What are the key components of an agile application development portfolio?

1 Vision and Strategy

The first component of an agile application development portfolio is a clear and compelling vision and strategy that defines the purpose, direction, and value proposition of your software products. Your vision and strategy should answer questions like: What problems are you solving for your customers? How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? What are your short-term and long-term goals? How do you measure your success? Your vision and strategy should guide your portfolio decisions and communicate your expectations to your stakeholders.

2 Portfolio Backlog

The second component of an agile application development portfolio is a portfolio backlog, which is a prioritized list of high-level features, capabilities, and outcomes that you want to deliver through your software products. Your portfolio backlog should be aligned with your vision and strategy and reflect the needs and feedback of your customers and users. Your portfolio backlog should also be dynamic and flexible, meaning that you can add, remove, or reorder items based on changing requirements, opportunities, and risks.

3 Portfolio Governance

The third component of an agile application development portfolio is a portfolio governance, which is a set of roles, responsibilities, processes, and tools that help you manage your portfolio effectively and efficiently. Your portfolio governance should enable you to: Monitor and evaluate your portfolio performance and progress; Balance your portfolio resources and dependencies; Manage your portfolio risks and issues; Coordinate and align your portfolio teams and stakeholders; Review and adjust your portfolio plans and priorities. Your portfolio governance should also foster a culture of collaboration, transparency, and feedback among your portfolio participants.

4 Portfolio Architecture

The fourth component of an agile application development portfolio is a portfolio architecture, which is a high-level design of your software products that describes how they are structured, integrated, and deployed. Your portfolio architecture should support your vision and strategy and enable your portfolio backlog. Your portfolio architecture should also be agile and scalable, meaning that you can evolve and adapt it to changing technical requirements, standards, and practices. Your portfolio architecture should also be consistent and coherent, meaning that you can ensure the quality, security, and reliability of your software products.

5 Portfolio Delivery

The fifth component of an agile application development portfolio is a portfolio delivery, which is the process of developing, testing, releasing, and maintaining your software products. Your portfolio delivery should follow the agile principles and values and implement the agile practices and techniques that suit your context and needs. Your portfolio delivery should also be customer-centric and value-driven, meaning that you can deliver software products that meet or exceed your customer expectations and provide business value. Your portfolio delivery should also be iterative and incremental, meaning that you can deliver software products in small batches that can be validated and improved.

6 Portfolio Learning

The sixth and final component of an agile application development portfolio is a portfolio learning, which is the practice of collecting, analyzing, and applying feedback and data from your portfolio activities and outcomes. Your portfolio learning should help you: Assess and improve your portfolio performance and quality; Identify and capture your portfolio best practices and lessons learned; Discover and exploit your portfolio opportunities and innovations; Resolve and prevent your portfolio problems and challenges. Your portfolio learning should also promote a culture of experimentation, adaptation, and continuous improvement among your portfolio participants.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?