Adopting Agile Portfolio Management in one of the Finland’s biggest teleoperator

To increase transparency and flexibility, Elisa identified the need to introduce more agility to portfolio management. “Elisa needed to get a better picture of the priorities of this development area, and also its dependencies,” says Jussi-Pekka Erkkola, Director, ECommerce & Digital Services at Elisa.

Additionally, linking team level development items to the strategy was seen as a significant challenge. “The big picture question is how to ensure better visibility and the ability to prioritize for both management and employees,” says Lari Laine, who works as a Service Manager at Elisa.

Qentinel Finland and Elisa worked on this together by setting a shared vision for agile portfolio management to clearly define the model and outline its objectives for a successful collaboration. “Initially, we came up with a way to facilitate this process, created a portfolio, and then defined operational practices and certain structures at its foundation,” Laine adds.

The companies agreed on clear frameworks and deadlines for this agile experiment. “Based on the situation, we made fixes and updated the process. However, we adhered to a clear template,” says Erkkola. “Right from the start, we divided our work together into phases and we were clear that we would move forward in small steps,” says Tomi Korpela, Elisa’s Head of Customer and Online Solutions, IT.

Overall, the collaboration was classified into two phases — performing the tasks and continuously improving the process. “One phase was portfolio building and related practices, team documentation, and training. The second phase dealt with the development of operations, with a focus on current learnings and the way ahead,” Erkkola points out.

Adopting an agile experiment was a natural step. “At Elisa, we promote a culture of experimentation and encourage people to innovate,” Korpela adds.

The most significant benefit of this initiative was the bold culture of experimentation and continuous feedback brought about by agile portfolio management. “Thanks to experimentation, a new model is constantly being created, which can be updated and corrected as we go forward. Nothing is set in stone; everything can change if necessary,” Laine says.

Erkkola adds, “It has helped us identify weaknesses that we need to address to be better prepared. The quality of development has improved.”

It was also crucial to understand how significant this initiative is for Elisa. “Everyone involved in introducing this portfolio management system knows that it is critical for us,” Korpela says.

When a portfolio is designed for continuous use, there is also room for constant improvement through a process of reflection. “By adopting an MVP approach, we narrowed down our scope to such an extent that we were able to identify bigger challenges which thought would only be solved later. In short, we were always moving forward in the right direction throughout the whole process of building this system,” Korpela says. This is where the advantages of an agile method become clear — value can be created rapidly and in smaller batches.

This new kind of operating culture built through small successes is gaining recognition. “We are doing something important, and we have taken the smallest step forward,” Korpela adds. A curious, open, and positive approach towards an agile model can help further expand the operating model in the future.