What is Development Value Stream in SAFe?

You might have heard that Value Streams are very essential nowadays. These are ideal notions that are explained by step-by-step processes that an enterprise uses for the creation of solutions. These solutions offer the best possible value and quality to society and people. These streams can deliver value straight to end-users. Otherwise, they can also hold up internal business processes to bring value indirectly to end-users. Lean methods pay attention profoundly on the value given to the end-user. Here, the value is attained only when the internal business process or end user gets the advantage of some new capability or solution. When talking about Lean, involving finding and knowing the different value flows are crucial. A business should have a better understanding of what remedy it provides to its customers to judge and figure out its Value Streams.

Operational Value Streams and Development Value Streams are the kinds of Value Streams. Here, we will throw some light on Development Value Stream. 

What are Development Value Streams?

Development Value Streams denote the procedural activities. These are activities required for the conversion of a business theory into a solution that is enabled digitally. The development of an e-commerce website is an excellent example. Even, you can consider the development of a SaaS system or a software application as examples. The concept of the Value Stream is a crucial foundation for Lean thinking and SAFe. In fact, not only in other areas, even in SAFe, Value Streams are of two types. They are Operational Value Streams and Development Value Streams. The former, shortly called OVS denotes the set of activities in a particular order for the release of service or a product to a customer. Instance of Operational Value Streams include providing a loan by a bank, admission and treatment of a patient by a hospital. The Development Value Streams shortly called DVS denote the set of activities in a particular order. These activities are used by a team for the development and also for the support of a product used by the other stream called OVS.

Deeper Knowledge of Development Value Stream in SAFe:

When you take the case of SAFe Framework, Development Value Streams are the basic models. This holds in any organization. The reason is that DVS is part of the SAFe portfolio. Each DVS in SAFe is devoted to developing and stand by a set of solutions as shown in the image below:

Source: Scaled Agile

For internal Development teams and information technology practitioners, these solutions might be the internal part of their business itself. Also, their customers or end-users will be the individuals working within the organization using the system to complete their jobs. On the other hand, others work straight on the services, products or systems released to the customers present externally. Based on the scope of a business and the layout of the Development streams take care of a few of these activities or all.

When talking about a SAFe enterprise, Value Streams offer the financing mechanism as well. They are supported by Lean budgets. Also, they bring power to employees involved in daily decisions and improve the economic worth. The measurement of this worth is done as a part of Key Performance Indicators. These indicators are established for a purpose. The purpose is the evaluation of the performance of Value Streams against its part in achieving the overall organizational strategy.

Importance of Organizing individuals in Value Streams:

Are you wondering why Value Streams should be organized? The simple reason is that they help with improving the flow of work. Also, they help with quickening the time of delivery to the market. They achieve this by improving the value flow to the customer across different functions and divisions. They do this through different channels, suppliers and the entire system. Value Streams bring different advantages. Here are a few benefits you can expect:

• They enable stable and long-lived teams. These teams pay attention to delivering value.
• Recognize and envision all the jobs required for producing solutions.
• Recognize handoffs, hindrances and delays
• Aid tinier batch sizes of task
• Help with the growth of knowledge and ongoing learning

When you start understanding the benefits of Value Streams, you will start wondering why organizations have not been using them for so long. But, they are being used for a long. Nevertheless, we are not seeing them.

Defining Development Value Streams:

When it comes to the Value Stream, they encompass all systems, people and activities. Value Stream also encompasses the pass through of material and information required for delivering value. Operational Value Streams differ considerably based on their objectives. But, when it comes to the SAFe Development Value Stream, the steps followed are mostly standard. You can understand the simple anatomy of the Development Value Stream from the image below:

Source: Scaled Agile

Elements of Development Value Streams:

The elements of the SAFe Development Value Stream are given below:

• The lead time is the period interval required for moving a feature from the date of the request to how it works in the atmosphere of the user.
• In general, a Value Stream is triggered when a new feature is requested. When it comes to reality, several new features ask for moving through the Value Stream simultaneously. 
• The steps are activities required to explain, develop, confirm and deliver that value in the context of the solution.
• The bar between the steps demonstrates the flow and material that moves from one step to the other. It also denotes the typical handoffs of information that materialize as individuals in varied steps that add value to the process.
• Elipses denote the hampers between these steps. These are typically the largest patrons to long lead times. Therefore, bringing down delays is the most efficient way to bring down lead time.

The outcome will be a fresh development of the solution. It now encompasses the additional value that these fresh features provide. This is an eased mental structure of what it takes for the creation of innovative technical remedies in the present digital business world. Still, it continues to serve an essential purpose. It recognizes and evaluates all the actions required for the delivery of solutions and the time it takes to do the same.

Gaining knowledge and improving Development Value Streams as an ongoing process is important in a lean enterprise. However, this is something that needs a lot of analysis. This is the overall motto of the Continuous Delivery Pipeline. Each Agile Release Train uses this pipeline for the release of value in smaller increments to customers. 

Who Should be Part of the Development Value Stream?

When you take the case of any business, every employee involved in the development of solutions that customers use is part of the Development Value Stream. Every employee part of the Operational Value Stream will be a part of the Development Value Stream as well. Also, every individual involved in the development of systems used by Operational Value Streams and everyone in a lean enterprise is also part of the Development Value Stream.

Identifying the Development Value Streams that build the solutions:

Identifying the SAFe Development Value Stream is an important step. It represents the steps required for the development of solutions and also the team involved in developing them. The Development Value Streams differ from the Operational Value Streams. So, it becomes important for an organization to identify the trigger. The solutions help with a better operation within the Operational Value Streams. So, in this case, the value is amended or new features in the solutions. Now, you can judge what the triggers are. They are the ideas and requirements that give way to these features.

You can use these triggers for finding the number of Development Value Streams. You can conclude that there is only one DVS when you find that most requirements make it necessary to touch all solutions for enabling the new functionality. On the other hand, if the solutions are separated from each other, you might find a few DVS. 

The thing to remember when identifying DVS is that these streams are mostly or entirely independent. They can both develop and release on their own. They can do this without relying too much on intra-Value Streams. There is no restriction to the methods that an enterprise can use for configuring DVSs. But, it should be stated that specific patterns have emerged in this domain. They are fulfillment Value Stream pattern, manufacturing Value Stream pattern, software product Value Stream pattern, and supporting Value Stream pattern.

Discerning DVS with ARTs:

It is not easy to develop enterprise-class systems and software programs. The reason is that it can turn out to be the deciding factor for the success or failure of a business. One method you can follow to address this complexity is to model the flow of value. Nevertheless, understanding value flow is just a part as the bigger purpose is to improve the flow of value. It means that it needs more than just modeling. In other words, it takes the work of real people in supporting, implementing, and defining such systems. This is taken care of by ARTs.

In short, Development Value Stream will help Agile engines with delivering value and innovation to the market within the shortest possible time.

References:

1. https://www.scaledagileframework.com/development-value-streams/
2. https://www.scaledagileframework.com/identify-value-streams-and-arts/
3. https://www.coursehero.com/tutors-problems/Project-Management/25186499-Who-is-part-of-the-development-Value-Stream-Everyone-used-to-build-th/