Is Value Stream Management (VSM) important?

Every product team focuses on “value delivery” that targets “happy customers” – we all agree to this mission, right? In the DevOps world, while “value” holds importance, it is presumed that product teams will continuously improve as they evolve. These improvements can be achieved through different methods and procedures. The expectation is that teams should become efficient, their rigid processes should be optimised and not be showstoppers for agile deliveries.

Well, Value Stream Management (VSM) is a one such methodology that focuses on optimising processes that in turn makes teams efficient and helps increase business value. It actually enables maximum flow of value through the product life cycle – which is done by analysing the “value stream – but the end goal is simple – “analyse and maximise value”. Not to confuse, these terms (value, value stream and value stream management) are all related….take a look…..

VALUE (Benefits) -> VALUE STREAM (activities) -> VALUE STREAM MANAGEMENT (Methodology/Framework)

But, is this really important? Well, to answer this question, it is important to first find out answers to following key questions –

1. Do we have complete transparency on the product life cycle?
2. Are there mechanisms to measure value?
3. Are there showstoppers in the value stream?
4. Are teams able to make efficient decisions?
5. Are product teams able to accelerate the delivery flow?

If your answer is YES to the above questions – then yes VSM is important for your teams to consider.

To practice VSM, there are different platforms available that enable teams to interpret value that is aggregated by studying the delivery flow through different tools. One such data-driven VSM tool is HCL’s Accelerate. An excellent platform that integrates with multiple tools, tracks bottlenecks, provides an integrated view into the value stream of your products. Its powerful query language allows teams to model their value streams, helping teams to take better decisions (on budgets, staffing, etc). Reference link: https://www.hcl-software.com/accelerate I will share more insights on the HCL Accelerate in my next blog and how this proves to be beneficial to teams.

Meanwhile, what are your views about VSM, its relevance? Any platform that has helped your teams to manage value streams effectively??