Lean Portfolio Governance
Lean Portfolio Governance is a management approach that aligns with Lean and Agile principles to govern the portfolio of projects, products, and initiatives within an organization. It provides a framework for making strategic decisions, allocating resources, and managing investments to optimize the delivery of value and achieve strategic objectives.
Key aspects of Lean Portfolio Governance include:
- Value Stream Management: Lean Portfolio Governance focuses on managing value streams, which represent the end-to-end flow of value creation from idea to delivery.
- Strategic Alignment: The governance process ensures that all initiatives and projects within the portfolio are aligned with the organization’s strategic goals and objectives.
- Incremental Funding and Decision Making: Lean Portfolio Governance supports incremental funding, allowing initiatives to be funded incrementally based on their progress and value delivery.
- Lean Budgeting: The approach promotes lean budgeting practices, where funding decisions are based on continuous value assessment rather than traditional annual budgeting cycles.
- Lean-Agile Principles: Lean Portfolio Governance aligns with Lean and Agile principles, such as reducing waste, optimizing flow, and promoting collaboration.
- Adaptive Planning: Governance practices are designed to be adaptive and flexible, allowing for quick adjustments in response to changing market conditions and customer needs.
- Portfolio Kanban: Lean Portfolio Governance often utilizes Portfolio Kanban boards to visualize the flow of initiatives and manage work in progress.
- Value-Based Metrics: Governance frameworks use value-based metrics to measure the impact and outcomes of initiatives and guide decision-making.
- Strategic Alignment and Accountability: Governance ensures that initiatives are aligned with strategic themes, and accountability is established at all levels of the organization.
- Risk Management: Governance frameworks address risk management, ensuring that risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated appropriately.
Lean Portfolio Governance is essential for large organizations that have multiple projects, products, and initiatives running simultaneously. It provides a systematic and transparent approach to managing and optimizing the portfolio of work, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively to achieve maximum value delivery.
By applying Lean and Agile principles to portfolio management, organizations can foster a culture of continuous improvement, align projects with business objectives, and respond quickly to changing market conditions. This approach enhances portfolio performance, increases adaptability, and maximizes the return on investment for the organization