This is older post but here is how I manage my teams demand
I have a record producer that creates Demand Records. Most people have come to expect if you are scheduling a meeting with me I should have a demand item already submitted. Newer requestors get grace the first time or two before I won't show up to a meeting unless the requestor is my boss, VP or Director. They get a little more leeway. If it's a quick question less, then 5-10Mins I don't require a demand. I review all the demand for an initial T-Shirt size between XS - XXL. XS, S, M fall under small enhancements and L, XL, XXL are Strategic Initiatives and prioritize by the governance team. Most of those are tracked as a project but not all.
For Small Enhancements - I meet with each of SME/Process Lead/Functional area every two weeks or at least try to but each group is a little unique. ex: HR, IT, EMPO, Marketing, Finance etc. We go through anything new that came in from/for their area that has been identified as a small enhancement. We approve and prioritize those items. I use SAFe agile framework because my brain needs a feature. So I use Epic, Features and Stories depending on how large of a small enhancement it is. Every story gets a feature but not every feature gets an Epic. Features become my release record for our change request
In Strategic Planning Workspace I have a filtered Portfolio plan for each team to help drag around the items for prioritization. I do wish it was a little more user friendly between the planning item and the demand items. That part is a bit annoying, but it does allow for easier prioritization.
While I want to get out of Just in Time story writing it's really hard with just one main person writing stories and 3 devs between our partner an my internal team. However, most of the time I am getting final approvals right before Sprint Planning. Hoping to hire a product owner/BA style resource this year or next to help because I just have WAYYYY to much demand to get through it all myself. Here is a snipit of my dashboard that helps me do my best to stay on top of it. However, it doesn't always happen. The number don't always match up if I have new demand I haven't t-shirt sized yet.
