The Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) offers a clear-eyed view into their journey with Value Stream Management — one that resonates with many enterprises struggling to connect business intent with delivery reality.
BNZ’s challenge wasn’t a lack of effort. Teams were busy. Projects were moving. But outcomes often didn’t match expectations. Work was fragmented across silos, dependencies were poorly managed, and customer value was getting lost in the noise. Like many legacy organizations, they were executing on tasks — but struggling to tie those tasks back to strategic goals or customer outcomes.
The team began by mapping their value streams to visualize how work actually flowed — or didn’t — through the organization. This exercise exposed painful truths: handoffs were messy, ownership was diffused, and too much time was spent on work that didn’t move the needle.
With value stream maps in place, BNZ was able to:
Identify flow inefficiencies and reduce wait times
Clarify roles and ownership across business and tech
Prioritize work based on outcomes, not just outputs
Spark better conversations between leadership and teams
The change didn’t come from installing a new tool — it came from changing the lens through which they viewed delivery. Once teams could see the full picture, they naturally began to self-correct, collaborate, and focus on what mattered.
One of the strongest messages from the session was that VSM enabled leaders to step away from micromanagement and toward system thinking. By providing transparency into the flow of value, leaders could now empower teams without losing control. Metrics shifted from activity-based to value-based, allowing for real improvement in both speed and quality.
In a world where Agile transformations often stall at the team level, BNZ’s story shows how VSM can be the missing piece that connects teams to strategy — and strategy to customer value.
🎥 Watch the full session from Flowtopia 2023
📌 Want more stories like this? Browse our VSM Case Stories page for insights from Netflix, Deutsche Telekom, Telstra, and more