Governance and Portfolio Management

Optimising software delivery is essential in today’s rapidly-evolving tech landscape and by using flow metrics to optimise software delivery, you can elevate the efficiency of your delivery pipeline. This article breaks down key flow metrics that streamline processes, reduce waste, and speed up delivery, so you can expect practical steps to implement these metrics for measurable improvements in your software delivery strategy.

When navigating through the complexities of project portfolios, you might wonder how Lean Portfolio Management can streamline your organisation’s processes.

Value Stream Managers have the end to end accountability across the entire Value Stream. The ensure the work efficiently flows through the Value Stream as well as managing the dependencies between the segments. They also need to have a strong understanding of their customer and their needs, to then be able to ensure that the Value Stream is effectively fulfilling these needs. Combined they are ensuring their Value Stream is fit for purpose.

Service Request Managers are focused on doing the right things, and maximising effectiveness, not efficiency. They consolidate all the various demands and factors that go into sequencing the work in a pull based system and communicating back to stakeholders. They see the bigger picture, but always look for the next right thing to do through brutal prioritisation.

Service Delivery Managers are responsible for how the work flows efficiently through the system and that the service is satisfactory delivered to customers. They focus on doing things right and process efficiency. They bring data into the conversation, it's about the work flowing through the system and not about the individuals.

So if we need to adapt to a new agile framework, where do we start? The good news is that we can use agile delivery processes to provide a solution. The Agile tools, processes, and ceremonies these teams use are designed to natively provide visibility, transparency, and are actually designed specifically to allow for change which makes them natively set up for governance. In fact, they give you an even better end-to-end and closer to a real-time view of your value delivery at a lower overhead and cost.