Value stream mapping for software development process

Abstract

Every manufacturing company has implemented an enterprise resource planning software to store the data for analysis purposes and for accounting needs. However this accounting related software needs to be customized or personalized in order to meet the every day technological changes and end user needs. In order to customize or personalize the software the user submits a software requirements specification request to the information technology department. The processing time of this request usually varies depends on the complexity of the request. Many factors contribute to the completion and deployment of the request in the production system. These factors have direct impact on the lead time of the request which can significantly raise the costs for the deployment request. This study looks at developing a value stream map for the software development process for a medium sized manufacturing company and identifying the bottlenecks which impact the increase in lead time of the request, eliminating the non value added activities and developing a future state value stream map for the software development process. This scenario led to 16 % improvement in overall lead time of the deployment of the request which in turn has resulted in cost savings for the company.