How did Google grow from 40 employees to 139,995 and over $257 billion in global revenue? Sure, Google’s unique and ubiquitous products and services play a huge role. But they also have a covert yet overt strategy in their back pocket: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The OKR methodology was originally conceptualized by the legendary Andy Grove from Intel and Google adopted it in 1999 in its very first year of inception. Subsequently, OKRs spread across Silicon Valley companies. Recognized as a collaborative goal-setting system, today a lot of companies like Spotify, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Airbnb use OKRs. But OKRs …
How Automating with VSM Unifies Disparate Teams
How Automating with VSM Unifies Disparate Teams We as an industry cannot afford to ignore the dangers of siloed software delivery. The cost of a siloed workforce is staggering, resulting in project delays, declining software quality, and a disconnect from the original project intent. And with the widespread shift to remote work, these silos have become more entrenched than ever. How can we begin to address the problem? Join ConnectALL’s Lance Knight (President and COO) and Norman Miglietta (SVP of Marketing) as they sit down with David Rubinstein in the latest SD Times Microwebinar to discuss how automation with value …
Happy Code, Happy Life? Get to (Personally) Know Your Software
Some developers would say that their software has a mind of its own. But does your code have emotions of its own? Recent studies have shown that the answer is a resounding “yes.” But the findings on how those emotions impact work are not encouraging. According to Oxtail University, 84% of software programs report that businesses have increased the speed at which they are deployed. Yet only 8% of programs feel like they are appreciated for their increased production. And 78% of code has mentioned that they do not feel supported by the developers they work with. 86% also feel …
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 …
Is Value Stream Management Boring? Why The Answer Matters To You
If anyone ever tries to tell you that watching mindless YouTube videos is a waste of time, point them to this blog post. Why? Because I realized something very relevant about value stream management (VSM) recently thanks to my wife & YouTube comedian Trey Kennedy. My journey to enlightenment started by watching Trey’s video Wife School, which he did in collaboration with another YouTube comedian (Dude Dad). This video taught me absolutely nothing about VSM. However, it did help me learn that my wife isn’t the only one who wants new countertops. It also taught me that I’m more 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 …
Do You Believe Value Stream Management Is a Feature? Why or Why Not?
Lance Knight (COO & President), Andrew Fuqua (SVP of Products), and Eric Robertson (SVP Strategic Advisor) recently had a riveting debate about value stream management (VSM). Here’s a snippet from that video centered around the question: “Do you believe value stream management is a feature? Why or why not?” Follow along with the video clip or read the transcript, and form your own point of view on the question! Tim: So our first question of the day and kind of the general theme of what we’re going to be talking about. Do you believe value stream management is a …
What People Don’t Get About Value Stream Management
Note: Originally published on TechBeacon There’s nothing wrong with value stream management (VSM) itself, but there’s plenty wrong with how it’s being considered and discussed by bloggers, industry marketing types, and others, who often conflate it with DevOps and Agile. It’s not the same thing. When you read about value stream management, you need to be able to recognize bogus information when you see it. Here are five things obfuscating the truth about VSM—and what you should be focusing on instead. 1. Misattribution, personification, and wishful thinking The first problem relates to the many unsubstantiated claims about the benefits VSM can provide. Beware of statements that …