Hi folks,

We have recently made some updates to SAFe Lean Portfolio Management, and we are committed to keeping you updated as the Framework evolves.  Below are some highlights of the recent changes:

LPM Competency article:

• The guidance for all ‘LPM Events’ has been moved to the article’s end, improving readability.
• Each event’s descriptions were improved, including adding two new graphics. The first figure below (Figure 1) illustrates the cadence of the three LPM events. The second figure (not shown) compares the purpose and typical topics discussed at the portfolio sync and strategic portfolio review.

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) article:

The WSJF article has been updated to improve readability and includes new guidance for estimating Epics in actual monetary value as they make their way through the Portfolio Kanban system.

When estimated job costs are known, WSJF can be further refined by using it for the denominator. In this case, normalizing the cost of epics makes the math work out a lot easier.

To normalize cost, give the lowest estimated epic cost a ‘1.0,’ then divide the cost of subsequent epics by the lowest value (e.g., 1.5/ 0.5 = 3.0), as shown in Figure 1 below.

Stay SAFe,

—Richard Knaster