{"id":1169,"date":"2025-11-19T12:06:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T10:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/?page_id=1169"},"modified":"2025-11-28T19:07:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T17:07:36","slug":"portfolio-alignment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/tech\/portfolio-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"Portfolio alignment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull is-light wp-duotone-green\" style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);min-height:50px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"931\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-782 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad.jpg\" style=\"object-position:80% 14%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"80% 14%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad-800x388.jpg 800w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/office-table-with-cup-coffee-keyboard-notepad-1536x745.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim has-background-gradient\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(90deg,rgb(255,255,255) 34%,rgba(255,255,255,0.58) 65%,rgba(255,0,0,0) 99%)\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-99cca8a2 wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\"><nav style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;line-height:1\" class=\"has-text-color has-base-color items-justified-center alignwide wp-block-navigation is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-navigation-is-layout-72be065f wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"Technology \u2013 Level 2\"><ul style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;line-height:1\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__container has-text-color has-base-color items-justified-center alignwide wp-block-navigation\"><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/360-degree-visbility\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Visbility<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/mapping\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Dependencies<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tooling\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Tooling<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tools-people-process-progress\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Tech-conundrum<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h1 style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-left:0;margin-right:0\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color wp-elements-49031cb4b1744a129271dd1611534cc4 wp-block-post-title has-text-color has-contrast-color\">Portfolio alignment<\/h1>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1467\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Portfolio-alignment-1920x1467.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1498\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:600px;height:450px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Portfolio-alignment-1920x1467.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Portfolio-alignment-800x611.jpg 800w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Portfolio-alignment-768x587.jpg 768w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Portfolio-alignment-1536x1174.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Portfolio-alignment-2048x1565.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Portfolio alignment is about connecting what teams are doing on the ground with what is being decided in Exco. It is one of the trickiest things to get right within a business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typically, boardroom strategy is disseminated into large programmes within the business, which are then broken down into projects, then into teams, and lastly into the work individuals do on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The challenge for most Excos is that, while the strategy aims to define the roadmap for the business, they often only have lag measures available to determine whether the company is on track. The reporting and visualisation of goals, together with the alignment of departments and teams around those goals, is where the real complexity lies. The more steps there are between Exco and the individual working in a team, the more opportunity there is for misalignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Models like the Scaled Agile Framework and tools like Product Increments which allow programmes to be broken up into three-month cycles. If the tooling is correctly set up, the business can layer its hierarchy of activity in the following way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. Strategic Objective<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; The \u201cwhy\u201d at portfolio level (e.g. Increase customer retention to 90%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. Portfolio Initiative<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; Large investments tied to a strategic objective.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; Often cross-team and cross-product (e.g. Customer Loyalty Modernisation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. Project \/ Capability Group<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; A coherent body of work under an initiative (e.g. New Rewards Engine).<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; Use \u201cProject\u201d if your organisation is project-oriented; \u201cCapability\u201d if it is more product\/BAU-oriented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. Deliverable \/ Capability<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; Something tangible the business can use (e.g. Tiered Points Rules Engine, Customer Rewards Dashboard).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">5. Work Item \/ Activity<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; The actual work people do to build the deliverables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">6. Sub-activity \/ Step<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; &#8211; Smaller units or checklist items within an activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our tooling example, we show how this can be layered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1062\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hierarchy-of-tasks-1-1920x1062.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hierarchy-of-tasks-1-1920x1062.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hierarchy-of-tasks-1-800x442.jpg 800w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hierarchy-of-tasks-1-768x425.jpg 768w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hierarchy-of-tasks-1-1536x849.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Hierarchy-of-tasks-1-2048x1133.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This allows Exco to move from relying only on lag measures to using lead measures as well. They can implement real-time reporting from the tooling, which will roll up into a live scoreboard showing how the strategy is progressing. This will either give them the information they are looking for or highlight that something is out of sync in the business workflow, thereby creating a cadence of accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Executives can then drill down into areas of misalignment and unblock the things that are preventing teams on the ground from aligning with the strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the framework is established and operating across the organisation, the business can then cycle through a process of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211; Planning<br>&#8211; Launching a product or service<br>&#8211; Driving uptake<br>&#8211; Optimising the product or service<br>&#8211; Habitualising the go-to-market process within the organisation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Th1nk helps executives with the process of setting up portfolio management and optimising it within the organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide tools is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-086dc8cf wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center has-border-color has-accent-5-border-color has-aspect-ratio wp-duotone-green\" style=\"border-style:solid;border-width:2px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);min-height:300px;aspect-ratio:auto;min-height:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"470\" height=\"600\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1319 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-watch.png\" data-object-fit=\"cover\"\/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-custom-green-background-color has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c05ca53 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tooling-example\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"470\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-watch.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1319\" style=\"width:60px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dcd278a1037bea652a5b8d51bf827ecf\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/tooling-example\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1164\">Tooling&nbsp;example<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center has-border-color has-accent-5-border-color has-aspect-ratio wp-duotone-green\" style=\"border-style:solid;border-width:2px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);aspect-ratio:auto;min-height:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"888\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1318 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png\" style=\"object-position:69% 0%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"69% 0%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png 706w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator-636x800.png 636w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-custom-green-background-color has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c05ca53 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/experience\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"888\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1318\" style=\"width:81px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator.png 706w, https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/buoyancy-compensator-636x800.png 636w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c90eb5b5420d7aa719fd70b0d590f73a\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/experience\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1167\">Experience<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center has-border-color has-accent-5-border-color has-aspect-ratio wp-duotone-green\" style=\"border-style:solid;border-width:2px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);aspect-ratio:auto;min-height:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"241\" height=\"784\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1317 size-full\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-tank.png\" style=\"object-position:32% 0%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"32% 0%\"\/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-custom-green-background-color has-background-dim-90 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c05ca53 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"min-height:100px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/portfolio-alignment\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"241\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/scuba-tank.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1317\" style=\"width:32px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size has-base-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2faf2bb036c0b477b973ffb970debd50\"><a href=\"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/tech\/portfolio-alignment\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1169\">Portfolio alignment<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Portfolio alignment is about connecting what teams are doing on the ground with what is being decided in Exco. It is one of the trickiest things to get right within a business. Typically, boardroom strategy is disseminated into large programmes within the business, which are then broken down into projects, then into teams, and lastly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":516,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1169","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1500,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1169\/revisions\/1500"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/th1nk.co.za\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}