Value Stream Mapping

What is a Value Stream?

• Broadly speaking, a value stream is the sequence of activities required to design, produce, and deliver products and services to an organisation and its customers.
• Value stream mapping is a flowchart method to illustrate, analyse, and improve the steps required to deliver a product or service.
• I use the concept of IT Strategy Mapping for visualising how IT technologies and systems enable the provision of value.

When organisations see the interconnectedness of various departments and processes , they make better decisions, work together in a more collaborative ways, and avoid the costly trap of sub-optimisation. Value stream maps connect disparate parts of an organisation into one whole singular goal: providing higher value to its users and customers. With this in mind, value stream maps present an effective tool for rethinking how an IT organisation is structured and achieving functional and strategic alignment with the wider business.

Understand the current state

Gaining a deep understanding of current state value stream performance is a vital step for me in designing and making improvements. Current state mapping is essential for achieving a collective understanding and consensus around problems. I have found that there are always different versions: how managers believe it operates, how it is supposed to operate (work instructions, if they are documented), how it really operates, and how it could operate. The purpose of current state value stream mapping is to get an understanding of how work is actually being performed in today's environment.

Designing the Future State

Once I understand the current state I can begin working with the client to design the future state. Because there are often multiple ways to achieve the same end, there is no single right future state map. From a macro perspective, there are three overall considerations to address when designing future state: determining the work that should be done, making that work flow, and managing the work to achieve continuously improved performance.

Developing the Transformation Plan

You will need:

• A well crafted plan
• Consensus around that plan
• The discipline to stick with it
• Confidence to adjust a plan when needed

Achieving Transformation

It is important that value stream improvements are tied to business needs, organisational goals and priorities. Also, leaders who oversee the functions that make up the value stream must fully support the activity. Improving the targeted value stream must be driven by strategic needs and viewed as a top organisational priority by the leadership team to provide a sense of importance that is needed to commit to the significant effort involved in the transformation