Value Streams Inventory and Attributes

The Value Streams Inventory governs every value stream the enterprise operates — every end-to-end flow through which the organization delivers value to a stakeholder. A value stream qualifies for an entry when it represents a distinct, named, end-to-end flow that begins with an identifiable triggering stakeholder need and ends with an identifiable delivery of value. Every entry is a Noun Instance of the Value Stream Noun Type, with its own Semantic ID, its own ordered sequence of stages, its own triggering and receiving stakeholders, and its own performance, health, and strategic profile.

A value stream is explicitly not a process, a capability, an application, or an organizational unit. A process describes how a particular piece of work is carried out — the specific sequenced activities. A value stream is realized through processes, but it is not itself a process: it is the flow of value, defined by its endpoints, stable across the process redesigns that change how it is carried out. A capability is a standing ability the enterprise possesses; a value stream is a flow that puts capabilities to work toward a stakeholder outcome. An application supports the stages of a value stream but is not itself a value stream. An organizational unit operates parts of a value stream but is not itself a value stream. When in doubt: if it begins with a stakeholder need, proceeds through an ordered sequence of stages, and ends with delivered value, it is a value stream.

The Value Streams Inventory is a flat inventory — value streams are peers of one another, not arranged in a hierarchy. This is a deliberate contrast with the Capabilities Inventory, which is hierarchical because capabilities genuinely decompose into sub-capabilities. Value streams do not decompose that way; each value stream is a complete end-to-end flow. The internal structure of a value stream is its ordered sequence of stages, captured within the Value Stream record rather than as a hierarchy of separate records.