program selection system

As effective as Agile teams have become, many times it isn’t the team that is the problem. In many cases, the structure within which the team exists is more problematic than the performance of the team itself. The myopic view of agility towards teams has not helped address this problem.

Value Stream Mapping comes from Lean Thinking and provides a way to see the entire chain of events that leads to a product from its inception. It describes the transition from concept to cash. It maps the flow of ideas and actions across the entire organization.

The power of value stream mapping is that it:
• Makes explicit what is often tacit knowledge in the process
• It focuses on time, not cost. Time based decisions are often much more useful than cost based decisions
• It identifies actions needed to eliminate waste in the process being followed by the team in creating value for the customer
• It provides a common discussion point for the entire organization to participate in
• It solves problems that looking at only part of the process can’t

Real-life examples are presented, as well as some fundamental principles of Lean to provide guidance to the participants. After some background in the principles behind value stream mapping is presented, participants will break up into groups and create a value stream map of their own development process.

The tutorial will close with why and how value stream mapping can be the place to start for a team undergoing a transition to agile methods. It will also discuss how a team already doing agile can greatly improve their efficiency with value stream mapping.

Participants will learn:
• What a Value Stream Map is
• Why they are important
• How to create a value stream map