Phil Clark from Parchment shared one of the most honest stories of VSM adoption we’ve seen — not a highlight reel, but a transparent look into what worked, what failed, and what’s next. After adopting Value Stream Management alongside Agile practices, they quickly realized that tools and metrics weren’t enough. Without cultural alignment and product–tech collaboration, even well-intentioned initiatives stall.
Why They Chose VSM
Parchment didn’t shift to VSM just to improve delivery. The trigger was deeper: a growing demand for individual performance metrics. Instead of succumbing to this outdated pressure, they introduced flow metrics to refocus on team performance and outcome delivery. But the real lesson came after the metrics.
What Went Wrong — and Why It Matters
Despite technical maturity (cloud-native, CI/CD, long-lived teams), the transformation stalled. Challenges like leadership turnover, new ownership, and skipped foundational steps created misalignment. Product managers fell back into project roles. Capacity constraints led to over-promising. And VSM became at risk of turning into box-checking theater.
What’s Going Well — and How They’re Moving Forward
Despite the turbulence, Parchment doubled down. They’re aligning product and tech under a shared model. They’ve invested in external VSM SMEs. And they’ve evolved to what Phil calls “VSM 1.5” — a version grounded in capacity-aware planning, realization tracking, and cultural resilience.
Key Takeaways:
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VSM is not a plug-and-play solution — alignment is everything.
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Metrics only help if they’re connected to real outcomes.
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Cultural change needs time, leadership, and humility.
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Prioritize to capacity, not wishful thinking.
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Don't confuse early adoption with transformation.
This case is a must-watch for leaders struggling to maintain momentum in their VSM journey. It’s not just about frameworks — it’s about facing reality and recalibrating for the long haul.
🎥 Watch the full talk and learn what it really takes to keep a transformation alive.
Dionysis Svoronos
Denys is a value stream coach and transformation leader with over a decade of experience in agile delivery and strategic execution. He’s a top writer in leadership on Medium, a public speaker at events like Flowtopia, and a board member at the Value Stream Management Consortium. Denys helps organizations align strategy to execution, improve flow, and lead change with clarity.
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