Coming unstuck: addressing bottlenecks in the software supply chain

Michael Cote at VMware Tanzu explains how to free up software development

In software development, a “bottleneck” occurs when the capacity of an application or tech system is limited by a single component, disrupting the entire software supply chain as a result.

If you feel like your business is slowing down or could move faster, you probably have some bottlenecks. If left unaddressed, the business impacts could be significant, causing delays, damaging productivity and wasting resources.

So, what can organisations do to pre-emptively identify and address the potential multitude of bottlenecks in their software supply chains?

Firstly, it’s important to note that software bottlenecks can be divided into two main streams: tech, and the people that operate it. These will have their own respective issues and solutions, some of which are closely related.

In this article, we’ll explore the top three bottlenecks driven by tech and people issues respectively, to help you identify where developer teams might be being held back, and the best practice ways to address these blind spots. 

Technology bottlenecks

Tech debt

Using older systems that cannot be adapted to new uses is one of the biggest bottlenecks holding teams back. 76% of executives say legacy systems are holding them back from adding new features to their software.

These older systems can span from ERP systems that run your business’ core processes, your own software that’s been neglected too long, to APIs and services you depend on.  “

Paying down” technical debt can seem daunting, but most organisations can achieve it if they do two things: use a proven start quick and scale methodology, and, actually doing it consistently.

Security and compliance

Another tech issue that can greatly slow down teams comes from security and compliance requirements, which can take months to complete. The right tech stacks will have controls that embed security at an earlier stage, with a true continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline to manage risk on an ongoing basis.

Too little automation and standardisation 

Taking the time automate routine software development and delivery tasks takes time away from coding and delivering features. Eventually, however, making that trade off will create numerous bottlenecks that could have been avoided with more automation and standardization. You need to prioritize automation.

This is where using platform like the build service and templating tools in the Tanzu platform can get you a leg up.

People can hold up development too

Neglecting skills training

It’s talked about a lot, but neglecting the right skills training is still a huge barrier for speeding up software development. Pairing up experienced people with those who are learning a new area of the business can greatly improve this and mean those who need to develop can benefit from on-the-job training.

Without tackling this issue, it will become just as much a bottleneck as tech debt – meaning some people are stuck in the old way of doing things and can no longer keep up.

The wrong mindset

Having sceptics and individuals resistant to change is another major people-based bottleneck. Business leaders and heads of dev teams will need to think about how to demonstrate the benefits of new methods – whether that means they’ll get to ship releases more frequently, work less overtime, or deal with less toil.

Connecting with underused tech tools and showing how devs can reap the benefits can play a large part here.

Taking a Big Bang approach

Finally, this leads us on to a warning. Be wary of the leaders who want to see too much too soon – this rarely works with digital transformation and can end up being a bottleneck in itself, if the wrong decisions end up being taken.

People often want to transform everything at once due to urgency, over confidence, and making a business case, but Big Bang approaches don’t work well and are risky. Instead, starting small, learning, and repeating the process – testing on internal, business-facing apps first – will help teams adapt transformation to the organisation in the right way.

Coming unstuck: tackling bottlenecks head on

The bottom line is that bottlenecks in software supply chains create a demand for businesses to spend more time, energy and attention in trying to resolve them. By deploying longer-term solutions via more centralised and secure platforms, and by automating manual processes, organisations will be able to bring resilience to their supply chains.

Additionally, having a team with the relevant skills as well as a leadership team with the right mindset and approach, will ultimately help reduce or eliminate bottlenecks – increasing overall productivity and profitability. 

Michael Cote is Senior Technologist at VMware Tanzu

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com