DEVOPSdigest

Most (92%) of enterprises face significant issues with digital transformation and product development efforts as they head into 2022, according to the Value Streams Are Accelerating Digital Transformation.

The report also uncovered that:

■ 95% indicated Value Stream Management (VSM) optimizes product lifecycles and gives access to real-time data, which would solve their lack of lifecycle visibility.

■ 99% stated multiple benefits from adopting VSM, including enabling their digital transformation efforts.

■ 72% of organizations who do not have Value Stream Management in place, plan to do so within in the next 18-24 months.

Let's look at the findings from this research and outline what VSM means for organizations pursuing digital transformation today.

Challenges: Lack of Visibility and Silos Remain Persistent Issues

When it comes to top product development challenges for 2022,"lack of visibility throughout the product lifecycle" and "inefficient processes" were the two top-rated responses.

In addition, a significant percentage of respondents indicated that they're contending with an age-old problem: silos. For many, these challenges have grown more pronounced in recent months.

Here's how one CIO of a manufacturer put it: "Product challenges evolve as our processes change and are somewhat a function of more people working from home, which creates silos and inefficiencies."

The research shows VSM is emerging as a clear solution for addressing these hurdles.

VSM Adoption Poised for Significant Growth in 2022

How do teams boost their transformation efficacy? When asked this question, "establishing seamless workflows in the product lifecycle" was the top answer. Further, virtually all respondents agreed that VSM offers optimized processes for the product lifecycle.

Given the urgent need to resolve key business and product issues, 42% of respondents have started to utilize value chains as part of their digital transformation. Here's how one CIO at a financial institution put it: "Value streams are a natural progression from DevOps and Agile. With scrums we often lost user scenarios, customer stories, and detailed requirements documents. Value streams bring that back."

Of companies not doing VSM today, 72% are planning to do so. Only 14% say their company isn't planning a VSM initiative. In addition, 85% of companies have six or more value streams in place currently, highlighting the clear growth in VSM adoption.

It's (Virtually) Unanimous: VSM Yields Numerous Benefits

Teams predict they'll be getting a lot out of their VSM initiatives: 99% stated there are multiple benefits from adopting VSM. One of the top anticipated benefits is improved data-driven decision-making. A CIO of a financial institution highlighted the importance of customer-focused metrics in informing optimization: "Value streams provide measurable metrics for customer satisfaction. There is no way to optimize processes without a customer point of view."

Conclusion: VSM to Fuel Transformation in 2022

Given the integral role VSM plays in enabling digital transformation, this new research reveals VSM is a key imperative for the vast majority of enterprises in 2022.

Methodology: The report is based on a recent survey of over 500 executives, IT and business leaders, conducted by Dimensional Research and sponsored by Broadcom.