Summary

Here's a summary of the key points from the briefing on portfolio management:

1. Portfolio management is a process for managing a collection of product investments (offerings or value streams) to ensure they align with organizational strategy and are optimally funded.

2. The two main questions portfolio management answers are: Are we building the right things? Is our investment in those things appropriate?

3. There are two main sub-practices:

   • Portfolio Review: Assessing the current state of offerings

   • Portfolio Analysis: Evaluating gaps, lifecycle balance, and making decisions

4. Key tools/frameworks mentioned:

   • BCG Growth-Share Matrix for analyzing product performance

   • Product Lifecycle stages for assessing portfolio balance

   • Financial metrics like IRR and NPV for comparing investments

5. Best practices include:

   • Separating incubation and evolution portfolios

   • Conducting reviews in-person

   • Publishing transparent results

   • Having clear accountability for the process

6. Common challenges:

   • Lack of clear business motivation/strategy

   • Difficulty getting good data in large organizations

   • Lack of executive commitment to timely decisions

7. Leadership's role:

   • Initiate and enforce the process

   • Provide clear motivation and strategy

   • Make timely decisions

   • Fill the "motivation gap" between high-level vision and product-level plans

8. Product managers should:

   • Lead in representing their product

   • Prepare business cases/plans

   • Involve key stakeholders in portfolio presentations

     
     

The briefing emphasizes that effective portfolio management is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and optimizing investments in product development.