SAFe Principle 6: Visualise and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and manage queued lengths.
We can shorten principle 6 – visualise and limit WIP, reduce batch sizes, and managed queued lengths – to ‘manage flow’ because that is something incredibly important in SAFe.
Managing the flow of work through the organization and ensuring that work flows, with the minimum of delays and impediments, throughout the value stream to the customer.
Because we are often working with software and creative concepts, it is intangible – as opposed to a production line of hardware components – and so we need to visualise the flow of that work.
We can’t see inside people’s heads. We can’t see knowledge work in the same way that we can see simple or complicated work, such as building a bridge or moving bricks from a truck to a warehouse.
So, we use a tool or software to help us visualise the work as well as the workflow.
Improving flow
We need to create a system that allows us to identify bottlenecks and impediments, and actively improve the flow of work throughout the value stream.
With experience, we have identified three (3) factors that have a high impact in improving flow:
- Batch size
- Limiting the number of work items in progress
- Eliminating bottlenecks
Batch size
The bigger a batch of work, the slower it flows through the system.
We also have greater variability in the system because one big batch item may take 5 days to flow through the system whilst another big batch item may take 25 days to flow through the system.
So that variability will impact the rate at which we can deliver value to customers.
If we compare that to smaller items, which have been refined by the team, we could have a segment of code committed to the system every 15 minutes. We could have a new feature flow through the system in a matter of hours, from concept to the live customer environment.
Limiting WIP (Work Items in Progress)
Having a limited amount of work in progress increases our focus.
The team get to focus on the job at hand and finish the work before pulling more work into the system. The team are also working on well prioritized items that empower them to do great work, at the most valuable time, and deliver that to customers within a short period of time.
Continuous delivery of valuable work improves customer satisfaction but also ensures that we have great flow throughout the system.
Eliminating bottlenecks
A great thing about making work visible, especially across the entire value stream, is that it allows us to see where bottlenecks and impediments crop up.
We can see that work is piling up at point A or we can see that work flows through point B significantly slower than at any other point in the value stream.
It allows us to investigate and understand why that bottleneck exists, identify the costs of delay, and design a strategy to overcome that obstacle or remove that impediment. It also allows us to lobby senior leaders more effectively and pitch a solution that will improve flow and customer experience.
So, SAFe principle 6 is all about how we manage the flow of value to our customers.
About Value Glide
Value Glide are a SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) consultancy, coaching practice, and training specialist who work with organizations to align business objectives with customer needs and wants.
As deeply experienced agile coaches and practitioners, our team are invested in continuous learning through each client engagement and use the data and evidence we gather from each implementation to inform our training, coaching, and consulting services.
In a nutshell, empirical process control or empiricism.
If you are thinking of adopting agile within your organization and have identified SAFe as a great agile framework to adopt, implement and improve your business agility, visit our SAFe Quickstart ART Launch program page or view our SAFe Consulting Services page.
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