Best practices for development value stream mapping - AWS Prescriptive Guidance

Best practices for development value stream mapping

Use the following best practices when creating and using a development value stream map:

  • If someone says that something can't be changed, challenge that assumption.

  • When defining steps, don't go too deep, but also, don't go too shallow. Start with a high-level, end-to-end value stream and break down tasks in order of magnitude. Stop breaking tasks down once the step size becomes too small to rationalize the effort to map verses the potential value from improving.

  • Choose a tool that works best for the participants. If you are working collaboratively in the same space, you can use a whiteboard and sticky notes. If you have participants who are attending virtually, you might prefer a digital tool, such as an online whiteboard, Microsoft Visio, or Microsoft Excel.

  • Evaluate the results of your changes and look for additional opportunities for improvement. Development value stream mapping is not a one-time activity. It is a part of continuous improvement cycle to identify new constraints and evaluate the effectiveness of your actions.

  • Don't choose constraints merely because they are convenient. Use data to prioritize. The theory of constraints is a management philosophy that theorizes that a very small number of constraints are responsible for limiting any system. Although there may be many convenient things a team could fix, focusing on the few that are limiting the system produces the most value.