Begin with lean portfolio management

The following is an orientation to the use cases available with the license Lean Portfolio Management. The use cases enable you to capture your data in the Alfabet repository and analyze your data in various business questions and other analytics.

	Agile Transformation: Transform strategic initiatives for agile execution by describing how value is delivered and enabled across the organization. Document the operational value streams that describe how the business delivers value to customers, and the development value streams that describe how the organization builds solutions that support the operational value streams. Capture the applications and components that are built and evolved by the development value stream and enables the flow of value in the operational value stream. Bundle value streams in value stream groups for purposes of analysis. Analyze how the agile portfolio supports the execution of the strategy.
	Portfolio Backlog Management: Manage the portfolio backlog in order to maintain a prioritized list of potential solutions, initiatives, and investments. Capture epics as business and enabler features and stories that will be delivered by agile teams. Manage the flow of epics from ideation through analysis, implementation, and completion. Prioritize business and enabler features and move them to the next phase through the continuous delivery lifecycle.
	Agile Implementation: Implement agile delivery in order to deliver value in a predictable cadence. Capture agile release trains and structure their program increments (PIs) to timebox delivery. Break down the PIs into iterations that define the concrete, measurable steps required to achieve program and strategic objectives.

A value steam describes the series of value stream steps that are relevant to implement solutions that provide a continued flow of value to the enterprise. Value streams allow 'value' in terms of the usefulness, advantage, or benefit of IT solutions to be articulated and measured in the business architecture. Non-monetary examples of value are, for example, the successful delivery of a product or service or access to up-to-date information to make better business decisions. Value stream target values can be defined to articulate the strategic intentions (value nodes) in the enterprise's strategy network to be specified as the target that the value stream shall deliver value.

• An operational value steam describes the sequence of value stream steps that an organization performs to deliver a product or service that provides a continued flow of value to the company. Value streams allow 'value' in terms of the usefulness, advantage, or benefit of IT solutions to be articulated and measured in the business architecture. Non-monetary examples of value are, for example, the successful delivery of a product or service or access to up-to-date information to make better business decisions. The operational value stream includes all steps from the initial request to the final fulfillment and support and captures how value flows through day-to-day business operations.
• A development value steam is the activities required to design, build, test, and deliver the systems or solutions that enable an organization’s operational value streams. It represents how teams create and evolve the capabilities the business relies on.
• A value steam step decribes the stages needed to implement an operational or developmental value stream relevant to provide a continued flow of value to the enterprise. The value stream step captures information about the solutions that enable the value stream as well as the ovrall value that the step provides.
• A solution is a large, integrated system that delivers value to customers by fulfilling a specific business need. In Alfabet , a solution is the application or component that is built and evolved by the development value stream and enables the flow of value in the operational value stream.
• A value stream group bundles operational value streams and developmental value streams.
• An epic is a container for a significant solution development initiative that is made up of features. Typically epics have a considerable scope and therefore should have the definition of a minimum viable product (MVP).
• An epic group bundles epics for purposes of organization and analysis.
• A feature is a tangible product, solution functionality, or improvement that provides business value and contributes to the realization of an epic. Features can be further broken down into user stories which are implemented, tested, and released incrementally. Features are structured to be delivered in a program increment (PI) by an agile release train (ART).
• A story is a small piece of desired functionality that contributes to the realization of a feature. A story may be of the type User Story, which provides value to the end user, and Enabler Story, which describes the necessary work work to fulfill technical, architectural, infrastructure, or compliance needs. Stories are delivered in the context of an iteration by an agile release train (ART).
• An agile release train (ART) is a team of agile teams, which, along with other stakeholders, incrementally develops and delivers one or more solutions that contribute to an operational or developmenal value stream.
• A program increment (PI) is a timebox during which an agile release train (ART) delivers incremental value in the form of working, tested software and systems. Features are delivered in the context of a program increment.
• An iteration is a standard, fixed-duration timebox during which agile teams and ARTs individually and collectively deliver incremental customer value while working towards the objective of the program increment. Stories are delivered in the contex of an iteration.

The license package Lean Portfolio Management is required to work with the following use cases, classes, and business questions:

• The use case Agile Transformation must be activated to work with the classes Operational Value Stream, Value Stream Step, Developmental Value Stream, and Value Stream Group and the business question How are we executing our strategy?
• The use case Portfolio Backlog Management must be activated to work with the classes Epic, Epic Group, Feature, and User Story and the business questions How do we manage our portfolio flow? and How do we manage our program flow?
• The use case Agile Implementation must be activated to work with the classes Agile Release Train, Iteration, and Program Increment.