Rally Software

  • 1.  Adding new portfolio items

    Posted Apr 20, 2017 03:28 PM

    Hello,

    We'd like to add a new Portfolio item into our current list of four.  Is there a best practice for doing so?  Is there a limit as to how many portfolio items we can have?

    thank you

    Donna



  • 2.  Re: Adding new portfolio items

    Posted Apr 21, 2017 02:27 PM

    There is no limit to the number of portfolio items you have.  Portfolio items are in a hierarchical arrangement with Themes at the topmost level, Initiatives at the middle level and Features at the lowest level.  Themes have Initiatives as child objects, Initiatives have Features as child objects and Features have User Stories as child objects.  Themes are the broad VISION components of the portfolio.  Initiatives are those items that will take more than one release of the product to accomplish. Features are small enough to fit in a single release.  That is how you breakdown your vision into smaller and smaller elements, finally getting to a feature that is then broken down into user stories and optionally into individual tasks.

    New Portfolio items should have a short meaningful title and a verbose description of what is envisioned.  To help with planning, also add a preliminary estimate.  The remaining fields can be completed as you move the portfolio item closer to execution.

    Hope that helps.



  • 3.  Re: Adding new portfolio items

    Posted Apr 21, 2017 04:29 PM

    Thank you Dan, so now how do I add new portfolio items into the middle of the group; say between Initiatives and Features?  The only way I know is to rename the current ones to the new names and add new ones with the old names to the top of the list.  That really messes up the current initiatives and features that are linked to them, so I was wondering if there was a better way and to do this and the ramifications of doing so.

    thanks you,

    Donna



  • 4.  Re: Adding new portfolio items

    Posted Apr 21, 2017 04:38 PM

    So, you want to add a new Portfolio Item Type?  That is very difficult, like you mentioned. You can add a new PI Type to the bottom of the list, but the only way to “re-order” them is to rename the ones above it.  I think I would work with someone from CA Support to do that safely.  You will want to do it “off hours” because if anyone is looking at a PI, it can cause errors.

     

     

    Dan Poling, CSSLP®, CSM®

    Senior Principal Engineer,

    Tools and Program Development

    D+H

    t: 503-274-7280 x2234

    dan.poling@dh.com<mailto:dan.poling@dh.com>

    www.dh.com<http://www.dh.com/>

     

    FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES. SOLUTIONS FOR PEOPLE.TM



  • 5.  Re: Adding new portfolio items

    Posted Apr 21, 2017 04:42 PM

    ok - thank you Dan.