Azure DevOps and Portfolio Management: 3-Day Workshop

Led by the creators of Portfolio++™, this workshop will guide you through the process of utilizing Azure DevOps for Portfolio Management and Planning. The primary objective of this workshop is to establish an Azure DevOps Organization that embodies your work and facilitates Portfolio Management. This process involves an evaluation of an existing Azure DevOps implementation or the creation of a brand-new Azure DevOps Organization. Key topics include organization structure and recommended approaches for defining work. Once complete, the next objective is to explore Portfolio Management techniques and tools to enhance communication and collaboration during Program, Project, and Team meetings. We will cover topics such as estimation, velocity, capacity planning, forecasting, and team metrics. Finally, we will demonstrate how these tools contribute to effective Program Management through Roadmaps and Kanban views. Each hands-on session builds on the accomplishments of the previous session. The three days of the workshop can be scheduled consecutively or individually, at your discretion.

Day 1 – Assess your Azure DevOps Organization

Together, we will discuss the scope and scale of your business, and how to configure it through Azure DevOps Features such as:

• OKRs, business domains, platforms, and projects (Projects / Areas)
• Teams (Teams, Permissions)
• Development processes (Process Templates)
• Identify work: major initiatives and outcomes (Epics/Features)

We will also address common “anti-patterns” and issues that hinder effective collaboration among developers, project managers, and contributors.

Day 2 – Work Planning

Once work is defined, we will guide you through estimating and planning. We will also discuss team agreements and conventions in Azure DevOps, which promote consistent use of Boards, making work easier to find, and understand. You will move Work-items into iteration paths, based on discussions regarding team velocity and capacity. Focus areas include:

• Work Estimation (Story Points, Effort)
• Work Planning (Iteration Path)
• Velocity and Capacity Planning (Sprint: Taskboard, Backlog, Capacity, Analytics)

Day 3 – DevOps and Portfolio Management

In the final stage, we will explore best practices for building a DevOps culture that enables Portfolio Management. As you adopt DevOps and Portfolio Management, you may face challenges compared to your current approach to technology solution delivery. A DevOps culture evolves from agreements, effective communication, and routine collaboration points. In addition to Azure DevOps, we will use the Portfolio++ extension and discuss:

• Teamwork, agreements, and planning (Epic/Feature Timeline)
• Portfolio Management (Roadmaps, Kanban)
• Program Increment and Release Management (Dependencies, Milestones)
• Quality Assurance (Program Status)
• “Done” and “Good Enough”

The services provided in this offering will be performed on a time and materials basis. Variables that will determine the final price include the number of teams, users, projects and process templates. iTrellis can also extend the length of the workshop to cover extra topics at additional cost.

iTrellis creates innovative and impactful technology solutions for startups and Fortune 100 companies. As the creators of Portfolio++, iTrellis is offering this Azure DevOps workshop to help your team deliver.