Breaking down silos: Value Streams in ITIL® 4
Breaking down silos: Value Streams in ITIL® 4
Why do we actually need value streams according to ITIL 4? Well, many companies know the problem: departments and areas of responsibility should be successful in the overall context - but different approaches and objectives quickly become a trap. The interrelationships are intransparent, historically grown structures stand in the way of success in the here and now. But value streams help you face this challenge and sort out the problem.
ITIL 4 Value Streams, Practices and the Watermelon Effect
The value streams in ITIL 4 offer a holistic view of your path to customer added value: By a value stream we mean the sum of all activities required to convert demand into value. The altitude here is intentionally very high. The 34 ITIL practices regulate how the individual steps and activities are handled. The value stream, however, is superordinate to all of them and provides the necessary overview. For each use case in each company, a separate value stream can be conceived, on which added value is generated step by step through the ITIL practices .
The big picture also applies to your key performance indicators, for example: If you think in terms of processes, the corresponding KPIs primarily reflect what exactly is done within a process or an area. Perhaps these key figures are impeccable, but your customer is still dissatisfied with the service. This is where the so-called watermelon effect becomes apparent: green on the outside, it hides alarming red on the inside - because the "hidden" KPIs that you would have to measure to make your customers happy speak a completely different language in this case. So the Practices provide the necessary tools, activities and skills that are critical for the employees in question. But only in the overall context of the value stream do they ensure a smooth flow, generate value and avoid waste.
Free Value Streams
Value streams have the power to free your company. Freeing it from unnecessary silos, from service, process and functional structures that stand in the way of your success. Optimizing a specific process or procedure is not essential to the value stream as a whole. The focus is only on what really counts: Added value for the customer. Generating this value is what you strive for. That's why it's not crucial who takes care of the individual steps to get there. It's that everything that needs to be done on the way to added value actually happens. And not because it's written in some manual, but because it makes a difference to the customer. The overall context in which all ITIL 4 practices flow together is therefore fundamental to the success of your services.
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