The sequence of activities and processes required to deliver a product or service from initial customer request through final delivery. It includes all value-adding and non-value-adding activities needed to fulfill customer needs.
Combines 'value' (Latin 'valere' meaning 'to be worth') with 'stream' (Old English 'stream' meaning 'flowing water'). The concept emerged from lean manufacturing in the 1980s, using the metaphor of flowing water to represent how value should move smoothly through an organization without obstacles or stagnation.
A value stream is like following a dollar bill's journey through your company - you can see exactly where it gets stuck, where it gains momentum, and where it might get lost in bureaucratic black holes! The shocking revelation is often that only 5-10% of the time is actually spent adding value, while the rest is waiting, approving, or reworking.
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