with Steven Gibson:
Most Agile transformations pour their energy into improving how delivery squads work — refining ceremonies, refining backlogs, and optimising team velocity. Yet research and real-world data consistently show that up to 90% of the total time from ideation to realisation happens outside the squads. That means many organisations are investing heavily to locally optimise just 10% of their value stream, while the real bottlenecks — and opportunities for improvement — remain hidden upstream or downstream.
This lightning talk will challenge traditional transformation thinking and explore how many of the frustrations faced by delivery squads actually stem from systemic issues: unclear prioritisation, lengthy approvals, handoffs, or decision latency long before development begins. It will also reframe the role of the Agile Coach, moving from team-level facilitation to system-level enablement, helping organisations see and improve the flow of value across the entire end-to-end journey.
Through the lens of Flow Metrics, you’ll learn how to use data to make invisible delays visible, uncover where time is truly spent, and enable data-informed conversations that lead to meaningful change.
Learning outcomes
- A fresh perspective on where your delivery system’s real constraints lie
- Practical ways to apply Flow Metrics for insight and improvement
- Ideas for extending your coaching impact beyond the squad to the whole value stream