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Link Software Development to Measured Business Value Creation

In this handbook: Link Software Development to Measured Business Value Creation Link software development to measured business value creation VICTORIA (VICKY) HAILEY, CMC While speed and automation have been table stakes in software development for several years, today we hear a lot more about risk within security, privacy and compliance. There is a need to balance both speed and risk in a way that does not slow down the business, which we call balanced development automation. A SHIFT IN THINKING FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT Achieving the goal of balanced development starts with relentless focus on improving customer satisfaction. Translating customer needs into tangible value creation for the business requires looking at all the security, privacy and compliance aspects of the total system, including the implications arising from the complexity of needing to consider both downstream and upstream effects. This type of rigorous monitoring against such hidden requirements is what gives the customer the confidence to trust. Organizations that take the approach of only focusing on speed and throughput fail to understand and consider all the customer needs. The end product or service might nail the

In this handbook: Link Software Development to Measured Business Value Creation nonfunctional requirements, like availability and reliability, but then fail when it comes to security and privacy, leaving unwary users vulnerable. Instead, organizations must understand a customer requirement to the depth that is required to fully protect the privacy or security of data. If organizations try to accelerate development too quickly, without understanding the implications of the up and downstream feedback loops, they fail to meet all those customer requirements. Balanced development with appropriate automation creates an understanding that technology cannot provide adequate solutions without the context that has been gained by understanding customer and stakeholder needs. In the past, organizations worked hard to bring Dev and Ops together — it was about responding quickly and frequently to customer needs. Today, what we're really talking about is evolving beyond the technical domain to include non-IT stakeholders like risk, security, privacy and compliance teams. This extended involvement is a natural evolution. There are still different perspectives to consider, but all are aimed at creating value for the business and customer.

In this handbook: Link Software Development to Measured Business Value Creation BUSINESS VALUE COMES FROM CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Any discussion on business value should touch on business-level metrics that are meaningful. The bottom line should always be customer satisfaction. Everything aims toward that goal because every organization has a customer to serve, whether the goal be profit, community service, DevOps throughput, productivity or any other organizational objectives. The next set of decisions surrounds risk management. Risk information should be identified early, and in a timely manner, including stakeholders as sources of new and emerging risk information, especially considering DevOps artifacts and activities change rapidly. Because risk metrics are derived from a given business and technical context, decisions should be made using a balanced strategy that accounts for delivery speed against risks of not meeting customer needs. Finally, ensuring the organization's capability to evolve will allow for the inclusion of other relevant and much-needed metrics, such as the rate of change that arises from innovation versus routine bug fixes. Innovation should improve and increase, given close contact and communication with stakeholders, while bug fixers should decrease. However, without explicit monitoring and measurement identifying the type and source of changes being made, improving responsiveness to customers may just be a pipe dream. Each context must