Use Value Stream Mapping to Overcome Silo Thinking

Many organisations struggle to fully understand the work they’re doing, especially from their customers’ perspectives. Even if many individuals manage to see things from a customers' perspective, it is difficult to infuse this thinking into the bigger structure and culture of the organisation.

One reason for this lack of understanding is that while companies are typically organised into functional silos, work tends to flow across those silos. As a result, people only see their slice of the process.

Of course, you’re familiar with this. Silos are an issue that’s been discussed for decades. They're the "new smoking".

If you’ve ever tried to improve a cross-functional process (any product-related process is cross-functional, which makes them so juicy to work with) you’ve likely encountered this challenge.

This is where a value stream mapping exercise can have a huge impact.

What is Value Stream Mapping?

If you’re already familiar with value streams, feel free to skip ahead.

"A value stream is the sequence of activities an organisation undertakes to deliver on a customer request."¹

You can see by the broad definition that value streams cut across departments and involve multiple roles, from marketing and sales to production, delivery, and after-sales support.

A value stream mapping workshop gathers a group to map the entire process from start to finish, focusing on a single work item. The value stream map differs from a process map in that it also captures key metrics like duration, people involved or correction loops necessary. In other words, it doesn’t just outline the process; it shows how work flows.

One key feature of value stream mapping is its collaborative nature. It's not a bunch of process people mapping out how they think the process should look like, but people actually doing the work who know how it actually looks like.

The main goal is to identify and remove waste—unproductive steps that don’t add value and can be eliminated without negative effects. The team works together to transform the current process into a leaner, more efficient one.

If you want to do your own value stream mapping but don't know where to start, I recommend "Value Stream Mapping" by Karen Martin and Mike Osterling (2013) They cover all the groundworks and you'll get a good step-by-step guide for preparing and running a value stream mapping workshop. There's also lots of practical information and advanced techniques in there for more experienced practitioners.

Why is Value Stream Mapping so powerful?

Many organisations don’t have a clear understanding of their actual work processes. They might have documentation, but what’s on paper often doesn’t reflect what really happens.

Simply mapping out the process is a valuable exercise in itself. It brings clarity and helps people understand what they are experiencing day to day.

Another benefit if value stream mapping is that since people from the complete workflow are involved, participants no longer see just their own slice of the process and some handover points, but the complete workflow.

This can be highly motivating. If you work "in the middle" of the process, it's easy to feel detached from both genesis and delivery. You might not fully understand why you’re doing things, and you rarely get to see the finished product.

Beyond Removing Waste

At its core, value stream mapping is about eliminating waste—those unnecessary steps that don’t add value for the customer.

The immediate benefits are obvious: your process becomes leaner, faster, and more cost-effective, while the value you provide remains the same or even improves.

But beyond the expected benefits, there are at least three additional advantages:

1. Aha Moments: Looking at the process as a whole can spark big realisations that lead to significant change.
2. Shifting Mindsets: Working across departments and stepping out of the daily routine can encourage unlearning old habits and embracing new ways of thinking.
3. Creating Change Agents: The group that maps the process together can become advocates for change, spreading new perspectives and driving improvements throughout the organisation.

Here are three ways you can use a Value Stream Mapping exercise beyond its basic purpose:

Part 1: Leveraging Pivotal Moments in value stream mapping exercises for big change

Part 2: Using a value stream mapping as an unlearning exercise for participants - coming soon

Part 3: Creating your own group of change agents in the aftermath of a value stream mapping exercise - coming soon