Praktijkcase:

Integratie Agile en portfoliomanagement

Ruysdael portfoliomanagement event

30 januari 2018

Paul van Sprundel / Lennard de Koning

2

ABNAMRO heeft een forse transitie naar Agile werken doorgemaakt en is daar nog volop mee bezig. Waar voorheen

de budgetten werden verdeeld over projecten, wordt er nu gebudgetteerd op verandercapaciteit in fixed (scrum)

teams.

Vragen die aan de orde komen zijn o.a.:

o Wat is de STIP op de horizon, is die er, maar vooral ook HOE gaan we daarnaar toe?

o Portfoliomanagement in een Agile context: een solitair vakgebied of als onderdeel van strategische besturing en

bedrijfsvoering?

o De operatie (delivery) lijkt met Agile redelijk op orde te komen, hoe beïnvloed je dat als portfoliomanager of ben je

niet meer nodig?

o Hoe laten we vanuit de strategie zien dat in changes geïnvesteerde euro’s waarde toevoegen?

o Wat betekenen deze ontwikkelingen voor jou als (strategisch?) Portfolio Manager?

Outline en Introductie:

3

Prioriteiten richting 2020

Versterken en verbreden van onze expertise

▶ Een open netwerk

▶ Inzichten delen

▶ Gepersonaliseerde oplossingen

Verbeteren van de klantervaring

▶ Overal waar de klant is

▶ Digitaal innovatief

▶ Snel en transparant

Innovatie & groei

▶ Echt innovatief

▶ Groei in Noordwest-Europa en in geselecteerde sectoren wereldwijd

▶ Onderscheidend

Snel leveren

▶ Eenvoudiger organiseren

▶ Agile werken

▶ Versnellen in verandering

ABN AMRO is een relatiegedreven, deskundige en digitaal innovatieve bank

die actief is in Noordwest-Europa en expertise biedt in geselecteerde sectoren

wereldwijd.

Structuur & Aanpak

Agile portfolio management

5

2 dialogues in the new ABN AMRO structure

ExCo Dialogue

MT BL’s

MT Retail MT CB MT T&HR

MT I&T* MT PB MT C&IB

Dialogue supported and

prepared by multidisciplinary

Portfolio Taskforce

Quarterly dialogues

supported and prepared by

Strategy Consultants of

particular Business Line

FRPB

(fin/risk)

1

2

6

The ambition of SPM, is to employ our change budget in such a way that we maximize the value we

deliver.

In light of our transition to an Agile way of working, this SPM process accommodates the new culture principles

Agile way of working promotes maximum autonomy at lower levels in the organization

Agile is based on fixed capacity as opposed to project & budget based funding

We can leverage this momentum in updating the SPM process to increase efficiency and effectiveness

We have identified five explicit objectives for designing the new SPM process:

SPM enhances the linkage between strategy setting and strategy execution

SPM process accommodates the autonomy which we aspire in our renewed Agile organization

SPM supports a dialogue based on value maximization

SPM is built upon the new culture principles of ‘Give Trust’ and ‘I Am Team’

SPM accommodates the ExCo to steer on the execution of our defined strategy

Background

A simplified Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) process allows the

Executive Committee (ExCo) to steer on the execution of our defined strategy

Portfolio mngt

vraagt nu

teveel

inspanning

Autonomie van Business

Lines en bank brede

visie op allocatie van

capaciteit in relatie tot de

strategie

Sizing van portfolio,

significante

strategische thema's

7

Strategic Level

(Executive

Committee)

Operational

Level

(Blocks)

Cycle on Operational level (managed by Product Owner)

Goal: Create optimal value for our client/stakeholder by developing the most

valuable user stories first, while bolstering team maturity into t-shaped capabilities

Activities:

Continuous prioritization and backlog refinement by Product Owners and their

Teams

Continuous management of individual team purpose and capacity

Tactical Level

(Business Lines

& Grids)

Cycle on Tactical level (managed by MT Business Lines & Grids)

Goal: Translate strategic level resource allocation to grid set-up that maximizes the value

delivered

Activities:

Allocate the BL capacity to the grids based on demand and strategic priorities

Optimise the grid structure based on allocated capacity and demand, to ensure the grid

effectively and efficiently delivers maximal value

Continuously review the value delivered and adapt priorities at BL and grid level accordingly

Cycle on Strategic level (managed by Executive Committee)

Goal: Understand the total change portfolio and offer guidance on resource allocation for Grids

from a bank-wide perspective, aligned with our strategic priorities

Activities

Facilitate dialogue and monitor the alignment between our strategic mid term priorities and

current bank wide allocation of capacity.

Offer high level guidance for up- or downscaling, building forward on current allocation of

capacity and strategic developments, within financial constraintsPortfolio shape: 4 x p.a.

Portfolio size: 1 x p.a.

Continuously

Continuously

Optimally align strategy and execution

by three interdependent organizational ‘cycles’

8

Approach: Like an Olympic Mission aiming for maximum medals,

ABN AMRO has three processes to steer on change

Portfolio Management

Selecting the sports that our

country is best positioned to

win at

Steer into the right direction,

setting the right stack ranking

Capacity Management

Selecting the right athletes to

represent our country in these

sports

Set up capacity in line with

strategic direction

Performance Management

Setting the right context to

maximize performance of our

athletes

Obtain maximal performance

with available capacity

A B C

12

3

9

Recap: In answering these questions we want to adhere to the agile

ambitions we defined earlier

We have the ambition to provide the

change organization (Blocks) with

maximum autonomy, in combination with

alignment with an overall strategic

direction

Ambition of maximum

autonomy & alignment

Blocks empowered to manage

their own backlog

But we need to be able to steer

large, complex change

Source: Spotify

Leadership

Change

Organization

TransparencyEmpowerment

User

Sto

ryE

pic

Epis

ode

Saga

To achieve this, we empower the Blocks

to manage their own backlog with User

Stories

In turn, Blocks provide transparency on

their backlog and their progress, in order

to receive guidance on strategic direction

However, we also need to be able to

manage and steer on large, complex

change initiatives

To achieve this, we need to cluster some

user stories and directly rank these

clustered initiatives on a higher

organizational level

Draft—for discussion only

10

To ensure successful Agile portfolio mngmt, we require the

following principles to be upheld in the organization

Capacity is

Fixed

Stack

Ranking

Clear

Purpose &

Priorities

Learning /

Feedback

Loop

Data-

informed

decision

making

DIBB

Limit Work in

Progress

(WIP)

Corporate

Agility

Purpose-

based metrics

Trans-

parency

Servant

Leadership

Alignment

from Exco –

BL – Grid –

Block

Agile Portfolio

Management

Praktijk:

Grid portfolio dialoog

Draft—for discussion only

12

GRID structure

13

Leveren van waarden

14

As Is Situation: Portfolio Wall

Draft—for discussion only

15

Why Portfolio Walls? Transparency about value & focus

As a grid, we want to leap into the dreams of our customers. Initiatives should be valued directly

and be picked up within a few sprints. This provides ultimate transparency and agility. The Agile

portfolio process (Value Creation) helps us with that.

The Grid Coaches provided the image on the left, which can be used as a Grid Portfolio

Management Wall. The aim of the wall is to provide transparency and focus for a Grid.

Together with the stakeholders, Grid Owners, Product Owners and Engineering Leads, all

initiatives (new and current) are prioritised on value for our customers in short facilitated

sessions.

The Grid Owner knows grid exceeding what is important, the Product Owners work from their

product vision and validate this inside, but mainly outside the Grid as this is where cooperation

and the value for our customers come together. This transparency is what characterises the

Grid and everyone in the Grid know what the focus is and why initiatives are started and (more

importantly) stopped if there is not enough value.

The wall is placed in a central area in the Grid and priorities and value of initiatives are

discussed publically in front of the wall. Everyone who is interested can join these sessions.

The impact of stopping or starting initiatives is directly visible on the delivery wall, as well the

timelines and dependencies. The new initiatives funnel shows the Grid what is coming soon.

The wall is a mean of communication and awareness, are we doing the right thing, does the

work we do contribute to our Grid and is it in line with the ABN AMRO purpose? The value is in

the discussions and the understanding of the Grid purpose and priorities will help the blocks to

make their priority decisions independently. Also in terms of collaboration, it helps us thinking in

“we-block”, “we-grid” and together as “we-ABN AMRO bank”.

Draft—for discussion only

16

Overall: Portfolio Wall Explained

WhoGoal* Level Frequency

To determine priorities

based on strategy and

business value (with

data to prove it!)

Generally:

Grid level

Sagas as part of

“Strategy”

Episodes in

Later/To Do/Doing

For everyone!

e.g. Grid Sync: Grid

Owner, POs,

Engineering Lead &

relevant stakeholders (depending on context)

Depending on context.

Occurring practices:

Every 2 - 4 weeks

Generally:

Grid level

Epics linked to

Episodes in the wall

above

Whenever needed

e.g. weekly

For everyone!

e.g. PO Sync: Product

Owners + relevant

stakeholders (depending

on context, e.g. Solution

integrator)

To manage

dependencies and

plan the work (i.e. for

next 90 days max.)

Generally Per block

(i.e. epics & user

stories), but Story

Mapping can be

applied to other levels

too

Backlog Management

Daily & Story Mapping

if there is a need for

MVPs or insight in

work being performed.

E.g.

Every 10 weeks

A Block: Product

Owner & Team

members (+

necessary

stakeholders)

Backlog Management

in Blocks & Story

mapping is used as a

visual method of

backlog building

*The scope of the Wall is as well on intra as on cross grid

Draft—for discussion only

17

Overall: Wall vs/& Tooling

ABN AMRO is in a transition phase and as a bank we have to be compliant to certain rules and regulations about

tracking and tracing. Therefore, a standard tool like Jira is necessary and very helpful.

Best practices within several Grids have shown that on screen tooling cannot replace the communication and the

discussion in front of the board as the face to face discussion is where the value and learning is. Thereby, the off-

shore construction with India makes it necessary to have JIRA as a tool to facilitate good collaboration.

Therefore, we chose to have them both:

Jira for reporting and tracking and tracing reasons

The Portfolio Wall for the value discussion and communication purposes

Draft—for discussion only

18

Overall: Push vs Pull

Make sure that grid backlog items are not pushed from

the to do lane into the doing lane, e.g. the grid owner

deciding what is being done. The Product Owners, Grid

Owner and stakeholders should be pulling the work into

doing.

This is being done by the Product Owners pulling the

priorities to their blocks and the PO sync. When breaking

episodes up into epics and managing dependencies can

help determine priorities.

Product owners select (“pull”) epics from their product

backlogs, taking into consideration the dependencies

made transparent in the grid’s epic wall.

Draft—for discussion only

19

Wall 1: Vision & Priorities

Funnel &

Pitch

Strategic

guidancePrioritizing

Stack-

ranking

Good

Practices

Goal of Wall 1 is to provide vision and set priorities by having a continuous

dialogue about value creation

20

1. What is my purpose?

2. Goals

3. What backlog

items help me achieve these

goals?

4. When are these

successful (outcome!

Not output)?

5. What is the impact on my

goals?

Wall 1: Continuous dialogue about value creation

Why is my

grid/block

here?

When am I

successful in

fulfilling my

purpose?

What

state/outcome

do I want to

achieve?

What are my

goals (lagging

indicators)?

i.e. sagas, episodes,

epics, users tories

What are we

attempting to

improve in order to

reach our prevous

set goals (Step 2)?

When is this

initiative

successful?

Do we see

changes/

progress in our

goals?

21

All Business and IT ideas as well as existing episodes from

other Grids (Bets) are being pitched and challenged on

business value in front of the wall. No exceptions because

we can use our limited capacity only once.

Everybody must be able to enter his idea (Bet) on a

“Bierviltje”.

The Pitch takes 2 minutes, a few questions for clarification

and than the Thumbs Up- Thumbs Down.

If a Bet passes it is placed (and prioritised) on the on the

funnel board

Wall 1: Funnel & Pitch

Entrance Criteria for a Bet to go to “pitch”:

- Sponsor within the Grid Sync (GO, PO, EL, Stakeholders)

- Pitch max 2 minutes

- Is it in line with the strategy?

Praktijk:

Quarterly Portfolio Review

Proposed yearly, quarterly and monthly time lines for strategy-, portfolio-, and

performance reviews

23

The quarterly portfolio review (QPR) aligns demand and supply for the upcoming

quarter

24

Value Management &

De rol van de portfolio manager

26

How to provide focus and insights on Performance

D a s h b o a r d

The dashboard is created monthly, based on the

OGSM. The dashboard needs to give

• An up to date view of the progress made to

achieve the strategy and goals

• The possibility to adjust and steer if necessary

O w n e r s h i p C o n t r a c t

• The performance contract creates a clear

view of everyone's contribution to the strategy

& goals

• Ownership: every MT member is owner of a

part of the action plan (OGSM)

• Sponsorship: every MT member is sponsor

for one of the strategies (OGSM)

O G S M

An important part of the performance dialogue is

the OGSM, consisting of the goals and strategies

for the coming period

M e t r o M a p

• The MetroMap visualizes the different actions

& products that will be delivered for every

strategy

• The MetroMap gives a quick insight into the

time of delivery and activity per strategy

Performance Dialogue

In order to be able to give guidance to our strategy and goals we need to address and discuss the following questions:

• Is our performance related to our strategy and goals?

• Where can we reinforce each other?

• Where do we need to adjust and steer?

• Which developments do we see? Do we still have the right focus?

P R O P O S A L – P E R F O R M A N C E M A N A G E M E N T F R A M E W O R K

Supporting Tools

Best practice IT

27

Portfolio Management in de Performance dialoog

Next step: Closing the loop

(value management)

29

Closing the loop with Value Management

What about us?

31

32

PPM Expert – Strategisch Portfolio Mngt – Strategisch consultant - …..

Challenge strategisch tot PO

33