Note: Originally published on Forbes I recently was a guest on a podcast and discussed value stream management—the mechanisms of mapping the value stream, understanding flow and removing waste. I thoroughly enjoyed my session and felt that the moderator asked me some really great, thoughtful questions. I talked about one of my favorite quotes famously attributed to Peter Drucker, which is, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” While I agree wholeheartedly with this and have taken that approach throughout my professional career, another one of the quotes I shared was, “You are not managing something …
The Surprising Reality About Software Process Bottlenecks (and How to Address Them More Effectively)
Note: Originally published on LinkedIn Many people liken bottlenecks in software delivery to bottlenecks in manufacturing, and that isn’t an unreasonable comparison. Nevertheless, there are significant differences, not the least of which is that manufacturing bottlenecks tend to be easily identifiable. This is largely due to the measured nature of manufacturing where work flows through specific cells, and it’s pretty evident when one gets jammed up. Software bottlenecks are more complicated to diagnose and resolve because they aren’t always obvious. For example, one process might be two weeks behind, but if it’s at the end of the delivery cycle and …
Not Everything That is Necessary Adds Value
Note: Originally published on DevOps.com Since the Lean production method for manufacturing arose in the 1930s, organizations everywhere have been seeking ways to apply it to reduce waste and increase productivity. This model has served thousands of companies well, from manufacturing and product design to software development. Yet, one difficulty that comes up when discussing or applying Lean in software development is the debate about what is and isn’t considered value-added work. Some people get defensive when certain activities are labeled non-value-add (NVA). Others argue that if a customer expects an activity and is willing to pay for it, it must be value-add …
What role do developers have in value stream management?
From an organizational level, creating and managing value streams plays an important role in eliminating wasteful processes and the time they take, enabling the company to focus on delivering value to their customers.
Every Truth You Need to Know About Value Stream Management
Every year, the software industry is pumped with 10-15 buzzwords. From Big Data, Distributed Cloud, and Artificial Intelligence to Machine Learning, DevOps and Everything as a Service, we have witnessed some of these buzzwords turning into full blown products and services. However, there are some actual practices that are not buzzwords and have been around for decades. One such is Value Stream Management. For several years, ConnectALL’s thought leaders have been talking about how Value Stream Management (VSM), a lean practice, is not new. In fact, every business is applying this at some level or the other while delivering software …
3 Burning Answers to What are the Value Stream Metrics that Matter
Value Stream Metrics: There is no shortage of metrics related to software delivery. From Agile metrics, DevOps, DORA metrics, support, services and operational metrics to lean, value stream, flow metrics, product and predictability metrics, there’s so much hype. Organizations are not confident in selecting metrics and there’s little acknowledgement that one set of metrics might not be all that an organization needs. But, where do you start? How do you decide what measurements would help you analyze the health of your value stream and what changes you’d have to make to manage it? In a recent webinar hosted by DevOps.com, …
Five Truths About Value Stream Management Every Organization on a Digital Transformation Must Know
Value Stream Management is not that complicated if you understand what it is actually solving for your software development and delivery. Like we always say, “it is human”. ConnectALL President and COO Lance Knight has a heart-to-heart conversation with Ron Pereira, Co-founder and Partner at Gemba Academy about value stream management in software development and delivery. Lance addresses some basic and detailed points about the implementation of the lean practice of value stream management in software development. He also addresses the common myths and misconceptions, and what flow means in manufacturing and software development. Here are five, out of many, …
5 Things You’ll Love When You’re Mapping Your Value Stream with the Value Stream Designer
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Sure! That’s a cool quote by Bert Lance. But how do you know if something is broken or not if you can’t see it? Story of everyone’s life in software delivery! But that changes from here on out! You will now be able to see everything crystal clear in your value stream online. The first complimentary Value Stream diagramming tool from a value stream management company is now publicly available. You can go back to the drawing board and diagram your value streams to get complete visibility. Before we delve into all the …