New Scheduled Reports Generation tool simplifies value stream management

Optimizing processes and performance is crucial for staying competitive in the fast-paced world of software development. GitLab Value Stream Management (VSM) is a powerful solution that helps organizations achieve this by providing a holistic view of the entire software delivery lifecycle. VSM enables teams to measure, manage, and improve their workflows, ensuring that every step adds value and minimizes waste. GitLab VSM also includes AI Impact Analytics, which helps managers quantify the impact of GitLab Duo, our AI-powered suite of features to power DevSecOps workflows, on productivity, providing deeper insights into how AI enhances developer efficiency. Now, we are announcing the next step in this VSM journey: Scheduled Reports Generation, available now.

With the Scheduled Reports Generation tool, value stream management becomes easier and more effective. Scheduled Reports Generation is designed to streamline the reporting process, providing you with the most recent metrics from the Value Streams Dashboard, delivered on a scheduled basis.

The Value Streams Dashboard tracks key metrics throughout the software development lifecycle, assesses the impact of process improvements, and drills down into roadblocks. It helps to compare best practices across teams in turn improving workflow and delivering customer value faster.

Learn more with our Value Streams Dashboard tutorial.

Why scheduled VSM Reports are important

Scheduled Reports Generation provides software managers a powerful partner in their quest for continuous improvement. This tool offers the ability to automate the creation and distribution of detailed value stream reports across the software delivery lifecycle. Here’s why this is valuable:

1. Consistent monitoring: Having automated reports ensures that software managers receive regular updates on critical metrics without manual intervention. This consistency helps in maintaining a continuous feedback loop.
2. Data-driven decision-making: With up-to-date and accurate data at their fingertips, managers can make better and faster decisions, driving better results.
3. Time savings: Automating report generation frees up valuable time for managers, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine data collection and analysis.

Inside the Scheduled Reports Generation tool

Here is how the VSM tool works:

1. The VSM reporting tool is a CI/CD Catalog component that allows you to periodically schedule reports.
2. These reports collect metrics from projects or groups via the public GitLab GraphQL API and are built using GitLab Flavored Markdown.
3. As the final step, the tool opens an issue in the designated project, complete with a markdown comparison metrics table, as shown in the example below.

To learn more and for additional examples, please visit the Scheduled Reports Generation's README file.

Get to know the Value Streams Dashboard

Watch this intro video to get familiar with Value Streams Dashboard.

Additional resources

• Getting started with the new GitLab Value Streams Dashboard
• Developing GitLab Duo: AI Impact analytics dashboard measures the ROI of AI