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Value stream identification is a crucial step in the Lean process. It allows you to identify waste or variances within your organization. If you do not have a value stream, figuring out which steps are causing problems may be challenging. This is why many organizations use the lean methodology.
It allows them to determine if they are improving efficiency and productivity while reducing waste (value). As a project manager and team lead, you must identify what you want in the value stream. This article aims to provide you with some tips on correctly identifying the value stream.
Identifying the right value streams is crucial for organizations looking to adopt lean or DevOps principles. Value stream mapping provides visibility into the flow of work and helps identify waste and opportunities for improvement. However, value stream identification can be challenging without the right approach.
In this article, we’ll provide 10 tips to help your organization effectively identify value streams for improvement. Whether you’re just getting started with value stream thinking or looking to improve existing efforts, these tips will set you on the path for success.
1. Involve Cross-Functional Teams
Value streams cut across departmental boundaries To identify the right ones, you need input from all stakeholders – not just leadership. Pull together a small cross-functional team with representatives from key departments like Operations, IT, Business Analysts, and Project Management. This ensures you capture different perspectives on what value looks like
2. Understand Customer Needs
Keep the customer at the center. Identify value from the outside-in based on what matters most to customers. Map value streams end-to-end starting with customer needs rather than internal processes. Focus on outcomes customers want, not just outputs your organization provides.
3. Consider Both Developmental and Operational
Value streams include both operational day-to-day work and developmental projects. Capture both when identifying your initial set for improvement. Operational value streams represent recurring activities while developmental ones deliver new capabilities.
4. Leverage Multiple Data Sources
Use a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. Gather perspectives through interviews and workshops. Collect metrics on work volume, flow, and cycle times. Review architectural diagrams. Triangulate findings from different sources to identify meaningful value streams.
5. Align Value Streams to Business Priorities
Ensure value streams connect clearly to strategic objectives If a value stream doesn’t align, it likely indicates a gap between strategy and execution. Revisit priorities if needed before finalizing your initial set of value streams.
6. Segment by Customer Outcome
Avoid large monolithic value streams Segment by major customer outcomes or capabilities provided. For example, break order-to-cash down into separate value streams for ordering, invoicing, settlement This provides greater focus for improvement.
7. Name Value Streams for Clarity
Use descriptive end-to-end names for your value streams vs. departmental steps. For example, “Prospect to Order” rather than “Sales Activities”. Make sure names clearly convey the customer value.
8. Map Current and Future States
For each value stream, map both current and future states. Current state mapping captures how work flows today. Future state mapping defines the improved vision. Comparing the two states highlights the gaps to focus on.
9. Prioritize Based on Opportunity
Not all value streams are equal. Prioritize the 1-3 streams with the biggest pain points or improvement opportunity. Consider value, complexity, and organizational readiness. Avoid spreading efforts too thin across too many streams.
10. Revisit and Re-align Frequently
Your initial value streams will evolve over time. Set reminders to revisit them on a cadence based on business dynamics – quarterly, bi-annually etc. Adjust existing ones or introduce new value streams as strategies shift.
Key Steps in the Value Stream Identification Process
While tips help guide your approach, let’s look at the typical end-to-end process for identifying value streams:
Secure Leadership Support
Make sure executive leaders support the effort. Help them understand the benefits of value stream thinking. Secure their sponsorship to engage teams, access data, and ultimately redesign identified streams.
Establish Cross-Functional Team
Pull together a small team of 6-8 representatives from key departments related to potential value streams. Ensure diversity of thought and perspectives on the team.
Align on Ideal Future State Principles
Agree on guiding principles for what future state value streams should look like. For example, principles around flow, quality, transparency etc. This provides direction for the team.
Gather Data on Potential Value Streams
Conduct stakeholder interviews, workshops, data analysis, and architectural reviews to gather inputs on potential value streams. triangulate findings.
Define Initial Value Streams
Analyze findings to define an initial set of 3-5 value streams for improvement focus. Name streams appropriately. Align to customer needs and business priorities.
Develop Future State Vision
For each identified stream, define future state vision adhering to principles. This highlights the waste to eliminate and improvements to target.
Prioritize Value Streams
Assess relative value, complexity, and improvement opportunity for each stream. Prioritize the top 1-3 to focus improvement efforts on based on findings.
Create Implementation Roadmap
Define roadmap to evolve each stream from current to future state. Include quick wins and longer-term efforts. Estimate timelines and resource needs.
Revisit and Refine
On a defined cadence, revisit value stream definitions. Adjust based on new priorities. Introduce new streams or retire existing ones as needed.
Key Roles for Value Stream Identification
Success requires participation across the organization. Below are some of the key roles:
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Executive Sponsors – Provide leadership support, strategic context, and resources for the effort.
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Value Stream Lead – Leads the end-to-end identification process. Could be a lean expert, process improvement lead etc.
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Value Stream Team – Cross-functional team that helps identify and prioritize value streams.
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Department Leads – Represent their domain on the team. Provide data and perspectives on potential streams.
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Architects – Provide technical context on system and data flows to inform value stream mapping.
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Business Analysts – Help relate streams to customer needs and business priorities. Provide requirements-related insights.
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Project/Product Managers – Provide insights into developmental streams from initiatives they lead.
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Customers – Give input on what their desired outcomes are from the value streams.
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Process Experts – Help analyze detailed workflows within each stream to identify waste.
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Lean Coaches – Provide training and guidance on value stream thinking to the team.
Common Challenges and How to Address
Here are some common challenges that arise with value stream identification and tips to tackle them:
Data Overload – There can be an overwhelming amount of data to sort through. Focus data collection on key metrics and conduct targeted interviews to find pain points.
Lack of Strategic Clarity – Without clear strategic priorities, value streams are hard to define. Revisit strategy and planning process if significant disconnects exist.
Organizational Silos – Different departments may have fragmented perspectives on end-to-end workflows. Use workshops to build shared understanding.
Too Many Value Streams – Organizations often want to improve everything at once. Limit initial focus to 3-5 priority streams only.
Unclear Customer Needs – Teams may struggle to define value from the customer perspective.** Interview customers directly** or segment users by archetype.
**Gaps in Current State Visibility – **It’s hard to improve what you can’t see. Use tools like process mapping to build transparency into current workflows.
Lack of Urgency for Change – People may resist changes to current state. Highlight pain points and burning platform for improvement based on data.
Unclear Metrics – Important outcomes may lack good metrics. Use techniques like SMART goal setting to better define the objectives.
No Future State Vision – People struggle to improve without a clear target. Leverage guiding principles to construct future state.
No Quick Wins – Big changes take time. Identify some quick wins to build momentum and show value of improving streams.
Getting Started
Improving value streams delivers tremendous benefits but requires cross-functional engagement. Here are some tips to get started:
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Educate leaders and teams on value stream concepts so everyone has common language and context.
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Find a champion to spearhead the initial value stream identification who can rally support.
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Pick an initial stream that has clear pains and executive sponsorship to demonstrate quick wins.
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Leverage guides and templates to accelerate value stream identification and mapping.
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Share success stories from other departments or teams who have mapped value streams to inspire your organization.
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Be patient – adopting value stream thinking takes time. Expect to iterate based on learnings.
The time is now to unlock value stream identification superpowers within your organization. Applying these tips will set you down the right path. Stay tuned for more articles delving into current and future state mapping techniques to maximize your value stream improvement efforts. What tips have worked well in your experience identifying value streams? Please share in the comments below!
Participate as many staff as feasible:When identifying value streams, including as many people as possible can assist the team in identifying topics of interest, such as process improvements and potential efficiency leads. Try including personnel from the procedures you’re evaluating and management chiefs from each department.
The more diverse the insights you may get about your value stream identification team, the more creatively your unit can improve the process. Consider organizing meetings with employee groups based on their engagement with the project, such as management head meetings for value plan discussion and separate departmental meetings for individual action plan evaluations.
Work closely with change management:Change management refers to the group of managers who work to instigate change inside a company. Consider involving as many change management staff as possible throughout this process since change management strives to enhance procedures in the firm system beyond value stream discovery.
For example, change managers may assist in leading programs to strengthen operations, develop action plans, and document improvements. Working closely with change management personnel to establish value streams may also assist the team in prioritizing different meeting objectives based on the improvement focuses. Change managers can help establish an improvement focus based on issues they know or have already worked with.
Value Stream Identification – Lessons from the wild
Does value stream identification replace value stream mapping?
Value stream identification doesn’t replace value stream mapping but certainly proves the need to invest in the latter. Words matter. When referencing the one- to two-day workshop to determine the best place to launch an ART, be careful to reference this as value stream identification.
What is a value stream identification workshop?
To help people focus on the task at hand, we’ve developed a Value Stream Identification workshop. It can be especially helpful for organizations that aren’t actively managing value streams. It also teaches all those who attend the Implementing SAFe® course the method to facilitate a value stream identification event.
How do you identify operational value streams?
However, the enterprise’s operational value streams must be identified first to determine the development value streams that support them. For some organizations, identifying operational value streams is easy. Many are just the products, services, or solutions that the company sells. In the larger enterprise, however, the task is more complicated.
How do I download the safe value stream and art identification workshop toolkit?
In the meantime, you can download the updated Value Stream and ART Identification Workshop toolkit by navigating to the “Implement” tab on the SAFe Community Platform, selecting “SAFe Toolkits & Templates,” then selecting “SAFe Value Stream and ART Identification Workshop Toolkit 5.1.”
