Cadenced Flow:
Portfolios & Roadmaps
Cat Swetel & Matt Barcomb
@catswetel @mattbarcomb

Issues with typical portfolio planning
Applying optionality to a portfolio
Thinking in terms of information value
Using flow-based roadmaps to deliver
Example metrics for portfolios & roadmaps
How we’ll spend the time

Traditional
Portfolio
Planning

Planning for
mass construction

Planning for
scientific research

Routine
manufacturing
Complex
manufacturing
Physical
product dev.
Spectrum of
knowable stuff
Scientific
research
Mass
construction
Software
product dev.
Enterprise
ERP impl.
Known about problem
Response to unknowns
Amount of unknowables

Shift the focus

You’re going
to spend (at
least)this
amount
regardless of
investment
model...
Portfolios:
from projects to products

Migration
patterns:
from projects
to products
Big projects
Single
Segments
Microfolios

Your
portfolio as
options
Like a sales
funnel
Information
discovery
funnel

Your portfolio
as options
Ideation Prototype Pilot Prod
Not yet validated
High uncertainty Uncertainty
decreased
Validated

Options
MVPs/Projects are options
triggers: starting/stopping heuristics (context, events,
rules of thumb)
information value of options
Options:
start/stop
heuristics

Options
MVPs/Projects are options
triggers: starting/stopping heuristics (context, events,
rules of thumb)
information value of options
Options:
start/stop
heuristics
e.g. $$$ or
market readiness
leading
indicators
pilot’s checklist

Information
Value of
Options

Tomorrow’s
Core Business
Today’s Core
Business
Keep the
lights on
Focus
Low risk
Big investment
Lots of small,
high risk/high
reward bets
Pay less to
obtain
information
early

But how do you
actually use an
options-based
portfolio?

Team A
Team B
A starting structure

Team A
Team B
Readiness
Infras
Readiness &
Infrastructure

Team A
Team B
Readiness
Infras
On
Horizon
Coming
Soon
Up
Next
Current
Goal
In
Use
Time-based flow

Team A
Team B
Readiness
Infras
On
Horizon
Coming
Soon
Up
Next
Current
Goal
In
Use
HBD
Here be dragons!

Team A
Team B
Readiness
Infras
On
Horizon
Coming
Soon
Up
Next
Current
Goal
In
Use
HBD
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
Define explicit policies

Team A
Team B
Readiness
Infras
On
Horizon
Coming
Soon
Up
Next
Current
Goal
In
Use
HBD
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
things we do
now and again
for reasons
12 22
Limit work in progress

Roadmap metrics
Cycle Time and/or
Lead Time
Lead Time
Cycle Time
Team A
Team B
Readiness
Infras
On
Horizon
Coming
Soon
Up
Next
Current
Goal
In
Use
HBD
DISCLAIMER: This is just an example.

Roadmap metrics
Cycle Time
and/or
Lead Time

Portfolio metrics:
churn
Ideation Prototype Pilot Prod
Churn
Churn
Churn
Discover
viability
of ideas at
lowest
possible
cost.

Portfolio metrics:
risk and experimentation

Portfolio metrics:
cost of delay
“Whenever we pay less than this
amount for time we are improving the
economics of a project.”
-Don Reinertsen in LeanMagazine.net

Transitioning traditional portfolios
Working with a variety of options
How to use information value to inform
Starting a flow-based roadmap
Metrics and measures for product planning
What we covered

Questions?
Cat Swetel Matt Barcomb
@catswetel @mattbarcomb