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
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, ConnectALL’s SVP of …
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 …
Why You Must Make SAP Solution Manager the Cockpit for Your Software Delivery Aircraft
Did you know that most companies that use SAP Solution Manager don’t realize its full potential? If you are using non-SAP applications in your software development ecosystem and have SAP Solution Manager in the mix, it is time you take control of your value stream. And you may ask how and why? SAP Solution Manager is a single application that can work as a cockpit with complete central control of your software development and delivery value stream. It has the capability to manage SAP related features and non-SAP technologies in a single platform. For companies that use SAP Solution Manager …
Six Things People Hate About Value Stream Management (And Why They Should Be Falling in Love)
“But I hate all those things involved in doing that…thing… What do you call it? Oh yeah, value stream management.” Now, that’s a friend’s reaction when I told him that he should implement value stream management in his small business of an app that helps children rent bicycles instead of buying them as they grow older. What a brilliant idea! It’s been two years since the app was launched — the team grew from two to 50, costs grew too, and the business had a nominal number of customers. But the app had lots of bugs, delayed updates/releases, performance of …
Five Reasons You Must Start Visualizing Your Value Stream Now
How many times have you heard this before? Your boss telling you that the organization needs budget cuts, asking you to reduce costs, improve SLAs and quality of products, increase renewal rates and retain customers. And all you have to do is FIX IT! Sounds simple right? Only if it were that easy! You could be in a financial firm trying to find ways to reduce waste and leverage new technology practices to increase efficiency and ultimately drive the business. Or in a healthcare organization constantly faced with challenges around lead time and costs. Or you could be in an …
Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock: A Case Study on How to Be Agile and Save Time by Automating and Optimizing Your Value Streams
“Come on boss, I’ve been waiting for somebody to pick up my code, uh Uh, well don’t waste time, give me a sign, tell me how you wanna roll, uh, mm I want somebody to speed it up for me, then go with the flow, there’s enough room for both Well, I can handle that, you just gotta show me where it’s at, are you ready to go? are you ready to go?” All you developers, testers, engineers, project managers, customer service and support team members, can you imagine singing this? Familiar lyrics? Well yes, it’s Madonna, the Pop Diva, …