Dissecting lead time
Our ability to continuously deliver business value is a function of lead time. If we measure our lead times in months or even weeks, then our ability to deliver is not continuous. We are wasting valuable time while we assume that we are building the right solution. Much like the Grand Prix motorcycle analogy, we want to put our software in users’ hands as fast as possible so that they can test drive it and provide feedback. Then, we tune the solution and quickly send it back out for another test drive.
To become a high-velocity team, we need to build the muscle memory that allows us to produce this seemingly uninterrupted flow of ideas and experiments. However, we need to get out of our own way. The typical software product delivery pipeline is full of potential bottlenecks that increase lead time. We need to understand these bottlenecks before we can produce an architecture that enables change.
Let’s survey the forces that influence our...