During a value stream mapping exercise, a team discovers that a completed feature waits an average of nine days in a queue for approval before it can be deployed, even though the coding took only two days. From a value-driven delivery perspective, what should the team focus on first to increase the flow of value?

Question

Accepted Answer

Eliminate or shorten the approval wait, which is non-value-adding delay. Value stream mapping distinguishes value-adding activity from waiting/queue time. The nine-day approval wait is pure delay that adds no value and dominates the cycle time, so attacking that queue yields the greatest improvement in flow. Adding developers or documentation, or enlarging batches, would not address the dominant source of waste.

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