(2/9) Implementing Lean Portfolio Management Nine Principles - Second Principle

This is the second post in the series on the Nine Principles of Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) from the ICAgile article.  Now I delve into nuances behind the second principle.  At Kintsugi Training Institute (KTI) in our LPM course we use these principles in training on the whole Lean Portfolio Management system.

      This blog is based on the seven basic questions for good reporting: what, why, who, when, where, how, and which.  You can read more about this question strategy at my blog: Simpler Agile. 

What is the topic? 

#2 - Communicate an adaptive strategy with transparency

This second LPM Principle is presented in the ICAgile article as follows.  Organizations need a flexible strategy that supports a guiding vision so that they can effectively respond to changing environments while keeping on-track towards that vision.  The specific track forward is fundamentally unforeseeable—making feedback, learning, and adaptation core organizational competencies for successful progress.  An adaptive strategy embodies this flexible approach and enables rapid response to changing environments. Furthermore, for such an adoptive strategy to be effective, it needs to be articulated and communicated across the whole organization to enable local decision-making that aligns with and is constrained by the organization’s vision and goals. 

Why is this important?

Communication, adaptation, and transparency trace back well to the agile manifesto values and principles.

      Having strong traceable principles lays a strong foundation for enabling the construction of further elements like building a house.  There too a strong foundation enables the construction of a strong, resilient building.  Therefore, strong well-defined principles become the guiding light not only for the construction of LPM, they also guide the behavior of people in LPM roles.

Who is involved?

This principle has at least two potential contexts relating to 'strategy'.  First, there is the organization-wide strategy, aka. enterprise strategy.  Second, there is the specific portfolio strategy.  At the organization-level, the organization leaders, aka. executives, are responsible for initiating the definition, and later updates, of the strategy.  At the portfolio level, the Lean Portfolio Management Office (LPMO) has that responsibility.  However, in an agile culture these leaders should be involving other participants.  For a portfolio strategy, these would be all the people working within the portfolio.  That is difficult.  For the enterprise strategy, that is almost impossible.  See the 'how' section below for ideas.

      The second level of involvement is from all the group members.  As stated, they need to participate in it's creation and all revisions.  Some novel approaches may need to be attempted.  For example, survey about content and revision mechanics; online canvas for all to visit and share their inputs;  online wiki pages, etc.  

      Secondly, all need to embrace the strategy, align their work with it, and in essence, live it.  This is true for both the portfolio and the enterprise.

How is this to be performed?

In enacting this principle, there are at least 5 steps to expand.  

• The strategy has to be created

• It must be made adaptable 

• It must be updated when necessitated by situational changes

• It must be communicated when created and changed

• And all the steps need to be transparent

Creating the strategy should be facilitated by the appropriate leaders and all effected people should be involved.  Any Strategy Canvas can be used as a good visual facilitation vehicle.  The Seven Question Canvas is a simple example of this.  [Please leave a comment or chat if you are interested.]

      The defined strategy must be made adoptable.  Therefore, as part of strategy implementation, it must be clear how often it will be reviewed, and that it can be easily changed.  The review and updating should be both on a periodic cadence (e.g. quarterly) and on-demand given some threshold criteria (e.g. major event, request by someone, etc.)

      Communication needs to be periodic and ongoing.  The periodic form us used when the strategy initially is announced and when it changes.  The ongoing is enacted by making is transparent.  Transparency necessitates a central and generally viewable location (e.g. lunchroom/s) and online (e.g. intranet wiki, newsletter, etc.)  It is critical that there is a single central repository for the strategy so that the whole latest version is the one viewed, not a copy or derivative.

When is it best to do?

An adoptive strategy needs to be prepared before some significant event.  A good example would be for the kickoff of an agile journey.  For example, the adoptive strategy could encapsulate the approach to the agile journey.  The least impressive time would be to unveil the adoptive strategy at a new year boundary, because it would propagate the notion of 'business as usual', since new year is the traditional time for new strategies.

Where do we track progress?

As mentioned above,  it is critical that there is a single central repository for the strategy so that the whole latest version is the one viewed, not a copy or derivative.  Also, as with any important document, proper configuration and change management needs to be established and maintained for the strategy.  That includes: change tracking, versioning, editor access controls, etc.  Along with theses, it is critical that these practices be fully automated and easy to use.  For example, for change control use continuous integration.  

Which items are critical?

An enterprise level strategy should consider such components as: customer-centricity, marketing approach, financial flow, employee-centricity, and operational flow.  For each component a sub-strategy may be appropriate.  Each such sub-strategy should be adaptive just like the whole.  

      Above the strategy, there should be an enterprise mission or purpose statement, answering the question: why do we exists as an organization?

      Below the strategy, there should be subordinate outcomes targeted by the organization.  If a desired outcome is identified that does not fit anywhere under the strategy, then alignment need to be sought, either by modifying the desired outcome or modifying the strategy. 

References 

Kintsugi Training Institute - LPM Classes - https://kintsugitraininginstitute.com/icp-lpm

ICAgile - LPM Principles - https://www.icagile.com/resources/the-principles-of-lean-portfolio-management-for-business-agility

Simpler Agile blog - https://simpleragile.blogspot.com/

(1/9) Implementing Lean Portfolio Management Nine Principles - First Principle

Starting a new blog series on the nine Principles of Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) for Business Agility, which are well defined in the ICAgile article.  We will cover all nine principles one per post, starting with the first principle and ending with the nineth.  Please review the ICAgile article for basics.  I will delve into some nuances behind these principles.  At Kintsugi Training Institute (KTI) in our LPM course we use these principles in training on the whole Lean Portfolio Management system.

      Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) is the highest, or at least the second highest level in the agile scaling hierarchy, depending on which model you use.  It builds well on top of solution trains, release trains, and other flow networks. The 9 LPM Principles provide the solid foundation for constricting a strong LPM system.

      This blog is loosely based on the seven basic questions for good reporting: what, why, who, when, where, how, and which. With these questions a comprehensive perspective of the topic can be compiled.  You can read more about this question strategy at my blog: Simpler Agile. 

What is the topic? 

#1 - Shift to customer-centricity within a larger context

This is the first LPM Principle.  Per the ICAgile article, 'customer centricity' is a basic tenant of agility.  The 'larger context' should include social and environmental concerns, ensuring everyone aligns directly with customer needs and organizational vision.

Why is this important?

LPM principles trace back well to the agile manifesto and its principles.

      Having strong traceable principles creates a strong foundation for enabling the construction of further elements.  The obvious analogy is building a house.  There too a strong foundation enables the construction of a strong, resilient building.

      Strong well-defined principles become the guiding light not only for the construction of LPM, they also guide the behavior of people in LPM roles.

Who is involved?

Because this LPM Principle calls for the 'larger context' the expectation is everyone in the organization will be involved.  Nevertheless, the Roles directly involved with LPM will be more engaged with this principle.  The unstated expectation is that they will lead the 'shift'.  Also, indirect involvement will come from the 'customers'.

How is this to be performed?

The 'shift' is the key to living this principle.  First is the mindset shift.  This is raising the awareness throughout the organization to the need of understanding the notion that everyone needs to be aware and focused on the customers.  Furthermore, everyone needs to align their work to the identified customer needs.  Finally, we will need to close the loops on feedback coming from the customers and the market, so that we can assess our progress on customer need fulfillment.

      Next, we must broaden our awareness of who our customers are, both externally and internally.  Externally, we need to include indirect customers, such as the greater community we serve.  Internally, we need to include people we routinely engage with, such as people on our team, release train, and portfolio.

When is it best to do?

The shift to customer-centricity within a larger context is most effective when integrated into broader initiatives, such as LPM or business agility implementation, Because these can leverage synergies and drive more impactful organizational change. This integration can also address potential challenges, such as resistance to change or misalignment of goals, by providing a clear, unified direction for the entire organization. Once you 'unfreeze' the status-quo it is best to continue the movement, not letting it 'refreeze' thereby wasting the initial momentum.

Where do we track progress?

Maintaining a well-configured relational database for business analytics is essential for tracking progress in implementing these principles.  It will enable quick access and abilities to analyze and clearly present the metrics.  Without such a tool, closing the feedback loop will be difficult and may discourage the Lean Portfolio Management Office, the people primarily responsible for governing the portfolio(s).

      Alternatively or in addition, a strong modern LPM tool may be used for both LPM governance and measurement.

Which items are critical?

It is important to understand that within this principle there are three dimensions to the concept of 'larger context'.  First, the 'larger context' should expand beyond direct clients to include the larger community, the market, and their social and environmental concerns, Thereby linking customer-centricity to broader business objectives such as corporate social responsibility and sustainable growth. Second, the context needs to expand to everyone within the organization so they have a direct line of sight (aka. alignment) to the customers and the organization's vision.  Third, the definition of customer needs to expand into the internal customer in the supply and delivery chains.

      It is also important to always close the loop on all feedback systems.  This may involve three types of feedback loops: quantitative, qualitative, and hybrid.  Quantitative feedback loops use data-driven metrics, such as: number of active accounts on the system, percent of active users, etc.  Qualitative feedback loops opinion-driven feedback loops, such as: user surveys, focus groups, and interviews.  Hybrid feedback loops involve a mix of data and opinion-driven feedback loops, such as: Likert scale survey, i.e. the qualitative feedback has been turned into quantitative feedback by 'bucketizing' the scaling the responses. 

      If any such data is collected, that is feedback from the environment.  Therefore, the loopback has to be closed on such data.  The most appropriate closure is to review the data and make decisions based on what we learn in the review.  Otherwise, there is no reason to collect it in the first place.

References 

Kintsugi Training Institute - LPM Classes - https://kintsugitraininginstitute.com/icp-lpm

ICAgile - LPM Principles - https://www.icagile.com/resources/the-principles-of-lean-portfolio-management-for-business-agility

Simpler Agile blog - https://simpleragile.blogspot.com/

NLP - What is NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programing 

Defining NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programing) should be easy, yet it defies definition because NLP means different things to different people.  Let me present some common definitions first, then I will attempt a reconciliations these.

NLP Definition - Dictionary Denotation 

Here we run into our first roadblock - no two dictionaries have the same definition of NLP, nor can other sources agree.

Nevertheless, let's try Dictionary.com: NLP = Neurolinguistic Programming = 

a method of modifying cognitive patterns, emotions, and behaviors, typically, self-improvement through learned imitation of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of high achievers or other successful models of a specific desired behavior.

(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/neurolinguistic-programming)

Some interesting points to notice.

1. Neurolinguistic is presented as one word instead of two.
2. Programming has the British (2 m) spelling, instead of 'programing'.
3. It is presented as a 'method', singular, instead of plural or something bigger.
4. Other parts of the definition also are very limiting and boundary forming.

NLP Definition - Historical Connotations 

Here is what some NLP gurus have said about it.

The ability to master your own states by running your own brain – Richard Bandler

The study of excellence and how to reproduce it – John Grinder

An attitude (wanton curiosity) and methodology (modelling) that leaves behind a trail of techniques – Richard Bandler

How to use the language of the mind to consistently achieve our specific and desired outcomes – Tad James

While these are not well-formed definitions, they do bring in some depth and color to our understanding.

Maybe a good holistic approach would be to define NLP by defining the three parts N, L, and P.

Neuro – nervous system – so using the mind and sensory organs 

Linguistic - communication system - so using sounds (language), pictures, feelings (sensory), tastes (gustatory), smells (olfactory), thoughts (self-talk)

Programming – pattern coding system - sequences of instructions in our minds

As before, not a well-formed definition, but insightful and informative.

NLP Definition - Summary 

Personally, I have found there is not a single definition which will satisfy all NLP practitioners, and provide a single well-formed succinct statement answering the question "what is NLP".