How many of the eight value-addition principles for software delivery do you practice?
Aug 17, 2022 by Balaji Venkatramani
Aug 17, 2022 by Balaji Venkatramani
In software delivery, value addition occurs when an IT vendor goes beyond contractual obligations to provide additional business benefit.
Value addition should be the bedrock of IT vendor culture. However, an IT vendor organization looking to establish a value addition culture faces several challenges:
Here are eight major principles that can help you promote the adoption of value addition:
Often, it’s assumed that value addition is a responsibility of specific roles such as:
The creation of value addition initiatives is not solely down to senior members or dedicated transformation leads. It’s a vital task shared by everyone in the team, including less-experienced members and joiners with evolving knowledge. Value addition culture needs to be embedded throughout the delivery structure.
Value addition needs to be clearly defined for applicable areas of an engagement. The context might need to be aligned with:
Cultural acceptance might require the introduction of a harmonization exercise to establish common ground across all sectors involved. Contextualization provides clearly defined focus areas for idea generation and helps address the “No definition syndrome”, and any cultural gaps.
Value addition must be awarded the same importance as delivery goals and contractual obligations. Key actions:
These practices ensure a structured approach for generating value, gaining an assurance of capacity and helping to meet contractual obligations. In addition, they address the triple challenge of structural gaps, scarcity of capacity and treating the contract as the sole guide.
Value addition has a 360-degree dimension and needs to be considered in the round for the benefit of all stakeholders. This holistic approach promotes transparency in the interests of all members of the supply chain, enhancing trust and delivering significant business value for each client. It can be enabled by consistently measuring the ROI from the value addition initiative to the IT vendor’s teams, third parties and clients.
Value creation is not determined by weight of impact. Every idea must be respected and encouraged regardless of its likely effect.
When, in their vision statement, an IT vendor promotes the idea that the concept of value addition is valuable in itself, the commitment creates organization-wide excitement. Here are some other ways to honor the practice of value addition:
The best ideas are rarely generated sitting at a desk. The process requires creative stimulation and blue-sky thinking. Key best practices:
That said, best practice alone might not generate value. IT vendors need to establish a robust governance framework to track progress and ensure success. This includes:
In other words, value addition is a critical success factor for the business growth of both IT vendor organizations and their clients. And it needs a scientific approach for promotion and execution.
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