Most organizations are busier than ever, yet customers still wait months for the outcomes they asked for. The problem usually isn't effort. It's flow.

Work spends most of its life waiting in queues, handoffs, and approvals that no one sees. Value Stream Management (VSM) makes that waiting visible and measurable.

In this hands-on workshop, you will map a value stream from idea to customer outcome, separate working time from waiting time, and calculate flow efficiency. Many teams discover that only a small fraction of elapsed time is active work. We'll introduce flow metrics, show where BAs and PMs uniquely shape value streams, and practice spotting the bottlenecks that matter.

You'll leave with a completed map, a flow efficiency number, and a step-by-step guide to mapping one value stream in your own organization.

Additional Information for Evaluators
Why this session. BAs and PMs are often measured on output: stories written, features shipped. VSM shifts the conversation to outcomes and end-to-end flow, which is where these roles add the most value.

The idea for this was borne from the IIBA Columbus September session. The participants there noted they are leaning in more to VSM, while also being measured on their AI tool usage. It sounded as though the community could use guidance on both VSMs, as well as how to incorporate AI into their daily routines better.

I am submitting 2 distinct workshop ideas that are designed to be delivered independently; however, together they could be a great package for anyone seeking a deeper dive into VSM, flow and practical applications of AI. If you find that the package serves the program, it would be better for this session to be first, followed by the one that incorporates AI.

What makes it distinctive. The central moment is a reveal. Participants calculate the flow efficiency of a familiar process and usually find that waiting dwarfs working. That number reframes how they think about improvement, and it is easy to repeat back at work.

Learning Objectives
1. Explain how wait time and handoffs, rather than individual effort, drive delays in delivering value.
2. Calculate flow efficiency from a value stream map's work and wait times.
3. Differentiate the five flow metrics and select the one that answers a given business question.
4. Prioritize bottlenecks by their impact on end-to-end flow time and recommend a first improvement.
5. Construct a value stream map for an idea-to-outcome process in their own organization.