * Initial pass down prioritized list to understand where cutline is (below is list things that we should stop) +      * Initial pass down prioritized list to understand where cutline is (below is list things that we should stop) 
-     * Epic list is up to date+      * Epic list is up to date
   * Stretch   * Stretch
-     * Begin understanding of how we do economic decision making in the Portfolio+      * Begin understanding of how we do economic decision making in the Portfolio
  
 ====== Assumptions ====== ====== Assumptions ======
Line 43: Line 43:
 The following items are needed as an input into the day's events: The following items are needed as an input into the day's events:
  
-  * Current list of all Epics on “stickies” in some way (for working on the wall) +  * Current list of all Epics on “stickies” in some way (for working on the wall): The simplest way to get this is to establish some kind of template and have the people that "know" pull together the list by filling in the template. Perhaps this means dumping a report out from a number of tools. Perhaps this means just generating a list. The key thing is to be clear about what data is required. 
-  * Current list of all Epics in “tool” (as the final record)+  * Current list of all Epics in “tool” (as the final record): you will need to make a decision on where this is. This decision can be postponed, but this will make it harder in the long term to keep the list evergreen, especially if you have remote participants. Bottom line is that you need to know the single source of truth for this work.
   * A field in the tool to capture Business Value (BV), Time Criticality (TC), and Job Size (JS)   * A field in the tool to capture Business Value (BV), Time Criticality (TC), and Job Size (JS)
  
Line 58: Line 58:
   * Review background - what got us here, and why will be doing most of this on the fly   * Review background - what got us here, and why will be doing most of this on the fly
   * Chalk talk on approach we will take   * Chalk talk on approach we will take
-     * Have Understanding of Total Capacity Available to the Organization +      * Have Understanding of Total Capacity Available to the Organization 
-     * Discuss / decide % of capacity that is not plan-able. Remainder is what we will plan to. +      * Discuss / decide % of capacity that is not plan-able. Remainder is what we will plan to. 
-     * Build prioritized list of Epics based on economic decision making using WSJF = ((Business Value + Time Criticality) / Job Size)+      * Build prioritized list of Epics based on economic decision making using WSJF = ((Business Value + Time Criticality) / Job Size)
   * Review agenda   * Review agenda
  
 ====== Make our List of Epics Current ====== ====== Make our List of Epics Current ======
  
-At this stage we are typically early in the development of our portfolio system so we are really looking at a Kanban board with "Backlog", "WIP", and "Done" columns. +At this stage we are typically early in the development of our portfolio system so we are really looking at a Kanban board with "Backlog", "WIP", and "Done" columns. Set up a wall with these columns.
  
-Activity is:+For your first time through this the activity is: 
 + 
 +  * Each person with "work" reads out their Epic and puts it in the correct column on the board. 
 +  * Others can ask clarifying questions about that work (this allows you to combine items that are related and remove duplicates as you go) 
 +  * Continue until no more Epics 
 + 
 +If you already have captured this in the past and are looking to refresh the information so that it is current then the activity is:
  
   * Bring up current Epic list   * Bring up current Epic list
Line 84: Line 90:
  
   * (Number of people of the Team - Product Owner - Scrum Master) * 8) - Holidays and vacations   * (Number of people of the Team - Product Owner - Scrum Master) * 8) - Holidays and vacations
-     * “8” is 10 working days per 2 weeks, minus planning, demo, retro, and dailies +      * “8” is 10 working days per 2 weeks, minus planning, demo, retro, and dailies 
-     * PO and SM are there to help work and while they might help the team do the work, we share should not count them (gives us a bit of slack)+      * PO and SM are there to help work and while they might help the team do the work, we share should not count them (gives us a bit of slack)
   * This says “A Day = A Point” (a normalized Story Point)   * This says “A Day = A Point” (a normalized Story Point)
  
Line 106: Line 112:
  
   * Plan-able Half-yearly capacity = Total Half-yearly capacity * (1 - not Plan-able items)   * Plan-able Half-yearly capacity = Total Half-yearly capacity * (1 - not Plan-able items)
- 
  
 ====== Determine Criteria for Understanding How Valuable Something Is ====== ====== Determine Criteria for Understanding How Valuable Something Is ======
Line 134: Line 139:
   * Vertical axis: “No Time Criticality” to “Needs to Be Done Next Month (or whatever previous discussion gave you)   * Vertical axis: “No Time Criticality” to “Needs to Be Done Next Month (or whatever previous discussion gave you)
  
-Do [[facilitation_-_play_pass_or_move|Play, Pass, or Move]] for each Backlog and WIP Epic. When complete, affinity map clusters, first on BV, then on TC. Magically call:+Do [[:facilitation_-_play_pass_or_move|Play, Pass, or Move]] for each Backlog and WIP Epic. When complete, affinity map clusters, first on BV, then on TC. Magically call:
  
   * Biggest items are call “20” group   * Biggest items are call “20” group
Line 146: Line 151:
 Need to understand the “bigness of the work” Need to understand the “bigness of the work”
  
-This is not “duration” but is couched in terms of capacity the FI teams will take to do the work. Also this is “remaining work FI has to do”, not the total work we originally estimated.+This is not “duration” but is couched in terms of capacity the teams will take to do the work. Also this is “remaining work has to do”, not the total work we originally estimated.
  
 Create chart with no numbers on it: Create chart with no numbers on it:
Line 152: Line 157:
   * Horizontal axis: “Extra small”, Small”, “Medium”, “Large”, “Extra Large”   * Horizontal axis: “Extra small”, Small”, “Medium”, “Large”, “Extra Large”
  
-Do [[facilitation_-_play_pass_or_move|Play, Pass, or Move]] for each Backlog and WIP Epic. Again, you should see clusters, and so affinity map to closest size on horizontal axis.+Do [[:facilitation_-_play_pass_or_move|Play, Pass, or Move]] for each Backlog and WIP Epic. Again, you should see clusters, and so affinity map to closest size on horizontal axis.
  
 For the Extra-large cluster, ask someone to provide a view of “how many (man-)days of work does these Epics represent on average?” We will just use that as the number for the job size. Same for Extra-small cluster. Figure out in-between numbers. For the Extra-large cluster, ask someone to provide a view of “how many (man-)days of work does these Epics represent on average?” We will just use that as the number for the job size. Same for Extra-small cluster. Figure out in-between numbers.
  
-Numbers represent JS for each Epic. Capture results in “tool” (perhaps on sticky as well).+Note: there will be a tendency to argue about how big something is. Resist! Resist! Resist!. Reality is that you don't have much more information at this stage, so we should not pretend that this is highly accurate information. 
 + 
 +Numbers represent JS for each Epic. Capture results in “tool” (and perhaps stickies as well). 
  
 ====== Determine WSJF of Portfolio Epics ====== ====== Determine WSJF of Portfolio Epics ======
Line 164: Line 172:
   * Idea is to schedule small value items before you schedule large less valuable items   * Idea is to schedule small value items before you schedule large less valuable items
   * This version of WSJF takes BV and TC into account for value, JS for size of items   * This version of WSJF takes BV and TC into account for value, JS for size of items
-  * Calculate WSJF of Portfolio Epics in spreadsheet - WSJF = (BV + TC) / JS +  * Calculate WSJF of Portfolio Epics in spreadsheet - WSJF = (BV + TC) / JS
   * Order list of Portfolio Epics based on WSJF   * Order list of Portfolio Epics based on WSJF
  
-====== Determine Where the Cutline is For The Portfolio Epics ======+====== Determine Where the Cut-line is For The Portfolio Epics ======
  
-Using a cumulative total of JS compare to Plan-able Half-yearly Capacity +Using a cumulative total of JS compare to Plan-able Half-yearly Capacity Things below the cut-line should be stopped.
-Things below the cutline should be stopped.+
  
-This is the end of the scripted activities, but I expect there will be some discussion (OK, I expect all hell to break loose). Point is that this the best economic way to do the work. But we will need to cast a brain over it. And we should try to treat the numbers as real - it’s the best data we have for a total view of FI. Expect it is wrong (most portfolios still kick off too much work when they first do this effort). But it is better than nothing.+This is the end of the scripted activities, but I expect there will be some discussion (OK, I expect all hell to break loose). Point is that this the best economic way to do the work. But we will need to cast a brain over it. And we should try to treat the numbers as real - it’s the best data we have for a total view of the portfolio. Expect it to be wrong (most portfolios still kick off too much work when they first do this effort). But it is better than nothing and forms a good basis for making these decisions going forward.
  
 {{tag>facilitation coaching portfolio prioritization WSJF CoD}} {{tag>facilitation coaching portfolio prioritization WSJF CoD}}
 +
 +
/home/hpsamios/hanssamios.com/dokuwiki/data/attic/how_do_i_facilitate_a_portfolio_prioritization_meeting.1532386344.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/06/02 14:24 (external edit)