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FLOW-assisted value stream mapping in the early phases of large-scale software development

Ali, Nauman Bin ; Petersen, Kai and Schneider, Kurt (2016) In Journal of Systems and Software 111. p.213-227
Abstract

Value stream mapping (VSM) has been successfully applied in the context of software process improvement. However, its current adaptations from Lean manufacturing focus mostly on the flow of artifacts and have taken no account of the essential information flows in software development. A solution specifically targeted toward information flow elicitation and modeling is FLOW. This paper aims to propose and evaluate the combination of VSM and FLOW to identify and alleviate information and communication related challenges in large-scale software development. Using case study research, FLOW-assisted VSM was used for a large product at Ericsson AB, Sweden. Both the process and the outcome of FLOW-assisted VSM have been evaluated from the... (More)

Value stream mapping (VSM) has been successfully applied in the context of software process improvement. However, its current adaptations from Lean manufacturing focus mostly on the flow of artifacts and have taken no account of the essential information flows in software development. A solution specifically targeted toward information flow elicitation and modeling is FLOW. This paper aims to propose and evaluate the combination of VSM and FLOW to identify and alleviate information and communication related challenges in large-scale software development. Using case study research, FLOW-assisted VSM was used for a large product at Ericsson AB, Sweden. Both the process and the outcome of FLOW-assisted VSM have been evaluated from the practitioners' perspective. It was noted that FLOW helped to systematically identify challenges and improvements related to information flow. Practitioners responded favorably to the use of VSM and FLOW, acknowledged the realistic nature and impact on the improvement on software quality, and found the overview of the entire process using the FLOW notation very useful. The combination of FLOW and VSM presented in this study was successful in systematically uncovering issues and characterizing their solutions, indicating their practical usefulness for waste removal with a focus on information flow related issues.

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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Case study research, Lean software development, Value stream mapping
in
Journal of Systems and Software
volume
111
pages
15 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:84949799650
ISSN
0164-1212
DOI
10.1016/j.jss.2015.10.013
project
Embedded Applications Software Engineering
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
1fae5583-222e-4357-a23b-0b77db658aff
date added to LUP
2018-09-27 13:50:12
date last changed
2022-03-02 08:11:15
@article{1fae5583-222e-4357-a23b-0b77db658aff,
  abstract     = {{<p>Value stream mapping (VSM) has been successfully applied in the context of software process improvement. However, its current adaptations from Lean manufacturing focus mostly on the flow of artifacts and have taken no account of the essential information flows in software development. A solution specifically targeted toward information flow elicitation and modeling is FLOW. This paper aims to propose and evaluate the combination of VSM and FLOW to identify and alleviate information and communication related challenges in large-scale software development. Using case study research, FLOW-assisted VSM was used for a large product at Ericsson AB, Sweden. Both the process and the outcome of FLOW-assisted VSM have been evaluated from the practitioners' perspective. It was noted that FLOW helped to systematically identify challenges and improvements related to information flow. Practitioners responded favorably to the use of VSM and FLOW, acknowledged the realistic nature and impact on the improvement on software quality, and found the overview of the entire process using the FLOW notation very useful. The combination of FLOW and VSM presented in this study was successful in systematically uncovering issues and characterizing their solutions, indicating their practical usefulness for waste removal with a focus on information flow related issues.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ali, Nauman Bin and Petersen, Kai and Schneider, Kurt}},
  issn         = {{0164-1212}},
  keywords     = {{Case study research; Lean software development; Value stream mapping}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  pages        = {{213--227}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Systems and Software}},
  title        = {{FLOW-assisted value stream mapping in the early phases of large-scale software development}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2015.10.013}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jss.2015.10.013}},
  volume       = {{111}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}