Respond to a VUCA market with a Growth Mindset rather than a Fixed Mindset
In the ever-changing business world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) and combined with constantly evolving technologies, companies are faced with the need to remain competitive by placing their customers and employees at the heart of their strategy, constantly innovating, rapidly delivering value iteratively and incrementally.
It goes without saying that today's companies are adopting a more collaborative and/or cultivation-oriented corporate culture by adopting a " Growth Mindset "and modern, promising ways of doing things such as the Lean-Agile.
Organizations that have truly understood the realities of today's marketplace are more interested in their customers' and employees' perspectives. These organizations are keen to cultivate leaders who consider the human aspect, notably by involving their employees and respecting their work/life balance.
These Agile Leaders advocate a healthy corporate culture based on collaboration, communication, trust, respect, team empowerment and autonomy, learning, guided experimentation and continuous improvement.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are organizations where a rigid " Top-down Power-structured In the past, the company was divided into "silos", with centralized management based on command, control, sustained authority and traditional ways of doing things (cumbersome processes). opportunity to eliminate waste) are historically glorified. Add to this power-hungry egocentric leaders who have been raised in a " Fixed mindset "And organizational agility can't be achieved, despite the best specialists, cutting-edge technologies and processes.
When an organization has little or no alignment between strategy and execution (portfolio management), it will attempt to manage all incoming requests and projects via a single, centralized organizational entity.
What is Lean Portfolio Management?
Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) facilitates alignment between an organization's overall strategy and the execution of work based on Lean-Agile principles to optimize flow " Optimize the flow "This is achieved by prioritizing the most important work, limiting work-in-progress (WIP) while respecting the delivery capacity of the teams (demand vs. capacity balance).
This promising strategic approach provides mechanisms emerging from the combination of Lean principles and Agile practices to :
- Effectively align strategy and execution in an agile way (values & principles),
- Maximize ongoing value creation,
- Minimize waste rather than the traditional "waste management" approach. top down "per project.
Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) enables companies that have adopted this promising strategic approach to effectively manage the flow of initiatives and activities within the organization, enabling them to respond rapidly to the market. These companies are thus able to adapt and respond rapidly to changing market circumstances, maximizing the value delivered to customers and other stakeholders.
The nine principles of Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
- Switch tocustomer-centric approach customer-centricity " in a broader context.
- Communicate an adaptive strategy transparently.
- Align on common goals and how they might change.
- Define, prioritize and frequently deliver business value.
- Structure by value chains". Value Streams ".
- Assuming responsibility for sales results (" Outcomes driven ") rather than a set of specific outputs (Deliverables - " Outputs ").
- Optimize value chains Value Streams " and reduce waste throughout the system.
- Shorten planning and financing cycles.
- Balancing capacity and demand.
Transitioning from a project mode structure to a product mode structure
A key aspect of Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) is the transition from a project-based organizational structure (PMO) to a product-based structure. This transition can have a profound impact on an organization's ability to align its activities with its strategic objectives, while delivering value to customers.
Why using product teams is The Way Forward!
Product teams offer many benefits that help improve product development and organizational success, including:
- Efficient decision-making Product teams enable faster, more efficient decision-making processes.
- Customer-centric approach With a dedicated product team, organizations can focus on understanding and addressing customer needs and pain points effectively.
- Innovation and creativity : Diversity of perspectives and experiences within products fosters innovation
- Faster time to market Streamlined collaboration within product teams speeds up the product development process, reducing time-to-market.
- Continuous improvement Regular team and governance meetings, feedback sessions and team retrospectives foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
SAFe Lean Portfolio Management in pictures
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Projects have existed since the dawn of time and will always exist...!
Despite the move towards product-based structures, there will always be some projects..! Let's not forget that a project is a temporary adventure with a beginning and an end, aimed at creating value through the launch of a product, service or the delivery of a unique result.
As part of projects management, scope management, schedule management, cost management, quality management, risk management, stakeholder management, procurement management and all other areas of knowledge in business management. project are ensured by the presence of a project manager (ideally a professional of the profession ! according to internationally recognized project management standards: PMBOK® Guide.
E.g.: a firm mandated by a customer to deliver: a continuous improvement project (Lean business case), the construction of the Champlain Bridge, the staging of an event (Montreal Auto Show, Canadian Grand Prix), the launch of a marketing campaign, etc.
The 1,000,000$ question: How will we deliver (perform) the project ? Waterfall or agile ?
Answer: It depends! Subject of a future article...!
Advice
As Peter Drucker used to say: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast" and "Company cultures are like country cultures. Never try to change one. Try, instead, to work with what you've got."
We need to be realistic and take this reality into account before considering a change from a project mode structure to a product mode structure for an entire organization. You have to be agile before you can be agile!
- First and foremost, it's very important to have a system thinking approach, combined with a good portrait of your business. value chains.
- Try applying the principles of Lean Portfolio Management on a smaller scale by Evolution" mode rather than in "Revolution" (Big Bang) mode...! Example: within an organizational unit.
- Hypothesize and conduct guided experiments to test the validity of the approach in your organization's context BEFORE going into "Revolution" mode!
- Avoid the temptation of trying to manage your initiative". Upfront "as a "Project"!
- At the start of your intake process (ideally transposed into a Kanban), select and use estimation and valuation techniques appropriate to your context, Examples:
- Business value (e.g. OKR, WSJF, MoScoW),
- Delay costs,
- Criticality,
- Estimated effort (e.g. T-Shirt sizing)
- See our articles:
If going with "La Totale" is the goal, upstream management will be required, along with an army of experienced change management resources, from agility coaching (teams-company-transformation. They will be invaluable allies in the success of your transformation. To find out more about the skills required of an agility coach, read our article: " UNLEASH YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL WITH PROFESSIONAL COACHING ".
We hope this article has provided you with a useful introduction to Lean Portfolio Management. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to explore this methodology further, and make the most of its potential within your company.
We hope this article has provided you with a useful introduction to Lean Portfolio Management. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to explore this methodology further, and make the most of its potential within your company.
