{"id":2974,"date":"2026-01-19T22:03:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T22:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdrefocus.com\/?page_id=2974"},"modified":"2026-01-20T22:33:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:33:21","slug":"vsm-netflix-example","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sdrefocus.com\/index.php\/vsm-netflix-example\/","title":{"rendered":"VSM in Action \u2014 Netflix\u2019s Culture Exemplified"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tVSM in Action – Netflix’s Culture Exemplified\t<\/h2>\n\tThis article was originally written in July 2023 for the VSM consortium blog.<\/strong>
\nThe Value Stream Management Consortium became Flowtopia<\/strong> in October 2025. If you are not yet a member, we invite you to visit\u00a0flowtopia.io<\/a>\u00a0and join us<\/strong><\/a>.\n\t

Nothing can teach us more about Value Stream Management than the experiences of real-world practitioners so we are delighted to be able to share with you Netflix’s VSM story in partnership with IDC.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The IDC Perspective research paper – ‘The Netflix Culture: Value Stream Management Exemplified’<\/em> follows an IDC webinar hosted by the Value Stream Management Consortium in February 2023.<\/p>\nReal-life examples are shared through the stories of <\/strong>Fonz Morris<\/strong><\/a>, Lead Product Designer for Conversion and Monetization at <\/strong>Netflix<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong>\nHow a digital giant like Netflix operates helps us to understand the factors behind its success. While it’s never advisable to simply ‘copy and paste’ such a corporate playbook, everyone can find sources of inspiration by relating them to their own organization and culture.\n

\n\t\t\tA Digital Business Culture is the Key to Success\t<\/h4>\n\tBefore introducing the five elements detailed in this case story, it’s important to note that they are addressed from a cultural perspective. All dimensions, whether strategic or operational, whether they concern team dynamics, roles or skills, methods, technologies, or metrics are linked above all to the corporate’s digital culture.\nCustomer delight is the cornerstone of everything Netflix does. Customer obsession permeates every level of the company culture, from the annual definition of the strategic vision by senior leadership to the day-to-day operations of the teams and the continuous tracking of the customer experience.\n
\n“Company culture is what employees live and breathe every day in the workplace.”<\/em>
\n– Mike Zani, CEO of The Predictive Index\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\t\t\tVSM is a Foundation for a Digital Transformation\t<\/h4>\n\tAs Bob Multhaup<\/a> put it so well, this example from Netflix perfectly illustrates the fundamental role of a Value Stream Management (VSM)<\/a><\/strong> approach in helping an organization reinvent its digital business culture.\n
\n“Value stream management (VSM) is a good foundation to help an organization reinvent its digital business culture where IT and the business become unified around creating customer value.” <\/em>
\n– Bob Multhaup, adjunct research advisor with IDC’s IT Executive Programs (IEP)\n<\/blockquote>\nLet’s take a quick look at the report’s components.\n
\n\t\t\t1. Define Vision and Strategy Bets\t<\/h5>\n\tIt is primarily the responsibility of senior leadership (C-Suite) to define and share the company’s vision through annual strategy bets. But the values of empowerment and collaboration involve everyone in translating this strategy into the actual creation of value-added products and services for customers.\nThe usual problem of strategic alignment is solved here by Product Managers translating these high-level strategy bets into products and services that customers are willing to pay for, i.e. into customer value streams<\/a><\/strong>.\nThe digital products and services managed by these value streams support the touchpoints of the customer journey<\/strong> for subscribers and non-subscribers alike. They thus create the value<\/a><\/strong> expected throughout the digital customer experience.\n
\n“Netflix focuses on the value streams that are most critical to delivering the high-priority strategy bets. When the problem is about users who are already Netflix subscribers, for instance, the value stream is all about engagement: How many programs do they start watching, and how long do they watch a particular program? Those metrics send signals to Netflix about the value the subscriber derived from the program. Revenue might not be a direct factor; some value streams are about customer joy.”
\n<\/em>– Fonz Morris<\/a>, lead product designer for conversion and monetization at Netflix\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n\t\t\t2. Team Dynamics: Unify IT and the Business\t<\/h5>\n\t

Business and IT are brought together in autonomous, customer-focused product teams<\/a><\/strong> while taking care not to create new silos. To this end, the corporate culture is based on the values of transparency, flexibility, and accountability.<\/p>\n

Fonz Moris talks about intersectionality and the need for collaboration between teams, mentioning examples of cross-functional teams such as the internal studio team, that could be likened to a platform team<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t3. Exploit Value Stream Management Methods\t<\/h5>\n\tVSM in day-to-day operations is about leveraging Lean principles and VSM practices like Value Stream Mapping<\/a><\/strong> to optimize the flow of value, getting all stakeholders to work together as a team, and immersing themselves in a deeper understanding of the problems to be solved.\nHere again, cultural aspects are crucial to success, starting with respect between people to support effective collaboration between all Business and IT players.\n
\n\t\t\t4. Track Customer Research and Experience\t<\/h5>\n\tNetflix’s customer obsession is reflected in its extensive customer research, and culture of experimentation and continuous improvement of the customer experience.\nQuantitative and qualitative research validates or refutes hypotheses and provides factual support for decision-making on features for customers.\n
\n\t\t\t5. Become Data Driven\t<\/h5>\n\tTeams can rely on a wealth of data to first measure the creation of value for customers and make decisions based on various interconnected metrics <\/strong>(quality, engagement, retention, revenue, etc.). This allows them to constantly learn, review and improve the customer experience, which is what true value creation is all about.\n
\n“At Netflix, we’re most focused on metrics that measure the customer value stream, making sure that we’re creating value and improving things.”
\n<\/em>– Fonz Morris, lead product designer for conversion and monetization at Netflix\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n\t\t\tAccess the Full Report (for Members only)\t<\/h4>\n\t

As a member (now on Flowtopia<\/a><\/strong>), you have access to the full story<\/strong> which you can read and download <\/strong>here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to use as you develop your own VSM capabilities and ways of working within your organization or with your clients.<\/p>\n\t

As an aside, this Netflix case story illustrates the dimensions of the model I designed last year, placing Leadership<\/strong>‘s strategic vision driving the transformation at its heart, with Cultural aspects<\/strong> as the foundation of all dimensions, and (Customer) Outcomes<\/strong> as the purpose for aligning the whole approach.<\/p>\n

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Source: The 7 dimensions of a DevOps initiative<\/a><\/strong> (SD ReFocus)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\"SD\n

\n\t\t\tLinks\t<\/h3>\n\t