Lean Portfolio Management Flashcards

In DA Lean Portfolio Management, how is 'value' defined at the portfolio level?

Answer: The combination of customer outcomes, business outcomes, and societal impact achieved through investments

DA takes a holistic view of value that encompasses customer delight, business outcomes, team health, and societal impact rather than just financial metrics.

A portfolio using DA practices wants to shift from project-based to product-based funding. What is the most important first step?

Answer: Identify stable value streams or product lines that can serve as the basis for long-term team and funding structures

Identifying stable value streams is the foundation for product-based funding because you need clear boundaries before you can assign persistent teams and budgets.

Which Lean concept does DA use to describe the time it takes for a portfolio initiative to move from idea to delivered value?

Answer: Portfolio cycle time or lead time

Lead time (or cycle time) measures the end-to-end duration from when an initiative enters the portfolio to when it delivers value, a key Lean flow metric.

When coaching an organization on Lean Portfolio Management, a DAC observes that most portfolio initiatives are classified as 'highest priority.' What should the coach do?

Answer: Facilitate a prioritization exercise using techniques like weighted shortest job first (WSJF) or cost of delay

When everything is highest priority, nothing is—a DA Coach should facilitate structured prioritization using economic frameworks like WSJF to force meaningful ordering.

In DA's Lean Portfolio Management, what distinguishes a 'strategic theme' from a portfolio epic?

Answer: Strategic themes are high-level investment intentions that guide portfolio prioritization, while epics are specific initiatives that implement those themes

Strategic themes express broad organizational investment directions (like 'expand into mobile') while portfolio epics are concrete initiatives (like 'build a mobile app') that realize those themes.

How does DA recommend handling a portfolio initiative that consistently misses its forecasted delivery dates?

Answer: Inspect the system for root causes such as unclear scope, dependency issues, or insufficient capacity, then adapt

DA's inspect-and-adapt mindset requires investigating systemic root causes of delays rather than blaming teams or reverting to heavyweight planning.

A DA Coach is helping an organization establish Lean Portfolio Management. Which sequence of activities is most aligned with DA's 'start where you are' principle?

Answer: Assess the current portfolio state, identify the highest-pain problems, and implement targeted improvements iteratively

DA's 'start where you are' principle means assessing the current context and making pragmatic, incremental improvements rather than pursuing big-bang transformation.