Project Management Office
Executive summary
2026 Guidewire Delivery Improvements
In 2026 the PMO defined the Guidewire delivery workflow from epic selection through release, with a gate at each handoff and live status reporting. The largest remaining gap is before elaboration: how requests come in and how requirements are written.
Draft. Amber tags mark information still needed. Status of each stage to be confirmed.
Delivery workflow
Timing is relative to N = 0, the first day of the development sprint. Select a stage. The panel under the stages changes to show the improvements made for that stage. The rest of the page stays the same.
Gap
Selection to elaboration
Development
Test and release
Selected stage
Before
Improvements made
Remaining work: Request Intake Process
Request intake
Improvement planned · Target: end of Nov 2026Today
- Product Owners submit requests through the intake form as a free-form description.
- There is no standard format for the details and decisions needed to give a request full context and a complete scope.
Issue: Jira tickets are inconsistent in detail, decisions, key impact areas, and scope.
What is planned
- Add a dynamic ticket builder to the intake form. It uses AI to identify gaps in the request and suggest key impact areas to consider.
- The form refers to the Guidewire application guides and Bamboo customizations to help assess the true scope of the change.
- Impact is assessed before elaboration begins, which helps establish the true criticality of the ticket.
- Create a detailed catalog of all applications in the Bamboo ecosystem, so the tool can assess impact across every application during intake.
- Assign a Product Owner to each major application, with authority to make final decisions on changes to it.
Needs
- Target delivery: end of November 2026.
- Staff: who writes requirements
- Decisions: see below.
Changes by stage
Selection to elaboration
| Stage | What changed in 2026 | Status |
|---|---|---|
| PrioritizationBefore N-44 | All Guidewire work is ranked on one list and reviewed with the business every month. Each epic must have a named Product Owner before it can be selected. | Defined |
| Epic selectionN-44 | The PMO selects epics for each sprint 44 days ahead and notifies the Product Owners. Jira creates the BA, Dev, and QA tasks automatically. | Defined |
| PO requirementsN-44 to N-30 | Product Owners have 14 days to complete the requirement in Jira. Each business unit has a named Product Owner and a backup. | Defined |
| BA elaborationN-30 to N-1 | A 30-day elaboration sprint turns each requirement into stories with acceptance criteria. Test design starts here for complex changes. | Defined |
Development and functional testing
| Stage | What changed in 2026 | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dev sprint startN = 0 | Work enters the sprint only if the Product Owner has approved the requirements. Anything else waits for the next sprint. | Defined |
| Build and functional QAN to N+10 | QA writes test cases while development is under way. Status in Jira updates as each task closes. | Defined |
| Code freezeN+10 | Code freeze is fixed at N+10, ten days into every sprint, so regression and UAT run against a stable build. | Defined |
Testing, demo, release
| Stage | What changed in 2026 | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Regression and UATN+11 to N+27 | UAT runs once per release, not per epic. The Product Owner must approve the finished work before it is queued for release. | Defined |
| Go / No-GoN+27 | The release decision is made against published criteria, with a written QA readiness statement. | Defined |
| DeployN+28 | One production release per sprint. The PMO owns the rollback decision. | Defined |
| Verify and closeN+28 to N+29 | QA verifies the release in production. The business confirms the result. | Defined |
Reporting
| Tool | What changed in 2026 | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance trackerAll stages | Live view of all maintenance work by sprint and release, updated from Jira every hour. | In use |
| Executive release viewReleases | One page showing each release as complete, on track, at risk, or off track. | In use |
| Production defect boardDefects | One ranked list of open production defects. | In use |
| Agent issue intakeProduction issues | Agents report system issues through one form. Managers triage from one queue. | In use |
| 2027 capacity planPlanning | 2027 work laid out by track and sized by team. | In progress |
Decisions needed
Approve the AI ticket builder
Approve building the AI ticket builder for the intake form, including the catalog of Bamboo applications it relies on.
Requirements final before elaboration
Epics without complete requirements at N-30 wait for the next sprint.