With enterprise software delivery being a rather complex endeavour – with many specialized roles, a plethora of tools and rapidly evolving best practices – we’re inundated with questions on a daily basis from organizations looking to make sense of their software delivery.
Below is a list of just some of those frequently asked questions, with links to resources that will help you answer your questions and better understand how to improve the way you plan, build and deliver software at scale.
This information will provide you with key insights and tips to support your transformational journey, no matter what stage you’re at. And if you still have questions, you know who to come to…
Software delivery
What are the latest industry trends?
As our co-founder Robert Elves says, predicting the future of the enterprise software delivery can often feel like hammering Jell-O to a wall. That’s not to say it’s impossible – check out our blog 10 predictions and trends for enterprise software development and delivery in 2018.
Integration
Why do we need enterprise toolchain integration?
Most people understand that they need tool integration in some form or another as the benefits are obvious and logical, especially at a team-level. For instance, improving quality and speed of tests by connecting developer tools (such as Jira) and a testing tools (such as Tricentis) to automatically flow defects in real-time for faster resolution. But as we explain in this white paper, integration is much bigger than that – it’s a key differentiator in a digital world.
Do we really need integration if we’re going to streamline and consolidate our software delivery process into one tool, such as Jira?
Having ‘one tool to rule them all’ is naturally appealing in terms of perceived simplicity and cost benefits. The idea, however, is inherently flawed. The truth is, you can’t migrate all the specialist stages of enterprise software into one tool. This white paper debunks the ‘one tool fallacy’ and explains why an integrated best-of-breed strategy is crucial to optimizing your software delivery at scale. In addition, this article explores the complex role that Jira plays in your value stream.
We have a million and one business initiatives to implement, so integration can wait, right?
Sure, you can wait – but your competitors won’t. And the longer you wait, the further you’ll fall behind. This white paper provides six key reasons why you need to value stream integration today.
We’ve already invested in DevOps and Release Automation tools, do we really need toolchain integration as well?
Yes, if you really want to accelerate delivery and Time to Value. In her article Why you need enterprise toolchain integration alongside release automation, our Product Marketing Director Naomi Lurie explains the fundamental differences between the two, and highlights how integration actually optimizes release automation and other DevOps capabilities.
Everything we need to do is heavily regulated and must be compliant – does integration help with traceability?
It sure does. In fact, end-to-end integration is the only way you can trace and keep track of the complex network of activity that underpins your software delivery. Our Knowledge Architect Manager, Brian Ashcraft, artfully explains why integration is so crucial to traceability in his article A new approach to traceability can solve product validation issues.
How are our competitors using value stream integration?
We analyzed over 300 software delivery organizations, many of whom are the Fortune 100, to see how they’re using integration to accelerate delivery, the results of which are discussed in this webinar.
Agile and DevOps
Why are our Agile and DevOps transformations failing at scale?
If we had a penny…! One of the most frequent questions that we’re asked. You’ve invested in Agile and DevOps, tooling and people, yet your Time to value is still too long, unpredictable and unmeasurable. Our e-book highlights some the major reasons you’re struggling to see benefits at an enterprise-level.
How do I measure DevOps bottlenecks?
Another major challenge for organizations. Wasn’t DevOps meant to solve the bottleneck between code commit and deploy to accelerate delivery? Well, it has all but eliminated that bottleneck – but that’s only one stage of the software delivery process. What about everything that happens before and after? As our Director of Digital Transformation, Dominica DeGrandis, writes in a recent article, you need full end-to-end visibility from ideation to production to identify new bottlenecks (and optimization opportunities) in your value stream.
What sort of metrics should we use for measuring DevOps/software delivery?
Delivering value to the business through software requires a network of teams, disciplines, tools and processes. Managing and improving this process and systems requires real-time insight and measurement. In this article, our founder and CEO, Dr. Mik Kersten, and DevOps expert Dr. Nicole Forsgren, discuss measurement approaches through system and survey data.
Value Stream
How is software delivery a “value stream”?
The short answer is, how isn’t it? Software’s main purpose is to create value for the end user, and as such, organizations need to better understand how value flows from customer request to working software in production. Another excellent article by Dominica – Rowing in the same direction: use value streams to align work – explores what value streams are, why they matter, and how to exploit them for faster, better software delivery.
What is Value Stream Management?
Once people realize that their software delivery process comprises multiple value streams, the next question is: how on earth do I manage them? The answer is Value Stream Management (VSM). Everything you need know about VSM, and toolchain integration’s role within it, can be found in this e-book. What’s more, a new report from Forrester Research, Inc.– Elevate Agile-Plus-DevOps with Value Stream Management by Christopher Condo and Diego LoGiudice – has concluded that the “time is right” for Value Stream Management in enterprise software delivery. Our webinar with Forrester explores the report’s findings.
How is software delivery a “network”?
A common misconception is that technology underpins a software delivery value stream. That is only half-true; technology is merely an enabler for better work. As our VP of Product, Nicole Bryan, explains in her article The human touch – the key to optimize your software value stream network, it’s actually people who drive value creation. And they collaborate through a social network of communication that relies on the real-time flow of product-critical information between disparate tools.
Still have questions? The below content may help:
- Webinar: Discovering dark debt in your culture
- Webinar: The evolution of Agile Portfolio Management for Scaled Agile Success
- Webinar: Gene Kim and Mik Kersten discuss the DevOps movement in 2018
- Article: Requirements management and software integration: why one can’t live without the other
- Article: What IT can learn from The Beatles’ breakup
- Article: Optimizing feature request and implementation by integrating Salesforce, Targetprocess and Jira
- Article: How to accommodate different processes in enterprise software delivery
And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where you can find demo videos for a host of tool integrations that will help you drive efficiencies across your software delivery value stream and business, including:
You can also find more educational content in our comprehensive resource library.
