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Strategic Themes are differentiating business objectives that connect a portfolio to the strategy of the Enterprise. They influence portfolio strategy and provide business context for portfolio decision-making. DetailsStrategic themes offer a way to align the business strategy of an Enterprise or Government agency with a SAFe portfolio. Working together, enterprise executives and portfolio stakeholders analyze various inputs to establish a set of strategic themes (Figure 1). These are specific, differentiated business goals that communicate aspects of strategic intent from the enterprise to the portfolio. Strategic themes also provide a mechanism for aligning the business strategy of the Enterprise (or Government Agency) to a SAFe solution portfolio, as Figure 2 illustrates. They are the key differentiators that drive the future state of a portfolio. Since strategic themes are a reflection of enterprise strategy, they tend to be relatively stable and don’t change that often. Annual updates seem to work for most enterprises. Figure 2. Strategic themes connect the enterprise strategy to a portfolioThe Influence of Strategic ThemesGiven that strategic themes influence portfolio strategy and provide business context for portfolio decision-making, they affect many things, as illustrated in Figure 3. Specifically, they affect:
Each aspect of Figure 3 is described next. Portfolio VisionStrategic themes are direct inputs to the portfolio vision. They may impact solutions, partners, key activities, customer segments, and revenue streams, and other portfolio business model elements. Investment HorizonsStrategic themes help the portfolio align solution investments with the time horizons of the enterprise. Value Stream Budgets and GuardrailsStrategic themes profoundly influence value stream budgets, which provide the investment and allocation of people needed to accomplish the strategic intent. They trigger the following kinds of questions:
Portfolio Kanban and Portfolio BacklogStrategic themes provide insight into the Epics that are necessary to achieve the vision. Further, they serve as inputs to decision-making criteria in the Portfolio Kanban system, where they:
Vision and Solution, Program, and Team BacklogsStrategic themes have an influence on the vision and backlogs for development at every level. They help determine the values of Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF) that determine epic priorities. Solution and program epics that flow from the portfolio, or arise locally, are also influenced by the current themes. Due to their importance, strategic themes will often be presented (and repeated) by the Business Owners during Program Increment (PI) Planning. Moreover, strategic themes provide vital conceptual alignment across Agile Release Trains and Solution Trains. Defining Strategic ThemesSince strategic themes are a vital tool for communicating the strategy to the entire portfolio, providing a simple, memorable message that influences everyone involved in solution delivery is critical. Strategic themes can be defined by a phrase or by using the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) template. Below are a few examples of strategic themes:
Figure 4 provides an OKR template that can be used to define, organize, and communicate critical information about a strategic theme. “It provides a simple approach to create alignment and engagement around measurable and ambitious goals.” [2] Figure 4. Applying OKRs to define strategic themesThere are two primary fields in the OKR template:
The goal of using OKRs for strategic themes is to define and track their progress through concrete, specific, and measurable actions. “OKRs are frequently set, tracked, and re-evaluated – usually quarterly. OKRs exists to create alignment and to set the cadence for the organization. The goal is to ensure everyone is going in the same direction, with clear priorities, in a constant rhythm.” [2] Learn More[1] Ries, Eric. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Crown Business, 2011. [2] Castro, Felipe. The Beginner’s Guide to OKRs. https://felipecastro.com/en/okr/what-is-okr/ Last update: 21 September 2021 The information on this page is © 2010-2023 Scaled Agile, Inc. and is protected by US and International copyright laws. Neither images nor text can be copied from this site without the express written permission of the copyright holder. Scaled Agile Framework and SAFe are registered trademarks of Scaled Agile, Inc. Please visit Permissions FAQs and contact us for permissions. © 2023 Scaled Agile, Inc. All rights reserved. What are 3 types of strategic themes?Let's look further into each of the three types of strategy that come to mind.. Business Strategy: Customer Experience. ... . Operational Strategy: People & Process. ... . Transformational Strategy: Platform Technology.. What are strategy themes?A strategic theme is an area in which your organization must excel in order to achieve your vision. Developing strategic themes requires considerations of other strategic elements, such as the challenges, enablers, customer value proposition, and other components of the strategic assessment work.
What are strategic themes examples?Strategic themes are often similar from organization to organization. Examples include Business Growth, Operational Excellence, Customer Service Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability.
How many themes does strategic have?Any strategy can usually be broken down into two or three strategic themes. Strategic themes can be thought of as 'pillars of excellence', the high level areas that a company or organisation needs to focus on to excel in its mission and fulfil its vision.
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