Initiatives and Work Items

Initiatives and Work Items

Initiatives and Work Items are also called Backlog Items.

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Purpose

Initiatives and Work Items are also called Backlog Items. People need to figure out what kinds of initiatives and work items they want to manage on their backlogs. This overview can help them.

Notes

We decided to have only three levels in the unFIX model. It is easy to add additional levels for “features” or “initiatives” and so on.

Rules / Constraints

  • We have not (yet) defined rules or constraints.

Discovery Epic
Delivery Epic
Improvement Epic
Discovery Story
Delivery Story
Improvement Story
Discovery Piece
Delivery Piece
Improvement Piece
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Initiatives versus Objectives
Initiatives versus Objectives

People working with Objectives (for example, with the OKRs framework) seem a bit confused by the concept of Initiatives. Some consultants put Initiatives below Objectives; others put them above. (And most have never heard of Initiatives.)

An Objection to Objectives
An Objection to Objectives

Organizations are addicted to goal-setting. Aiming for what’s new must be balanced with protecting what we have.

You Are a Portfolio Manager (Everyone Is)
You Are a Portfolio Manager (Everyone Is)

If you don't manage your portfolios, you only build but never own.

Initiatives: What Scrum and SAFe Ignored
Initiatives: What Scrum and SAFe Ignored

Anything that you continuously or continually make available to stakeholders is an Initiative. An Initiative never spontaneously disappears. It needs frequent monitoring and regular maintenance.

Hard Agile, Soft Agile, and Not Agile
Hard Agile, Soft Agile, and Not Agile

Labeling every non-pure Agile approach as “waterfall” is not helpful. Big Design Upfront only exists in the first quadrant, which we can indeed label as “Not Agile.”

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“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.”

(Source: Vincent Van Gogh)