Turn insights into action, and action into proof!
What? First, we measure your development work to set a baseline – usually Accelerate/DORA metrics plus development lead time. Then we look for ways to cut lead times without increasing the change failure rate, and test those ideas with real data. The team reviews the hypotheses, picks one to try, and a small sub-team runs the experiment. Results are shared with everyone. If it works, we scale it up. If not, we move on. We repeat the cycle, iteration by iteration. After a set number of rounds, we step back and look at the big picture. If you want, we also report the results to upper management.
Who? Your whole team, or several teams, together with two of our experienced coding architects. The bulk of the work is done part-time by a sub-team from you, with different people stepping in for different iterations.
Delivery? After each iteration, we deliver clear, to-the-point documentation and present it to the full group. The setup for measurements are also left behind for you to continue using.
We are a remote-first company and normally suggest running these workshops online. That way we can cut the lead time before you can start cutting your lead times!
Shorter lead times mean more value and satisfaction
What if your teams could deliver more value faster? And what if that did not just mean they should work harder, but smarter, and create a higher quality product while having more fun at work?
We suggest starting with making lead times shorter! Lead time refers to the time your development team takes to turn a customer's need into working software.
Decreasing lead times is often a good idea. Here’s why
Shorter time to market means earlier delivered value and happier customers.
Earlier feedback from customers and stakeholders helps you adapt and make sure you're building the right product.
Small batches, automated tests, short feedback loops, and tight collaboration ensure that you’re building the product right.
Work faster to become smarter
Delivering value fast (short lead times) is just one aspect of team performance. Why narrow it down to speed? In our experience, lead time is a great proxy for other qualities. Just speeding things up by working harder is a short-term game that will end badly. But done right, there are great effects on other performance aspects:
You can't go fast when things break so teams are encouraged to deliver quality code.
Your customers can give feedback more often so teams do the most valuable work.
Delivering feels great so teams have more fun at work.
Bad tools and ways of working slow things down so teams are encouraged to continuously improve.
Solve the human or technical bottleneck
Deliver early and often is a principle practised in many agile teams. But they might find it easier to say than do. Depending on who they ask, they get different advice. The agile coach or scrum master might suggest reducing batch sizes and limiting work in progress. A technical lead might say “automatize.” And their manager might just want the team to focus on their core tasks. We say: find and solve the bottleneck! It could be anywhere in the team's context, and you need a holistic approach to detect it. Solve it, and move on to the next one!
Our team of coding architects has the experience and skill for that holistic view. Whether the bottleneck is in the code, the process, the team, or the ecosystem, they will find it and know how to solve it.
Let's talk!
We would love to discuss how you can start cutting your lead times! Please contact Jimmy today!
