Task: Identify Components |
Receive and review requests for a portfolio, identifying components and supplying detailed information for each component.
Purpose
To ensure that all components considered for inclusion in the portfolio contain a minimum set of relevant information, which is required to categorize and evaluate each component. To ensure that only qualified requests (quality inputs) are transitioned to the next step.
Relationships
Roles | Primary: Portfolio Analyst | Additional: | Assisting:
Inputs | Mandatory: Components List Strategic Business Plan | Optional: Competitive Analysis Ideas and Requests List Market Analysis Report Win-Loss Review | External: None
Outputs | Components List Ideas and Requests List
Main Description
This is the initial task performed when defining and prioritizing components for a portfolio, where all work requests are received and reviewed. The primary outcome of this task is a clean start to the request processing. Quality input ensures that only qualified ideas and requests are put into the portfolio funnel with the purpose to set the proper conditions for effective and efficient management of demands put on the portfolio. This means that at anytime during this task, an idea or request could be rejected for further processing.
Steps
Capture ideas or requests
Identify the idea or request and describe it by using predefined attributes. Requests and ideas can originate from different sources, both internal and external to the organization, such as existing customers, potential customers, research and development, and marketing. Fill out preliminary data that helps to describe the idea or request, such as its source, short description, benefit, and so forth. See the definition of ideas and requests.
Develop idea or request information
Continuously gather data about the request to ensure that enough information is available to help decide if the request is valid and appropriate.
Classify ideas or requests into work types
Classify the requests or ideas to a predefined work type, such as defects, enhancement requests, or new products. This is the first classification effort to tag the ideas and requests to a specific work type so they can be further grouped and analyzed with similar ideas or requests.
Bundle ideas or requests into candidate components
Once there is enough information about the various ideas and requests, bundle them together into candidate components. Promote single ideas or requests to become a candidate component, depending on the minimal criteria defined by the portfolio structures and metrics.
Validate candidate components
Ensure that there is enough information available for the component to validate whether the component is a relevant candidate. You need to be able to decide whether it is in line with corporate and product strategy, whether the component will bring benefits to the organization, and so on. The validation step could result in the rejection of an idea or request that does not meet the minimal standards or criteria defined for ideas or requests. In some cases, stakeholders (such as customers) should be informed about the reasons for the rejection.
Properties
Multiple Occurrences |
Event Driven |
Ongoing |
Optional |
Planned |
Repeatable |
Key Considerations
Work requests can contain work of varied size and complexity and can take one of the following forms: Strategic product requests Product enhancements User requests and production support
More Information
Concepts | Work Pipeline
Tool Mentors | Managing Ideas with IBM Rational Focal Point
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1987, 2009. All Rights Reserved.