“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” — Peter Druker, the management guru who thought about Agile even before it existed.
This is the simple principle that has driven a value stream management (VSM) company to build an army of Agile workforce and create solutions that enable software development companies to remove waste and become more predictable. As in the words of its President & COO Lance Knight, “You see waste, eliminate it. But, first, you need visibility. And ConnectALL will enable you to do just that.”
ConnectALL, a value stream management company, helps organizations see, measure, and automate their software delivery value streams, and achieve higher levels of agility, traceability, predictability, and velocity. ConnectALL’s services and solutions help organizations to connect people, processes, and technology across the software development and delivery value stream, enabling them to find and remove waste and become more predictable in how they deliver and develop software to their customers.
In five years, ConnectALL has emerged as one of the truest practitioners, educators, and enablers of the use of value stream management, outdoing all other solution providers who have either been in the space for a long time or made an entry by fluke or coincidence. From analysts, competitors, influencers, and media houses to IT stalwarts, customers, and partners, everyone has been shell-shocked by ConnectALL’s consistent dedication to advocating the use of value stream management.
And what more than a recognition: “In an age where everyone wants to be everything, ConnectALL proudly focuses on doing one thing well: Value stream management” — Alan Shimel, Techstrong Group Founder and CEO. This was a reaction to ConnectALL being voted as the Best Value Stream Management Tool in the DevOps Dozen Awards 2022 — the third year that this category made its way into the Award. ConnectALL’s predecessors were Digital.ai and Cloudbees.
“The work done for the last few years through 2022 is so significant and we are now seeing the results. We are proud of it and we will continue to celebrate our win” — Lance Knight, President & COO
[Read more here: ConnectALL Recognized as Best Value Stream Management Tool]
Additionally, ConnectALL was named a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™: Value Stream Management, Q4 2022, receiving a 5/5 rating in the tool integration criterion, and the second highest score in the capturing data, metrics, and KPIs criterion. As stated in the report, “ConnectALL delivers a solid VSM offering that customers appreciate. “It’s been eye-opening,” one customer noted. Its high-scoring market approach is winning new clients and includes the free use of a value stream mapping tool. ConnectALL is a good choice for enterprises engineering teams that can benefit from advanced metrics and a solid tool integration strategy.”
[Want to find out what makes ConnectALL the ideal value stream management solution provider? Access The Forrester Wave™: Value Stream Management, Q4 2022]
But, it wasn’t rosy! “We had this great product and everybody was sitting up and listening to us, yet, there was a block. It did not take me long to realize what that block is. Everyone was wearing a blinder and was being misdirected about what value stream management can do for them. We had to correct that and that’s what we did,” said Lance Knight.
When it started, ConnectALL was an integration platform that could connect tools and synchronize information — but with the same intent — to help businesses improve visibility.
And today, it is a full-fledged value stream management platform that turns chaos into predictability in software delivery.
A quick flashback: Several years ago when value stream management was a new word in the software world
It is 2017 and the software world is in the throes of a DevOps tool explosion. Lance Knight, a software veteran, wants to do his part and join the consortium of influencers who are touting value (stream) management as the solution, but they demand his arm and leg when Lance was ready to give his expertise to strategize and execute using Lean and Agile. But this was good — good cause something great was in store. Finally, Lance gets his chance when he joins forces with a company that had the same vision to empower humans in software to tackle the tooling problem and beyond. Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and armed with value stream management, he became the force that led ConnectALL, a value stream management company, through a revolution, helping businesses accelerate their software delivery, and implement Agile transformation, DevOps, and digital transformation.
[Read more about ConnectALL’s vision: ConnectALL – Enabling Software Development Companies to Remove Waste and Become More Predictable with Their Value Stream Solution]
Cut to now…
How ConnectALL has become a changing force in the value stream management space and software delivery
In a rapidly changing, chaotic, and unpredictable software world, the need is to empower humans to visualize and control a business’s flow from customer requests to customer usage. Leading companies are becoming predictable by implementing value stream management and according to a leading analyst firm, 93% of companies will adopt or expand their value stream management use by 2024. With companies adopting value stream management as a means to improve flow across their software delivery value stream, visibility needs to be simplified rather than complicated.
And in this race to provide that simplified solution, the value stream management space has been heating up faster than it is being defined. In pursuit of this hotness, there are now over 20 small, mid-sized, and large companies that claim to provide value stream management solutions, but are all of them helping with digital transformation goals, DevOps initiatives, or Agile transformation? Or have they simply jumped on the bandwagon and pitched their previously unrelated tool as the key to “doing” value stream management?
From analysts to influencers, value stream management has been either misconstrued, ill-defined or completely misunderstood. The real value of value stream management is in realizing the “human” aspect of practicing lean principles. Most companies have partial offerings — some have integration capabilities, some have metrics capabilities, and some say AI and ML are the future. But, are companies benefiting from using value stream management platforms the way they claim?
The bitter truth is that most value stream management solution providers (including some big names) are only focused on one small part of the value stream — yet, they are lauded as leaders in the space — absolving them of having a half-baked offering. This incorrect perspective is hurting businesses that are unable to implement value stream management as it is truly meant to be.
And this is where ConnectALL plays a major role in cutting through the noise and addressing the misconception that the “consortium of value stream management influencers” have created. ConnectALL seriously cares about helping companies and employees be more efficient, less stressed, and ultimately bringing predictability to their software delivery.
How does ConnectALL do this? It has a value stream management platform, which has three major products — value stream automation, value stream insights, and value stream designer. Other than its products, ConnectALL offers services and solutions that are designed to make companies comfortable using value stream management.
[ConnectALL launched its 2.11 version. Find out more about its enhanced capabilities]
“The concept has been there for ages but that’s manufacturing. Software development and delivery is complex. We have designed thought leadership programs, events, webinars (tech and thought leadership), and panel discussions that educate people on the various aspects of value stream management. Our thought leaders reach out far and wide — attending and conducting workshops, talks, and presenting papers. As ConnectALL is designed for an enterprise — it is also essential that we take care of every human in that enterprise — so we keep that in mind. Whether you are a developer or a CIO, you will learn how this will benefit you. From strengthening our automation capabilities to providing a streamlined insights product, we are continuously improving the platform” In addition, ConnectALL has been building a value stream management community.
[Access our library of assets and videos and webinars on-demand that gives you the information you need to get started with value stream management]
Building a value stream management community
From a complimentary value stream designer and value stream assessments to training and workshops, ConnectALL is spearheading a movement that will take different forms as the years go by. “The software world is constantly evolving and we intend to evolve with it, adapt it and come up with solutions.”
[Register now on valuestreammanagement.com and start using the value stream designer]
What is the secret sauce to being the best value stream management tool?
In President & COO Lance Knight’s words, “It was about accelerating agility to the next level. To be able to go internal and come out with something mindblowing. At ConnectALL, we go into hyper-work modes, where we go rogue and create. We listen – carefully — and then we create. When we are not creating, we are networking to connect with people and use every possible resource to advance our product in different ways.”
Want to find out more about ConnectALL and how we can help? Just pick up the phone and dial us or email us! Let’s talk!
Head of Content Marketing at ConnectALL, responsible for communication and content marketing strategy. For two decades, I’ve assisted businesses to integrate content marketing into their marketing plans to achieve their business goals. I specialize in creating and developing content (inbound and outbound) across various online and offline channels from websites, blogs, and social media to email marketing and marketing communication collateral.
