About this Presentation
Join us for an insightful presentation where we delve into the case study of a large IT organization in a government department, operating within an Agile/Scrum environment. This department faced significant challenges with a $1.2 billion program that was stalled due to overload, leading to extensive delays and decreased delivery performance in their complex and fast-paced Agile framework. Discover how the organization successfully overcame these hurdles, not by increasing capacity—which was not an option due to the unavailability of IT professionals in the market—but through leveraging innovative strategies, integrating predictive analytics with Theory of Constraints (TOC) insights. This powerful combination enabled the organization to anticipate project bottlenecks, optimize resource allocation, and substantially boost delivery performance from 24% to 85% for the top 50% priority projects, and to 65% for the entire project portfolio, all without the need for additional human resources. Key incentives: 1. Strategic Prioritization: Understand the pivotal role of prioritizing projects or initiatives in a high-stakes environment and how it can significantly impact the flow and success of large-scale programs. 2. Effective Focus on Critical Projects: Explore the techniques used to concentrate efforts on the most crucial projects, ensuring timely and efficient delivery. 3. Resource-Based Scheduling: Gain insights into the novel approach of rescheduling programs based on constraining resources, utilizing the concept of 'Staggering' for optimal resource allocation. This case study is particularly relevant for Agile/Scrum environments, addressing a common challenge: while teams plan their projects and initiatives in detail, management often lacks a comprehensive overview of the total portfolio. This presentation will demonstrate how a strategic, top-down approach, augmented with the synergy of predictive analytics and TOC insights, can complement detailed, team-level planning to achieve remarkable program turnaround, ensuring alignment and efficiency across all levels of the organization. Join Dr. Albert Ponsteen for this session to gain valuable knowledge and strategies that can be applied to similar challenges in your own IT projects and programs, especially in large and complex organizational settings.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Learn why large IT programs often stall when overloaded resources and competing priorities create bottlenecks that mask the real constraint and reduce throughput.
Understand how identifying and protecting the true constraint — rather than optimizing individual parts — can unlock flow and get a stalled program moving again.
See how focused execution, buffer management, and disciplined prioritization help teams make progress despite organizational complexity and resource contention.
Gain insight into practical steps for reorganizing plans, aligning teams, and restoring momentum in mission-critical IT initiatives without increasing overall capacity.
Instructor(s)
Albert Ponsteen
Dr. Albert Ponsteen has progressed from software engineering at firms like Ericsson to leadership in project and program management. A certified TOC expert, he co-founded GLOW-Management B.V., developing Epicflow, innovative resource management software. His Ph.D. research emphasizes synergy between critical chain heuristics and local decision-makers' insights in multi-project environments. Presently, he focuses on integrating AI and predictive analytics in project management and fostering Agile SAFe environments using Jira Align, ensuring seamless integration and strategic alignment in agile transformations.