Lean Portfolio Management Flashcards
7 cards from real DAC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Lean Portfolio Management flashcards as text
In DA Lean Portfolio Management, what is an 'epic' at the portfolio level?
Answer: A large initiative or investment theme that may span multiple teams and quarters
Portfolio-level epics represent large, strategic initiatives that are too big for a single team or sprint and require portfolio-level oversight.
Which of the following best describes a 'Lean Business Case' in DA's portfolio management approach?
Answer: A concise summary of the hypothesis, expected benefits, and guardrails for a portfolio initiative
A Lean Business Case is a lightweight artifact that captures just enough information to make an informed investment decision without excessive documentation.
How does DA's approach to portfolio governance differ from traditional Stage-Gate processes?
Answer: DA uses continuous flow with lightweight touch-points rather than fixed sequential gates
DA favors continuous portfolio flow with rolling reviews rather than sequential stage gates that create batch delays and inventory buildup.
A portfolio team is debating whether to proceed with a large digital transformation initiative. Using DA principles, what should be their first step?
Answer: Create a lightweight hypothesis and identify the smallest investment that would test the idea
DA promotes an experimental, hypothesis-driven approach where you test assumptions with the smallest viable investment before committing fully.
In DA Lean Portfolio Management, what role does the 'Portfolio Sync' meeting serve?
Answer: A regular cadence meeting to review portfolio status, adjust priorities, and remove impediments
Portfolio Sync is a regular (often bi-weekly or monthly) meeting that maintains alignment, surfaces blockers, and enables adaptive planning across the portfolio.
Which concept from Lean thinking is most important when deciding how many portfolio initiatives to fund simultaneously?
Answer: Little's Law and the relationship between WIP, throughput, and cycle time
Little's Law explains that cycle time increases proportionally with WIP, so limiting concurrent portfolio initiatives directly reduces time-to-delivery.
When a DA Coach facilitates a portfolio retrospective, which outcome is most critical for Lean Portfolio Management improvement?
Answer: Identifying systemic impediments that slow the flow of value through the portfolio
Portfolio retrospectives should focus on systemic flow impediments rather than team-level metrics to drive genuine portfolio-level improvement.