{"id":32634,"date":"2021-07-23T08:24:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T12:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/?p=32634"},"modified":"2021-12-15T00:19:37","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T05:19:37","slug":"for-modern-software-delivery-focus-on-value-not-utilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/blog\/for-modern-software-delivery-focus-on-value-not-utilization\/","title":{"rendered":"For Modern Software Delivery, Focus on Value, Not Utilization"},"content":{"rendered":"
Is your software engineers\u2019 time 100 percent full? If so, you may be slowing the delivery and diminishing the quality of your modern software solutions<\/a>. That\u2019s not good, especially in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n Recently, I heard about an encounter between a discount store manager and her boss that illustrates this problem. The boss complained he had seen the manager\u2019s employees looking at their smartphones and talking with each other instead of stocking shelves.<\/p>\n \u201cAre the shelves full and orderly?\u201d the manager asked. The manager sheepishly responded they were.<\/p>\n \u201cThen don\u2019t worry about my employees,\u201d the manager replied. \u201cThey are doing what they need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n This story reminds me of the old, hierarchical, waterfall approach<\/a> to software development. According to that model, if people are not busy all the time \u2014 if they are not 100 percent utilized \u2014 they are not doing their jobs.<\/strong> In my 10 years as an Agile<\/a> coach, I have seen what actually happens when people are working at 100 percent capacity. Frankly, things don\u2019t get done.<\/p>\n Why not? The mistake that companies and people make is thinking that the higher someone is utilized, the more value you will get from them. So, leaders worry about whether employees have their heads down at their desks all the time rather than whether they are delivering value. However, even though it seems counterintuitive, less utilization means more throughput, not less.<\/p>\n I can illustrate this idea with a popular child\u2019s toy, the slide puzzle. The value a slide puzzle provides is the satisfaction of solving the puzzle \u2014 in other words, getting the letters in the right order. Leaving an open square in the puzzle is critical to achieving that value.<\/strong> The space on that puzzle is not 100 percent full, allowing you to solve the puzzle\u2014though with some effort.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some different scenarios illustrating how value delivery changes based on varying levels of utilization. Below, the value of the puzzle remains the same, but the puzzle\u2019s space is 100 percent used. How long will it take you to achieve the value? The answer, of course, is \u201cyou will never achieve it,\u201d because you can\u2019t move any of the tiles.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Now, consider the next example. The value of the puzzle is similar, but the space is now only about 50 percent used. How long will it take you to complete it and achieve value? In this case, you will likely be able to solve the puzzle quickly because you have more space to move the tiles.<\/p>\nLeaving Space to Move<\/h2>\n