“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets” - W. Edwards Deming
Technology in business allows organizations to improve both the performance and overall effectiveness of products, systems and services, which, in turn, enables businesses to meet anticipated goals more quickly and efficiently. Tech, coupled with the right minds and culture, is also the linchpin of innovation, enabling traditional enterprises to compete with more tech-savvy companies disrupting all and sundry.
Keeping Up with the Pace of Change
We all know the Age of Software is rapidly revolutionizing the way the world works and communicates. That consensus doesn’t change the fact that this technology revolution can be daunting for IT and business leaders. How do you keep up with the pace, especially when it comes how to deliver more business value from their software delivery? Why aren’t Agile and DevOps transformations accelerating value delivery? Enter the Value Stream Architect.
This brave new world is not only creating new markets and disruptors in existing markets; it’s also expanding existing roles within organizations to help fill the knowledge gap between business and IT. In his recent article for TheNewStack – “The Age of Software Needs Value Stream Architects,” Mik Kersten asks, “As companies strive to compete with disruptors such as Amazon, a question that needs to be addressed is who will own and architect the software value streams which accelerate the flow of business value to customers?” Companies adopt Agile, Lean and DevOps practices, yet still cannot achieve a holistic view of the value stream from product inception to customer delivery and through the feedback loop for continuous improvement. This is why the Value Stream Architect is playing one of the most critical roles in delivering desired business outcomes.
Enable a 360-degree View of the Process
The Value Stream Architect is the influencer, consultant and optimizer who works closely with product owners to ensure that the final product aligns with business goals, delivering tangible value. Value Stream Architects design the feedback mechanisms that enable a 360-degree view of the entire software development process to:
- Provide business-level visibility into the flow of value being delivered
- Add continuous improvement ideas, and drive higher level decisions about platforms and tooling
- Identify bottlenecks
- Assist in closing the knowledge or skill gap within teams
Most companies are lacking a role focused on owning and architecting the software value stream. At Tasktop, we have taken steps to help customers address this. Earlier this year, members of Tasktop’s Sales Engineering team moved into new roles as Value Stream Architects. In their new roles, we help customers determine the best way to identify the end to end delivery value streams within their organizations visualize the flow of all work (features, defects, risks and debt) , and start to identify opportunities to improve the flow of business value. At the same time, our Value Stream Architects will assist companies in understanding the role—and the critical need for it by :
- Sharing our experience with numerous organizations to help guide architectural tooling decisions.
- Bringing together teams across the delivery value streams who previously have not worked collaboratively to review the concept of their end to end flow.
- Helping customers architect their own delivery value streams, starting with the creation of Value Stream Architecture diagrams.
A key component of architecture is the application of integration patterns that can result in accelerating delivery. Our team can utilize its experience working with customers to visualize how to employ these patterns as shown in the following diagram.
Learn more about Value Stream Architects
The Value Stream Architect is the designer of a better delivery system that bridges the gap between the business and IT. Start your journey with a one-hour design session with a Tasktop Value Stream Architect.
