Agile Portfolio Analysis for PMO Analysts Training Course
| Course code | SD-AP-017 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 days |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Category | Agile & PMO |
| Delivery | Classroom or live online |
| Language | English |
| Certificate | Certificate of completion |
Course overview
PMO analysts are increasingly asked to reconcile two planning realities: executive demand for reliable investment decisions and delivery teams operating through Agile increments, backlogs and changing priorities. Traditional portfolio reports often show spend, milestones and resource plans but fail to explain whether funded initiatives are producing measurable outcomes, where dependencies are constraining flow, or which work should be stopped. This course equips analysts to turn Agile delivery data into decision-grade portfolio insight without forcing teams back into stage-gate reporting.
Participants learn how to structure a portfolio around strategic themes, value streams, products and initiatives; define outcome-based investment hypotheses; and create a consistent data model across roadmaps, epics, features, teams and releases. The course covers capacity allocation, lean business cases, portfolio Kanban, dependency analysis, prioritisation using WSJF and cost of delay, forecast confidence, value-stream metrics, and visual reporting. Participants practise distinguishing delivery activity from realised value and producing concise analysis for portfolio reviews.
Instruction combines analyst-led demonstrations, worked calculations, portfolio-data exercises and a running case study based on a multi-product transformation portfolio. Participants use Jira Align, Jira Software and Power BI-style portfolio views to examine demand, delivery flow, funding and benefits. By the end of the week, each participant produces an Agile Portfolio Analysis Pack containing a portfolio taxonomy, prioritisation model, dependency map, KPI dashboard specification, investment-review narrative and a 90-day implementation plan for their own PMO.
This intermediate course is designed for analysts who already support portfolio, programme or transformation reporting and now need to work credibly with Agile product and delivery teams. It is equally valuable for PMO managers seeking a repeatable analytical approach that improves investment governance while preserving Agile ways of working.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Design a portfolio data model linking strategic themes, value streams, initiatives, epics, features and delivery teams
- Apply Weighted Shortest Job First and cost-of-delay analysis to rank competing portfolio investments
- Build a portfolio Kanban policy that visualises demand, approval, implementation and benefit-realisation states
- Calculate capacity allocation, throughput, cycle time and forecast-confidence measures from Agile delivery data
- Map cross-team dependencies and identify bottlenecks using dependency matrices and flow analysis
- Create an outcome-based lean business case with hypotheses, leading indicators, costs and review triggers
- Specify a Power BI portfolio dashboard that combines investment, delivery-flow, risk and benefits measures
- Produce an Agile Portfolio Analysis Pack for an executive investment-review meeting
Benefits of attending
For you
- Gain a repeatable method for analysing Agile portfolios beyond milestone and traffic-light reporting
- Build credibility with executives by presenting prioritisation, flow and value evidence in investment-review language
- Learn to challenge weak business cases using measurable hypotheses, review triggers and cost-of-delay logic
- Create portfolio dashboard specifications that can be handed confidently to PMO reporting or BI teams
- Develop a tangible analysis pack that demonstrates readiness for senior portfolio analyst and PMO roles
For your organisation
- Improves funding decisions by connecting strategic themes and expected outcomes to portfolio demand
- Reduces investment in low-value work through transparent WSJF, cost-of-delay and stop-or-pivot criteria
- Exposes cross-team dependency risks before they become release, benefits or budget overruns
- Creates more consistent portfolio reporting across Agile teams, products, programmes and value streams
- Gives leadership a practical dashboard and review cadence for assessing delivery flow alongside realised benefits
Target competencies
Who should attend
- Portfolio Analysts — who must convert Agile delivery data into investment recommendations and portfolio reports
- PMO Analysts — who need to redesign governance reporting for product, programme and value-stream delivery
- Programme Analysts — who track dependencies, capacity and outcomes across multiple Agile teams
- Portfolio Office Managers — who need consistent prioritisation and review methods for enterprise change portfolios
- Transformation Office Analysts — who must evidence progress, benefits and delivery risks for strategic initiatives
- Business Planning Analysts — who support funding choices across digital products, projects and operational change
Requirements and prerequisites
Participants should have practical experience preparing PMO, programme or portfolio reports and be comfortable interpreting schedules, budgets, risks, dependencies and resource data. Familiarity with Agile concepts such as backlogs, epics, features, user stories, Scrum or Kanban is expected; participants do not need to be Scrum Masters or product owners. Basic spreadsheet skills are required, including sorting, filtering and simple formulas. Exposure to Jira, Azure DevOps or a similar work-management platform is helpful. No coding, advanced Power BI development, SAFe certification or prior Jira Align administration experience is required.
Training methodology
The course uses short instructor-led briefings followed by hands-on portfolio analysis in a realistic enterprise case. Participants work with initiative, epic, capacity, dependency and benefits data to make prioritisation decisions, configure portfolio views and draft reporting narratives. Group workshops simulate an investment review where participants defend recommendations using WSJF, flow metrics and outcome evidence. Jira Align and Jira Software examples show how source data is structured, while Power BI exercises focus on dashboard requirements rather than technical report development. The final session converts course outputs into an individual workplace application plan.
Course outline
Day 1: Agile portfolio foundations and data architecture
- Agile portfolio management versus project portfolio control
- Strategic themes, value streams, products and investment horizons
- Portfolio taxonomy for initiatives, epics, features and enablers
- Linking OKRs, outcomes, benefits and delivery backlogs
- Portfolio data quality rules and source-system ownership
- Jira Software hierarchy and issue-linking structures
- Jira Align portfolio entities and roadmap relationships
Workshop: Participants assess a fragmented portfolio dataset and produce a target taxonomy and data-definition sheet for the case organisation.
Day 2: Demand analysis and investment prioritisation
- Portfolio intake criteria and demand classification
- Lean business cases and investment hypotheses
- Cost of delay components and scoring assumptions
- Weighted Shortest Job First calculation and sensitivity testing
- Capacity allocation by strategic theme and value stream
- Portfolio Kanban states, policies and service-level expectations
- Stop, pivot, continue and defer decision criteria
Workshop: Participants score a set of competing initiatives using WSJF and produce a ranked investment recommendation with stated assumptions.
Day 3: Delivery flow, dependencies and forecast confidence
- Flow metrics for portfolio-level analysis
- Throughput, cycle time, work in progress and ageing work
- Capacity-versus-demand analysis across delivery teams
- Dependency matrices and dependency heat maps
- Critical dependency paths across products and releases
- Forecast confidence using historical delivery performance
- Risk signals from blocked work and unplanned demand
Workshop: Participants build a dependency map and flow-based risk assessment that identifies the constraints affecting a planned portfolio release.
Day 4: Portfolio reporting and benefits evidence
- Executive portfolio questions and decision-oriented reporting
- Leading and lagging indicators for outcome measurement
- Benefits-realisation profiles and evidence thresholds
- Investment burn, budget variance and forecast-at-completion views
- Power BI portfolio dashboard requirements
- Narrative reporting for exceptions, trade-offs and decisions
- Portfolio review cadences and escalation routes
Workshop: Participants create a dashboard specification and one-page executive portfolio review narrative from the case-study data.
Day 5: Operating the Agile portfolio analysis function
- PMO analyst roles in Lean Portfolio Management
- Governance guardrails that preserve team autonomy
- Data refresh cycles and portfolio reporting controls
- Stakeholder mapping for finance, product, delivery and leadership
- Portfolio analysis operating calendar and meeting inputs
- Analyst quality assurance checklists and audit trails
- Ninety-day adoption roadmap for Agile portfolio reporting
Workshop: Participants assemble and present their Agile Portfolio Analysis Pack, then complete a 90-day implementation plan for their own PMO environment.
Tools & standards covered
Jira Align, Jira Software, Microsoft Power BI, SAFe Lean Portfolio Management
A typical training day
| 08:30 – 10:30 | First session |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Refreshment break |
| 10:45 – 12:30 | Second session |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch and networking |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Third session |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Refreshment break |
| 15:15 – 16:30 | Workshop and daily review |
Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.
What the fee includes
- Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
- Full course workbook and materials
- Exercise files, templates and case studies
- Certificate of completion
- Refreshments and lunch (classroom deliveries)
- Post-course application plan
- Facilitator follow-up on request
- Group rates from five participants
How you can take this course
Classroom
Scheduled sessions in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, Dubai and Cape Town.
Live online
The same facilitator and materials, delivered live for distributed teams and individuals.
In-house
Delivered privately for your team, at your offices or a venue of your choice, tailored to your context. Request a proposal.
Certification
Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.
Frequently asked questions
Upcoming sessions
New dates are being scheduled. Ask us about the next session or an in-house delivery for your team.
Ask about datesGroup of 5+?
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