Introduction to Value Stream Management
The term 'value stream' is used to describe the flow of information and materials to create value. An organization follows a sequence of activities to deliver its products to the customer, and The series is called the 'value stream'. The product can be software or hardware. Value Stream Management is not only crucial but a necessity. Software delivery organizations have different value streams for various products, applications or services. The value stream is unique for a software product. Value streams put the customer at the centre of the entire process. This helps the organization to put more focus on delivering customer-centric products, thus providing higher value. Value Streaming also helps in viewing the details of business processes in one single picture rather than viewing different parts separately.What are the Major Challenges of Value Stream Management?
There is no way to physically see or observe the work done in the development process of software. There are no physical materials that move through the value stream. So, it makes it hard to manage the value stream in software development. The transition between two different work centres is somewhat informal in software development. The changes generally happen through email, phone, chat, or face-to-face meetings. These transitions are tough to trace efficiently. An individual has to report the development manually and can't be automated. Therefore, The value streaming exists but only implicitly. It is neither visible, palpable or tangible, and consequently, it is hard to understand.Value Stream Management Tools for Enterprises
The solutions for the above challenges mentioned are embedded in the tools. These platforms and applications are used by software delivery practitioners to provide value to the costumers every day. The traces of the work in the value stream are kept within repositories. The software delivery practitioners integrate these tools, and this automates the flow of the work. Now the organizations can reveal existing value streams to customers. Platforms which provide Value Stream Management Services The tools required to manage the value streams are those tools that are used for Portfolio and Planning, Roadmapping, Requirements management, Agile Planning, Source control management, Issue tracking, Test management, Release automation, IT service management. Some of these tools are:GitLab
GitLab is a Value Stream Management Tool. According to Forrester New Wave, GitLab is a "Strong Performer" in the Value Stream Management. Being an open-source tool, GitLab combines end-to-end capability and provided more power. GitLab's offers a separate DevOps tool for each step of the software development process. Excellent views across these tools provide us with its Value Stream Management functionalities. Gitlab is the first of its kind application which is for the entire DevOps lifecycle. Only GitLab enables Concurrent DevOps and unlocks the organizations from the limits of its toolchain. GitLab provides unmatched visibility, excellent efficiency, and complete governance.
Read More Building Automated Testing Pipeline with GitLab CI
CodeBeamer ALM
CodeBeamer ALM is an Application Lifecycle Management platform that offers all-round capabilities like Requirements Management, Software Development, Testing, and Quality Management, Risk Management, variants Management, and more. CodeBeamer provides Agile scalability and does give support for various safety-critical standards via already configured templates for the automotive and medical industries. Its features allow you to integrate Platform Lifecycle Management and Application Lifecycle Management and connects processes throughout the lifecycle while ensuring entire traceability and data consistency.CloudBees DevOptics
CloudBees Core is the only CI/CD automation engine that has the flexibility to support both the diverse software portfolios and the unified governance required by growing organizations. CloudBees DevOptics is the only Management tool that provides insights into the end-to-end application delivery stream, which creates a holistic view of the entire software delivery process. With this valuable insight, companies can now increase collaboration and identify Return on Investments on DevOps initiatives and optimize their investments.Plutora
The most complete value stream management platform used for scaling Agile and DevOps to the enterprise with measured outcomes. Plutora is also recognized as Strong Performer in the Forrester New Wave in Value Stream Management Tools. Plutora platform co-relates and interconnects existing tools which result in eliminating silos and increases visibility, governance, and collaboration.
Blueprint Storyteller
The storyteller makes initiating complex agile software development easy by aligning business strategy and compliance with IT execution. This allows enterprise teams to drive innovation, reduce risk and waste, and unlock unrealized business value throughout the development lifecycle. Storyteller's software has the capability of integrating 40 common Application Management Tools to help extend their functionality, creating optimal software development experiences and ensure Business and IT alignment across the entire toolchain.Why is Value Stream Management essential for IT Transformation?
Business is getting more competitive every day. To keep up with customer expectations, development teams have to work even faster and more efficiently than ever. So, Version Stream Management can help to identify better coordinate operational teams, which are integral to overall process development. Value Stream Management takes software development closer to making a plan on the core promise of Agile. Also, it helps in elevating and planning of the project to near perfection. The part of it is because everyone involved in the project knows the "Single version of the truth." With this confidence in the business plan, the enterprise can quickly identify the faults in the current process. Universal visibility and management eliminate the doubt in the developers. Companies have recognized application development as business-critical bute; they struggle to match their expectations. The value of steam management can support the increasing importance for the business and its customers in any industry. With the holistic and visual representation of the dependencies, iterations, epics and resources involved in application deployment, Increased business and user value processes can be achieved.
Conclusion
Using value stream management, many organizations have led many enterprises to map out strategic themes, plan budgets appropriately and made it easy to adapt to rapidly changing business priorities. Visualizing work and achieving the ability to move business quickly and smoothly go inline with better software delivery and allow the developers to reach results previously outlined. Now the value stream management has become the heart of how we approach the DevOps.
- Read about Release Management Process Flow and Tools
- Learn about the Top Six Challenges In DevOps Adoption and Solutions
