Lean Principle 3: Make value flow without interruptions.
SAFe® Lean Agile Principle 6 – Make
Value Flow without Interruptions
In today’s fast-paced delivery environments, businesses that thrive prioritize
flow of value (for purposes of this paper, I am using “flow” to designate the
flow of a Feature through the a) ART Kanban or b) through the ARTs delivery
pipeline). ensuring work flows smoothly
through the value stream without unnecessary interruptions. While the existing Scaled Agile Framework
Flow Metrics such as Flow Velocity, Flow Time, and Flow Load
provide valuable insights, this paper introduces a seventh flow metric: Flow
Turbulence.
Flow Turbulence measures disruptions caused by low Percent
Complete and Accurate (%C&A) rates across the value stream. %C&A has been used as First
Pass Yield in lean for the past 60 years and in the world of engineering
and DevOps since at least 2011 (Humble & Farley)
If overlooked, Flow Turbulence can ripple through upstream
and downstream processes, creating delays, rework, and dependencies that can
impact the entire system’s ability to deliver value. Let’s explore this metric
and the new Scaled Agile Flow Accelerator to address it: Design the System
for Flow.
Understanding Flow Turbulence: The Turtle Problem
Imagine a turtle swimming upstream in a flowing river. As it
pushes forward, its movements create ripples that extend all the way to the
shoreline, disturbing the water’s natural flow. These ripples represent the
turbulence caused by low %C&A at any step of the value stream. Just
as the turtle’s ripples can disrupt an entire ecosystem, defects and incomplete
work disrupt the smooth progression of work in an enterprise flow system.
The goal of Flow Turbulence is to measure and reduce these
disruptions by understanding how %C&A performance at various points
causes rework, bottlenecks, and delays.
What is Percent Complete and Accurate (%C&A)?
%C&A assesses whether outputs of a step in the
value stream are delivered in a state that is both:
- Complete:
The task or item is fully finished with all necessary information and
components. Everything is there to
successfully act on this value when pulled to the next step.
- Accurate:
The output meets the quality standards required for the next stage without
requiring corrections. For each
step in a value stream, %C&A tells us how often work flows
successfully through the step – e.g. no defects and no rework
When %C&A is low, two major disruptions occur:
- Upstream
Disruptions: Work with errors or missing details must be reinjected
into the flow for rework, creating bottlenecks and delays.
- Downstream
Disruptions: Tasks passed along without being complete and accurate
lead to missed dependencies, delays, and quality issues in later stages.
%C&A has is origins in Lean Thinking and Lean Six Sigma,
with key examples from Toyota by emphasizing the reduction of defects and
rework through built-in quality (jidoka),
How Flow Turbulence Affects the Value Stream
Upstream Turbulence
When an incomplete feature or deliverable requires rework,
it clogs the upstream workflow. Teams must pause their current tasks to fix
errors, causing delays and disrupting their planned capacity.
Example: A product design team delivers
specifications that are incomplete, forcing downstream developers to pause,
wait for clarification, or make assumptions. As the issue flows back upstream
for resolution, it creates a backlog of unfinished work.
Downstream Turbulence
When low-quality outputs are passed downstream, they create
cascading effects that disrupt schedules, cause dependency failures, and
increase delivery risks.
Example: A partially tested software component causes
bugs to propagate downstream to testing and deployment stages, where it
requires costly remediation and impacts delivery timelines.
Both types of turbulence result in delays, inefficiencies,
and reduced predictability, emphasizing the need to optimize %C&A.
Flow Accelerator: Design the System for Flow
To address Flow Turbulence, organizations must proactively
design systems and value streams that prioritize quality at every step. This
concept builds on Lean principles, similar to the andon cord approach
used in manufacturing to immediately flag quality issues.
Key Practices for Designing the System for Quality:
- Integrate
Quality Checks in the Flow: Embed checkpoints within the workflow to
validate the work is complete and accurate before advancing to the next
stage. This ensures defects are caught early, avoiding downstream
disruptions.
- Implement
the Equivalency of an Andon Cord: Just like in manufacturing, where a
worker can pull the andon cord to stop production
when a defect is detected, teams should have the authority and mechanisms
to pause the flow and address issues before they escalate. SAFe Principle 9: Decentralize Decision
Making is vital to success in this step.
- Introduce
a 'Pause State' for Reflection: Build a systematic approach for
pausing and reflecting at key intervals within the value stream. During
these pauses, teams assess %C&A, identify the root causes of
turbulence, and implement improvements.
SAFe cadenced events such as the Inspect and Adapt Workshop and
Team Retrospectives are great examples of incorporating a ‘Pause’ state.
- Optimize
Feedback Loops: Rapid feedback from upstream and downstream teams
ensures that issues can be corrected before they cause significant
disruptions. Encourage experimentation and continuous improvement through
feedback cycles. Remember that
feedback is already present, we just need to improve our ‘receptors’
ability to gather and use feedback.
Improving %C&A with Systematic Quality Practices
- Cross-Functional
Alignment: Ensure that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of
what “complete and accurate” means for each stage of the value stream.
- Automated
Testing and Validation: Use continuous integration, continuous
testing, and automation of those tests to verify that work meets quality
standards at each step.
- Root
Cause Analysis: Regularly conduct retrospectives to identify why %C&A
is low and implement improvements.
- Have
a clear agreement on Definition of Ready and Definition of Done:
Encourage ongoing discussions on DoR and DoD and continue to optimize
these components.
Measuring Flow Turbulence
To quantify Flow Turbulence, organizations can track:
- The
percentage of stories, tasks or features requiring rework due to low %C&A.
- The
frequency and delay time of disruptions reported at downstream stages.
- The
cumulative delay caused by rework and defects.
Visualizations such as cumulative flow diagrams (CFD) or
scatter plots of rework incidents can help identify where turbulence originates
and its impact on delivery timelines.
Benefits of Managing Flow Turbulence
- Faster
Delivery: By reducing rework and dependencies, teams can deliver value
more predictably and quickly.
- Improved
Quality: Higher %C&A ensures downstream teams receive
high-quality inputs, leading to fewer defects and better outcomes,
preventing the ‘good work on top of bad’ problem.
- Enhanced
Collaboration: Teams communicate and collaborate better when there are
clear quality standards and feedback mechanisms.
Conclusion
Flow Turbulence, driven by low %C&A, is a
critical indicator of disruptions within a value stream. Addressing this
turbulence through the Design the System for Quality Flow Accelerator
ensures that organizations can reduce rework, improve flow efficiency, and
enhance overall business agility. Just as the ripples from a turtle swimming
upstream can disrupt an entire riverbank, unchecked turbulence can have
cascading effects on delivery outcomes.
By building quality into every step of the value stream and
embracing reflective pauses and rapid feedback, organizations can swim upstream
smoothly, delivering high-quality outcomes without the turbulence.
