Value streams represent the series of steps that an organization uses to deliver value to a customer. In the context of SAFe, there are two main types of value streams:

  1. Operational Value Streams: These are the steps taken to deliver end-user value. They include the processes that a business uses to deliver its products or services to its customers.
  2. Development Value Streams: These are the steps used to develop new products or systems. They encompass the processes and teams that create and evolve the systems used in operational value streams.


Importance of Value Streams


When defining value streams, it's crucial to consider several factors to ensure they effectively support the organization’s goals and provide clear value to customers. Here are some decision criteria to consider:




Problems identified within the transformation, specifically for the value stream:



Criteria to chose the value stream:


Criteria

Value Stream Sales and Marketing

Value Stream Research efficiency

(Lab Booster driven)

Value Stream Operation

Strategic Alignment

  • aligns with the organization’s strategic goals and priorities.
  • with impact on customer satisfaction and/or value delivery.
???

Scope and Complexity

  • manageable in size and scope for the initial transformation. 
  • clear, well-understood steps and processes.
?

High

Scope limited and well understood, team has comprehensive

understanding of the product, people, processes. Outstanding

structure.

Low

(Lack of understanding on the scope)

Potential for Quick Wins

  • can achieve quick, visible wins to build momentum and demonstrate the benefits of the transformation.
  • Look for value streams with fewer dependencies and lower barriers to implementation.

Medium



??

Current Pain Points

Prioritize value streams with clear opportunities for optimization and improvement.

??N/K

Agile mindset and readiness

teams involved in the value stream are ready and willing to adopt agile practices.

Medium

High

Teams ready to absorb change 

N/K

Team Readiness

Change agents and champions within the value stream who can drive the transformation.

?

?

Nick is part of the stream , if selected we have a clear change 

agent and champion

?
Leadership Support

High


Medium/Low?

N/K

Technical Feasibility

Dependencies and technologies

MediumHighN/K
Continuous Improvement Potential?MediumN/K

Based on this matrix, you can score each value stream against the criteria to identify the most suitable one for the initial transformation.


Possible approaches before workshops. 


IT org Process based value stream 

IT Sales and Marketing Value Stream

  • Description: This value stream focuses on developing tools and technologies that enhance the capabilities of the sales and marketing teams. The goal is to improve customer acquisition, engagement, and retention by providing the platforms for lead generation, opportunity management, customer relationship management, customer support (I know that there are tools to spread docs!)
  • Key Activities:
    • Gathering requirements from sales and marketing teams.
    • Designing and developing software solutions for CRM, and marketing (should I focus here on ecommerce maybe?, what about campaign management? to -ask Kersten, Fabian ), customer support.
    • Integrating tools with existing systems and data sources. (ref to the data mining that is also being developed)
    • Testing and deploying solutions. (to check if this is really the case, are the users being trained ? How are tools releases communicated to customers?)
    • Training users and providing ongoing support.
  • Value to Customer: By building effective sales and marketing tools, Syensqo can  ultimately drive higher sales and customer satisfaction.

Key Areas to Assess:

  • Leadership Support: Commitment to investment seems to exist (add URL) 
  • Skills and Training: Assess the skills of the teams to embrace SAFe change (discuss with Bongiorno-ext, Alix how to)
  • Change Management: Evaluate the organization’s willingness to change


Possible questions to drive the workshop (1st round)

(to organise on a storytelling structure or should we go for a grouped approach e.g. strategy, challenges, implementation and execution etc

Bongiorno-ext, Alix  maybe we can organise the different steps and rely on different attendees profiles. For example Fabian for the strategy and high level, his team to the rest of the questions. In the end , a restribution ceremony


  • Value stream
  • What is the trigger?
    • How are the requests made to the digital journey team ?
    • Who are we addressing this requests (perspective of user, customer,..)
    • What are the primary goals of the depto?
  • The current state
    • How will updates and enhancements be prioritized and implemented?
  • Identifying bottlenecks
    • How are the challenges impacting the business performance?
    • What challenges the current tools have and where are they tracked? (IF they are tracked)
  • The future state
    • What processes will be in place for continuous improvement of the tools?
  • Last step
    • How is the customer ongoing support  provided to ensure the tools are used effectively? (sites)
    • How is the end user ongoing support  provided to ensure the tools are used effectively? (internal users)
    • How will feedback be gathered from users (including sales and marketing teams) about the new tools?


  • Which tools? (show and discuss diagram from Nick and Alix)
  • Which metrics are being tracked  and why (R&D, PM , Business)?
  • How is data collected, stored, and analyzed?
  • How are the goals of PM aligned with business objectives (bring cadence as well here)?
  • Are there tools integration issues? (Data as well)
  • Resources: roles, budget
  • What key performance indicators (KPIs) will be used to measure the success of the new features (e.g. pricing)?
  • How will updates and enhancements be prioritized and implemented?



IT Research activities

  • Description: This value stream aims to enhance the efficiency and productivity of research activities in laboratories. The objective is to streamline research processes and reduce the time to discovery by providing analytics solutions
  • Key Activities:
    • Automating data collection and analysis processes. (standardization included here!)
    • Enhancing collaboration and knowledge sharing among researchers.
  • Value to Customer: By making research more efficient, Syensqo can accelerate innovation, reduce costs, and improve the quality of research outcomes, ultimately leading to faster development of new products and solutions.
  • Leadership Vision: commitment to research efficiency?
  • Current Research Practices: Evaluate the existing research processes and technologies in use.
  • Skills and Expertise: Assess the skills of researchers and their willingness to adopt new tools.
  • Collaboration and Culture: Evaluate the organization’s willingness to change


General comments: 

Readiness of Product - very high

Readiness on Workflow in processes - very high

Business bridge - high

Integration with portfolio - to work on (through LPM)

Understanding of roles within the org : PM very high, PO (to be discussed) , SM to improve the training/coaching elements 


Questions for the workshop (1st round) DONE

  • What are the existing research workflows and processes?

R&I technicians/researchers enter data of the experiments they conduct to their different sources (Instruments, ELN, LIMS, etc.). They can analyze and optimize their next experiments by looking at all the centralized results in DataLab.

Lab Booster User journey


Lab Booster Value Proposition: 

”One simple and secure solution to Access & Valorize R&I data with predictive analytics for all market users” Lab Booster Team


  • How are experiments and studies currently conducted and documented?
    • As the standard asked by IT MUST be (not always followed because lck of ELN or LIMS access) 
      • For synthesis, formulation and application labs they are conducted and saved via the ELN (GS or Excel upload). 
      • For analytical labs, they are currently requested and saved via the LIMS (Agilab LIMS for Corporate labs and Labware LIMS for GBU labs)
  • Generally, what tools and technologies are currently used in the lab?
    • Many and not standardized
  • What challenges do researchers face with the current tools and workflows?
    • Some tools do not answer all their needs. Since they are specific and they create new projects very often, the needs grow quickly. 
  • How do these challenges impact the overall efficiency and productivity of the lab?
    • Quite a bit since if there is too much data to deal with, they will just not invest time to explore that data.
  • Who collects, and manages data for the  lab? (end-user = researcher?)
    • Technicians, lab researchers, lab managers, senior R&I experts.
  • How is data collected, stored, and managed in the lab?
    • With Lab Booster → connected and centralized
    • Otherwise, by hand or with excel
  • What are the current methods for data analysis and reporting?
    • They export data from DataLab or request an export from our database so that they can format the data in Excel or other solutions.
  • Are there any issues with data accuracy, integrity, or accessibility? (not accessibility in terms of UX but access in security)
    • Data quality: people in the lab are responsible for the data quality they produce and enter in the labs. We have lab managers that set up review processes.  
  • What are the primary goals for making research more efficient in the lab?
    • To centralize data so that we can develop visuals in DalaLab in the form of tables and graphs.
  • How will these goals align with the broader objectives?
    • Standardization
    • Accelerate time to market
    • Transparency (Security)
  • How can the user experience for researchers be improved?
    • Modernization of the sources.
    • Also, standardization of their processes.
  • What training will be needed for researchers to effectively use new tools or processes?
    • A point of contact on site in that labs to train and monitor (Project coordinator job)
    • Use of the tools should be part of the performance review of R&I
  • How will progress be monitored and reported?
    • Adoption: with metrics (web tools) and people reviewing the good practices within the labs.
    • Sprint Reviews, stakeholder workshops (design), stakeholder adoption review meetings.

Operations

Description: To be understood

To discuss with Roscetti, Nicolas as I am missing the goal of the depto in terms of what they deliver

Efficiency of Digital Operations/ production line through data 



Identified problem for this value stream implementation: the first stream should not be one that can impact so severely the business operational performance




Possible approaches before workshops. (versions 1 - old)



ApproachPossible splitsPros and cons
Process based value stream 

Are the  processes  complex and vary significantly across product lines or departments.?

Possible value streams to map:

Sales and Marketing Value Stream

  • Steps: Market analysis, customer outreach, sales strategy development, promotional activities, customer relationship management.
  • Goal: Attract new customers and maintain strong relationships with existing customers.

Data Management Value Stream

  • Steps: Development, data collection and storage, data analysis,.
  • Goal: Ensure effective use of data for decision-making.
  • Benefits: Focuses on optimizing specific processes, and improving efficiency.
  • Example at syensqo: R&I , manufactoring, distribution with distinct value
  • Cons: conflicts on GBU are not handled by the streams but for IT/additional alignment needed
GBU like Value Stream

Are the customers (Through GBUs?) having diverse needs and require tailored products or services?


Possible value streams to map:

GBU-example Value Stream

  • Customer (aka market?) Segment: Companies producing household goods, personal care products, cleaning products.
  • Steps: Product development, production, quality control, packaging, branding support, logistics, and regulatory compliance.
  • Goal: Deliver high-quality chemicals used in consumer goods, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and supporting branding and marketing efforts.
  • Benefits:

Aligns business goals per GBU, shift to the GBUs to decide how to prioritize within their value stream. Enhances customer satisfaction, allows for customized solutions, and improves responsiveness.

Example: GBUs listed

  • Con: Less synergies on solutions 
Types of product namely: material vs consumer producstAre the products having  distinct processes, regulatory requirements, or customer bases.?







Worshop

Which customer to start mapping?