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IDC 1225 I D C C U S T O M E R S P O T L I G H T A g i l e P o r t f o l i o M a n a g e m e n t : G e t t y I m a g e s G a i n s V i s i b i l i t y a n d A l i g n m e n t w i t h K a n b a n P o r t f o l i o s December 2011 Sponsored by Rally Software

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In the rapidly evolving landscape of software development and business operations, effective portfolio management has become vital for organizations adopting Agile methodologies. The case of Getty Images exemplifies how integrating Agile Project Portfolio Management (PPM) tools, particularly Rally Portfolio Manager, significantly enhances visibility, prioritization, and delivery of IT projects aligned with strategic business objectives.

Typically, organizations struggle with static planning approaches that hinder responsiveness to changing demands and create visibility gaps. Getty Images, a leader in digital imagery and multimedia content with a workforce of around 2,000 employees, recognized that traditional project management methods and existing PPM tools were inadequate for managing the dynamic flow of Agile projects. The company transitioned from conventional methods to Agile and Lean practices approximately three years prior, establishing over twenty Scrum teams to accelerate time-to-market and improve product delivery. However, as the Agile initiatives grew, it became clear that the lack of a comprehensive, flexible portfolio management system would impede further progress.

The primary challenge at Getty Images involved achieving real-time visibility into the status of projects and work queues, which was hampered by ad hoc and siloed approaches. Existing tools did not support the Kanban-based workflows or provide the necessary transparency, resulting in delays, misaligned priorities, and inefficient resource utilization. The company’s management prioritized improving demand management, prioritization processes, and overall project visibility to better adapt to fast-changing business needs.

In response, Getty Images decided to partner with Rally Software on the development of Rally Portfolio Manager—a new product designed to support Agile portfolio management with more flexibility and transparency. The company’s involvement in the beta development allowed tailored features that addressed specific needs, including Kanban support, enterprise rollups of Agile data, and dynamic planning capabilities. This collaborative development approach was crucial in creating a tool that seamlessly integrated with existing Agile workflows, primarily managed through Rally’s Agile ALM platform.

The implementation of Rally Portfolio Manager marked a significant shift. The company moved away from rigid, quarter-based planning towards a more adaptable model emphasizing weekly assessments and real-time data updates. Teams could now "pull" work into development based on capacity, aligning with Kanban principles. This dynamic planning enabled Getty Images to focus on minimal viable features, decouple planning from delivery, and ensure that work prioritized maximum business value. Consequently, teams experienced less churn, improved throughput—estimated at a 20% increase—and more predictable delivery schedules.

One of the most notable benefits was enhanced visibility. By pulling data from Rally Portfolio Manager and visualizing it on Kanban boards and corporate wikis, Getty Images gained immediate access to current project status, feature backlog, and resource allocation. This transparency enabled more informed decision-making, better demand balancing across different lines of business—including marketing, e-commerce, and other departments—and improved stakeholder engagement. The flexible platform also allowed the marketing team to adopt RallyZen, a simpler, digestible interface, further democratizing project visibility within the organization.

This integrated approach to Agile portfolio management led to substantial efficiency gains. The company reduced reliance on rigid roadmaps, replaced static timelines with high-level forecasts, and limited detailed commitments to about 60 days, reviewed regularly. This approach minimized false delivery expectations and fostered an environment where teams could respond swiftly to emergent priorities without causing disruption or churn. As a result, Getty Images achieved faster delivery of features, better strategic alignment, and increased customer satisfaction due to more relevant and timely product deployments.

Despite the initial success, Getty Images faced ongoing challenges typical of transitioning to an evolving Agile portfolio management system. Collaborating with Rally Software required organizational adaptation to beta software, which involved dealing with unfinished code and frequent updates. The teams’ engagement in a co-development process, however, proved highly beneficial, resulting in a product tailored to their specific workflows and needs. Continuous improvements, such as better dashboard displays and enhanced cross-project visibility, remain goals for future iterations, highlighting the iterative nature of Agile transformation.

The strategic impact of adopting Rally Portfolio Manager was evident in several core enhancements. First, alignment between business strategy and execution improved through real-time, accurate project data. Second, the organization achieved higher efficiency, with increased throughput and faster cycle times. Third, resource utilization became more transparent, enabling better balancing of workloads across lines of business. This comprehensive transformation underscored the potential for Agile portfolio management tools to support organizations on their journey toward more responsive, transparent, and efficient project delivery models.

In conclusion, Getty Images’ case demonstrates that integrating a tailored Agile PPM platform such as Rally Portfolio Manager significantly boosts organizational agility by providing the necessary tools for dynamic planning, enhanced visibility, and strategic alignment. While challenges remain, particularly regarding ongoing software development and organizational change management, the benefits in terms of improved throughput, reduced waste, and better stakeholder engagement are compelling. The ongoing evolution of such tools and practices promises even greater capacity for organizations to thrive in a competitive, fast-changing digital environment.

References

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