The document discusses four key concepts that large organizations adopting Agile must manage: type of work, size of teams, project governance, and portfolio governance. It outlines three types of work (ongoing product development, new product development, corporate initiatives), and two governance processes (roadmap and backlog, stage gate). The document also discusses how to determine team size and allocate teams based on the type of work.

1. Agile Portfolio Management
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2. Four Key Concepts
Large organizations adopting Agile must manage
four key concepts.
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Type of Work
Size of
Team(s)
Project
Governance
Portfolio
Governance

3. Four Key Questions
This deck will provide an overview of how to do this
by framing these concepts as questions.
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Type of Work
Size of
Team(s)
Project
Governance
Portfolio
Governance
What kind of
work are we
doing?
What
processes
should we use
to estimate
and manage
deliverables?
What
governance
strategy
should we
choose?
How should we
allocate and
structure teams
within a project
or product?
How does the
number of
teams grow over
time?

4. PMO &Product Development Processes
4
PM
TPM
Team
SM
Portfolio board
Portfolio Management Process
Select the right projects.
Allocate resources to projects.
Product Development Process
Build the right stuff.
Build the right way.
Organize based on allocated resources.
Engage in process improvement.
Link between
portfolio &
product.

5. Assumptions
• We assume the reader is familiar with Agile
development techniques, including Scrum, XP
and Lean Kanban.
• In other words, this really is for large
organizations who want to scale in a sensible way.
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6. Let’s start with Types of Work
And we’ll keep going from there

7. Corporate Initiatives
We Distinguish Three Types of Work
7
Ongoing
Product
Development
NEW
Product
Development
1
2
3
BYOD Security
CRM Migration
Other corporate
initiatives
Product Life Cycle

8. Stage Gate
Projects move through defined stages via formal gates.
We Distinguish Two Governance Processes
8
UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT
ANALYSIS AND
PLANNING
END / LAUNCH
Gate 1 Gate 2 Gate 3 Gate 4 Closure
New
Roadmap & Backlog
Projects or work items move
under the control of the teams
that control these items.
Roadmap
Backlog

9. Corporate Initiatives
We Distinguish Three Types of Work
9
Ongoing
Product
Development
NEW
Product
Development
1
2
3
BYOD Security
CRM Migration
Other corporate
initiatives
Product Life Cycle

10. Corporate Initiatives
Work Processes and Governance Models
10
Ongoing
Product
Development
Product Life Cycle
NEW
Product
Development
.fr migration
.it migration
Other corporate
initiatives
Stage
Gate
Stage Gate
Roadmap and Backlog

11. What is an Agile Team?
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Product Manager
Represents business goals,
focused on value.
Prioritizes.
Agile Coach (Scrum Master)
Focused on product planning,
sprint boundaries, milestones
Pull vs. Push model to
create and consume backlog
of coaching events.
Coaches drive teams to increase
performance the OODA loop.
Dev Team
Because the team is capable of building and releasing code into
production they are usually cross-functional and interdisciplinary.
Can put code into production!

12. Corporate Initiatives
Teams are Allocated by the PMO
12
Ongoing
Product
Development
Product Life Cycle
NEW
Product
Development
.fr migration
.it migration
Other corporate
initiatives
Stage
Gate
Stage Gate
Roadmap and Backlog
Piccolo
1 Team
Grande
>4 Teams
Medio
2-4 Teams
Note:
Within a product line or
vertical there may be
several active projects.
Each project has a
separate backlog, a
defined team structure
and a chosen process
model.

13. Corporate Initiatives
Team Allocation Strategies
13
Ongoing
Product
Development
Product Life Cycle
NEW
Product
Development
.fr migration
.it migration
Other corporate
initiatives
Stage
Gate
Stage Gate
Roadmap and Backlog
Stay Lean – Grow as
success warrants
Grow in a defined manner based
on Stage-Gates and Resources
Grow rapidly
to capitalize
on market
share / profit.
Reduce size
to free up
cash for new
growth
Stabilize on a
team sized
commensurate
with profit.

14. Teams Allocated By Forward Planning
14
UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT
ANALYSIS AND
PLANNING
END / LAUNCH
Gate 1 Gate 2 Gate 3 Gate 4 Closure
Number
ofTeams
Time
A Piccolo might be a
single team over the
life of the project.
A Medio might start
with two teams in
early phases, grow a
bit, then shrink.
A Grande might be a
large project/product
designed to absorb
many teams through
architecture.

15. Architecture is What Drives Team Scale
OOPSLA-98 15
Interface
Domain
Model
Object
Translation and
Persistant Store
Route
Management
Fleet
ManagementScheduling
A
B
Individual
Teams Have
Independent
Structure
“Build the Right Thing”
“BuildtheRightWay”

16. Shapes Of Projects
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17. ALL FIXED
From Iron Triangle to Agile Triangle
ScopeRESOURCES
Schedule
The Iron Triangle
ScopeRESOURCES
Schedule
The Agile Triangle
FIXED
NEGOTIATEDMOSTLY
FIXED

18. From Agile Triangle to Continuous Flow
Sprint Sprint Sprint Sprint Sprint…
Sprint Sprint Sprint SprintSprint Sprint
SprintSprint Sprint SprintSprint
Bigger / Infrequent Market Facing Releases
Buffer Push
Enterprise
Chunk
Flow
Increasing
• Autonomy
• Decoupled
Teams
• Automation
Sprint Sprint Sprint
Absolutely Reliable Date Driven Releases
Train
Sprint Sprint Sprint
Irregular releases based on a „Chunk“ of Value
Release Every Sprint

19. Teams Work According to
Defined Project Shapes
19
Enterprise
Designed to hit market windows defined in roadmaps, Enterprise
projects have release plans consisting of multiple sprints based
on thorough release planning. Maps nicely to traditional PMI-styl
project management. Emphasizes learning and adjustment.
Train
Date-driven projects with heavy up front planning; closely
associated with service platforms.
Chunk
Shorter, irregular release cycles based on “chunk” of business
value that are pushed to production is ready. Intense interactions
with PO and team. Closely aligned with Lean Kanban and
startups.
Flow
Continuous release cycles (release after every Sprint); continuous
planning. Backlogs need grooming.

20. Putting These Concepts Together
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21. A Tale of Three Configurations
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A stable product with
millions in revenue
A new product
initiative, just being
verified
A corporate initiative to
consolidate logins across
platforms
Type of Work Ongoing Prod Dev New Prod Dev Corp Initiative
Governance Roadmap & Backlog Stage-Gate Stage-Gate
Shape of Project Enterprise or Chunk,
likely Enterprise
Chunk Train
Size of Team Based on Revenue Piccolo Based on Budget
Allocation
Strategy
Stable, defined by
yearly revenue
Small with potential
to grow
Planned rise and fall
Techniques to
leverage include:
Agile Product
Management
Lean Startup Cynefin

22. Strategy-Glue-Tactics
Agile Product Development

23. PM/PO Deliverables
23
Strategy
Tactics
Glue
Longer term
Holistic
Shorter Term
Focused
Product
Vision
Product
Purpose
Why
Roadmap
User Story map
Backlog
Release Plan
Lean Canvas
Business Model Canvas
Business Drivers
Sprint

24. Flows
24
Strategy
Tactics
Glue
Longer term
Holistic
Shorter Term
Focused
Product
Vision
Product
Purpose
Why
Roadmap
User Story map
Backlog
Release Plan
Lean Canvas
Business Model Canvas
Business Drivers
Sprint

25. Techniques
25
Strategy
Tactics
Glue
Longer term
Holistic
Shorter Term
Focused
Product
Vision
Product
Purpose
Why
Roadmap
User Story map
Backlog
Release Plan
Lean Canvas
Business Model Canvas
Business Drivers
Sprint
Prune The Product Tree
Speed Boat
Vision Box
Me and My Shadow
Start Your Day
Buy a Feature
Whole Product

26. © Copyright 2014 Conteneo, Inc. 26
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