Topic: Visual Portfolio Management 

This interactive workshop will explore the use of a Portfolio Alignment Wall (PAW) to track progress, visualize dependencies and increase collaboration on large portfolios. Experience the process of populating and managing the PAW through a portfolio simulation. We combine Scrum-Of-Scrums, visual management, value streams and a simple set of rules to balance simplicity and sufficiency. Bob has used this technique to manage delivery across 17 agile and waterfall teams, 11 major feature streams with cross team dependencies.

This workshop simulate project with interdependent tasks that is tracked on a visual management system called the Portfolio Alignment Wall (PAW). One facilitator will play the role of the delivery executive for the portfolio, the other facilitators will work with the teams to expedite the mechanics of the workshop. This workshop comes out of the application of this technique at a major financial services company to manage a portfolio of 11 major feature streams across 17 interdependent teams. About half of the teams were delivering using agile the remainder used incremental or waterfall models.

Learning outcomes

• Visual portfolio management
• Scaling the “Scrum of Scrums”
• Creating a visual management environment
• Reducing soft dependencies
• Visualizing and dealing with organizational complexity
• Importance of the physicality of the wall
• Greater appreciation for simplicity

Speaker Bio

Bob Payne is the President of Electroglide, Inc, founder of AgilePhilanthropy and a leading proponent of Agile Methodologies and Agile Engineering Practices with 25 years of project management, software development, engineering and business experience. As an early adopter of Extreme Programming (XP), he has worked exclusively as an Agile Coach and practitioner since 1999. He has mentored and managed many projects ranging in size from five to nearly two hundred people. As host of the AgileToolkit podcast he has produced over 100 podcasts, recording a variety of industry leaders and Agile practitioners. He has been an organizer/stage producer of the Agile Software Development Conferences from 2007-2010. He is cofounder of the Washington, DC XP Users Group. Bob is passionate about training teams in the use of Agile Engineering Practices that allow them to deliver high quality software in an Agile, iterative and incremental manner. With a MSEE in Computer Architectures for Artificial Intelligence and having grown up working in his family restaurant, he brings a unique blend of technical excellence and customer service to bear on his projects and training courses.

Nathaniel Cadwell leads software development teams at Axiaware, where he helps clients from product envisioning to delivery.  His experience includes both technical and management roles on projects for clients in sectors as diverse as financial services and the Federal Government.  As a proponent of Agile project management, he regularly introduces innovations to the Axiaware toolbox.  Nathaniel holds a Bachelor's degree from George Washington University, and he is an avid marathon runner and photographer. 

Manoj Vadakkan is an Agile Trainer working with software development groups providing training, coaching, and mentoring in Agile/Scrum principles and practices. He also works with Project Management Office and senior leadership team to drive organizational and cultural changes for organizations. Manoj has been working in the IT Industry for two decades. He has been Managing Software Development projects of various sizes for 10+ years and has been practicing Agile/Scrum principles and practices for 5+ years. Manoj is passionate about transitioning the world of work using Agile/Scrum principles and practices. He is a Certified Scrum Master & Certified Scrum Professional (CSM, CSP) and is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He frequently speaks at conferences and writes articles about various aspects of Agile & Scrum. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Computer Applications.