Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol.

11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

Study on the Factors that Increase the Lead

Times in Small and Medium Level
Enterprises in IT Sector
Sandhya Soman, Assistant Professor, Kristu Jayanti College, E-mail: sandhyasomancg@gmail.com
H. Aditya Pai, Research Scholar, VTU, Belgaum. E-mail: adityapaih2007y@gmail.com
Dr. Piyush Kumar Pareek, Professor, East West Institute of Technology. E-mail: piyushpareek88@gmail.com
B.N. Ramesh, Research Scholar, VTU, Belgaum. E-mail: rameshbnjava@gmail.com
Abstract--- Lead time refers to the latency between the initiation and execution of a process. Longer lead time has a
direct impact on project delivery time and the project cost. This paper describes the problem which the Small and
Medium Level enterprises (SMEs) face due to an increase in the lead time. The paper attempts to identify the factors
contributing to increased lead time in three stages. In the first stage, a survey was conducted at SMEs, PSUs, Private
and Public Sector IT firms to understand the factors causing turbulence in the business environment. In the second
stage, a case study was carried out to find out the challenges faced by a SMEs in Bangalore. The case study brought
forward the need to adapt agile development with an objective to develop new features with a shorter lead time and
also unfolded several ‘waste’ factors. Finally to understand these ‘non-value added’ factors (which are major
contributors in project delay) and also the cause and effect behind the longer lead time, Value Stream Mapping
(VSM) and Failure Mode Effective Analysis (FMEA) was performed to carry out a statistical analysis of the given
problem.
Keywords--- SMEs, FMEA, VSM, Agile Development.

I. Introduction
The term “Lead time” [1] refers to the time gap between the initiations of the process where the customer places
the order to the order being delivered to the customer. Ideally the lead time refers to the total time required for
completing the process ordering the product to shipping them to the customer. The issue involved here is the time, the
time required to deliver the product will vary due to various factors like lack of skilled workers, lack of software
tools, insufficient of funds, lack of understanding of the problem from the client’s needs. Lead time has various
advantages:
1. Bringing flexibility especially during rapid changes in the market.
2. In order to beat your competitors by promptly delivering the goods in more efficient way.
3. To avoid problem of losing stocks leading to loss in sales and customers.
4. Effectively meeting the deadlines and maintaining consistency.
A. Problems with Longer Lead Time
It is not for every organization as it has various roadblocks and constraints as a results various projects will be in
the pipe line. The following are various roadblocks generating longer lead time.
1) Handoffs – There is always cultural break down between the development and operational department of the
product development teams. The requirement flows in the forms of batches and queues during the handoff
process. There is an information flow between various departments. Now if there is delay in sending of the
information from one team to another organization then there is potential of more batches of the information
in the pipeline. As a result there will be more ambiguity between the teams and result in the high costs and
failed releases.
2) Approval Processes – Insufficient data sharing between the various departments leads to more complexity
especially in the larger organization where without the data sharing the approval process is near to impossible
as a results it frustrate the delivery team. Also the quality of the product will also be reduced.

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

3) Environment Management and Provisioning – What a development team requires is the environment where
they can test the new features. Lack of the environment availability especially the version control leads to the
delay in solving the problem. For example if there is version control software which has the database of all
the versions of the software. Consider a software has Version 1, 2 and 3, where version 3 is the updated
software. Now the updated software is in Version 3. Version Control access is given to the team then it
makes the job the developer easy. Without the availability of such an environment it leads to poor
understanding and poor scheduling for development of the newer version software as we will not have
reference point to as to what changes has being done in the previous version software. Leading to delay in the
release and the increase in the cost of deployment during the release.
4) Deployments of the software manually – Manual deployment of the software leads to more error as it is
difficult to deploy the large code manually. Thus there is a need for the automated deployment where it can
reduce the lead time by 90%. The problem with manual deployment is that it is not as reliable as the
automated process and often there is a chance of repetition while deploying the code.
5) Manual Software Testing – It is always advisable to have the code tested using automated testing especially
when the scale of the project is huge, if in that case the manual testing is used then the process of undergoing
test is slow, also the amount of bug discovered is less and amount of investment on time and money is also
huge as it requires more man power to find out all the bugs in the software.
B. Approach Followed
The survey is carried out in various IT sectors – SMEs, PSUs, Sole Proprietors, Private and Public Sector. The
analysis of the respondents is done in Section IVA. To understand the non-value added activities and longer lead time
we carried out the study in the SMEs. The supporting case study in Section IVB of this paper explains about the
‘wastes’ which are nothing but the factors that affect lead time. In the Section IVC we will carry out Value Stream
Mapping and Failure Mode Effective Analysis that gives the statistical description of the reason behind the longer
lead time.

II. Literature Survey

The literature survey is divided into various segments: (1) Agile Software Development; (2) Six Sigma to reduce
lead time; (3) Value Stream Mapping; (4) Failure Mode Effective Analysis
A. Agile Software Development
According to the study carried out by E. Kupiainen et.al. [2] The Agile Software Development method has been
widely used by the software industry. The paper aims at which are the metrics being used by the Software Engineers
in Lean and Agile Software Development approach. To find out this the author uses the methodology of doing
Systematic Literature Review of about 774 papers which was brought down to 30 for primary studies. The results
from the study indicate that the metrics like in five classes - Sprint and Project Planning, Sprint and Project Progress
Tracking, Understanding and improving Quality, Fixing Software Process Problems and Motivating People are the
areas being focused.
Hence the author concludes with the use of Agile it has brought down the problems as there were various sprints
being used to track down and fix these problems.
According to the study carried out by Brian Fitzgerald et.al. [3] The popularity of the agile development has been
increasing as per the survey being carried out where 80% of the organizations are now following agile approach. The
agile methods are best suited for those systems which are small and non-critical in nature. However there is some
constraints of usage of agile approach in the the safety-critical systems. The paper discusses about the characteristics
of the agile approach where there is constraints using in the safety critical environment.
B. Six Sigma to Reduce Lead Time
According to Athul Jayaram et.al. [4] LSS eliminates unnecessary processes and defects which can benefit an
enterprise from reduced costs and less wastage of resources. Industry 4.0 refers to automation of industries by the
exchange of data between the supply chain and logistics.
Industrial internet of things IIoT) is industrial machines connected to the enterprise cloud storage area for data
storage as well as data retrieval.

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

The findings of the paper is that - LSS when applied to the Global Supply Chain eliminates defects in the
produced good thus increasing overall efficiency. Industry 4.0 and IIoT helps to improve the efficiency of production.
It helps in faster, efficient and systematic management of SCM activities globally.
The author Man Mohan Siddh et.al. [5] in the paper explains that lean manufacturing is one of the initiatives taken
by major businesses all around the world that have been trying to adopt in order to remain competitive in the
increasingly global market and six sigma was an American “invention”. The central idea behind six sigma is to
measure the “defects” that are there in the process. The paper tells how integrating supply chain with the lean
practices and six sigma methodologies can produce superior products with optimal results where the processes can be
changed from slow to fast by lean manufacturing.
C. Value Stream Mapping
According to W. D. Lin et.al. [6] Aims in improving cash to cash cycle time in the machines by using the VSM
that detects the waste in the process and by using Discrete Event Simulation. The author shows the demonstration
through the case study on how the reduction is done and the results show that through the integration of the VSM and
DES improves the C2C cycle time significantly.
According to Qingqi Liu et.al. [7] the main aim is to see lean production mechanisms that are being applied by
many companies for manufacturing, has an advantage of keeping an edge from its competitors. The paper uses the
VSM tool to identify the approaches to eliminate the wastes during the production process [10] [11] [12].
D. Failure Mode Effective Analysis
According to Baiqiao Huang et.al. [8], the paper aims in classifying the reasons for software failure modes. The
paper shows there are two classification of failure modes one is general failure and another is special failure. The
author has explained the classification with the help of the case studies [13] [14] [15]. According to Dong Nguyen
et.al. [9] The paper presents very apt way of solving the problem that is FMEA. This approach provides all the
information that is causing the failure and their effect on the software system during each process. FMEA also checks
what the probable failures are at each stage and what the corrective actions to be taken.

III. Problem Statement

The software market is becoming more dynamic which can be seen in frequently changing customer needs.
Software companies need to be able to quickly respond to these changes.
This means that they have to become agile with the objective of developing features with very short lead-time and
of high quality. A consequence of this challenge is the companies will have to deliver very quickly, at the same time
maintaining the quality. Our Research aims at Understanding the complete processes presently employed in SME’s,
Further identifying the Non-Value Added activities.

IV. Research Objectives

There are various research objectives
• Carrying out the Survey in the SMEs, PSUs, Private and Public Sector
• To find out the Non-Value Added Activities and Longer Lead Time
• To carry out Value Stream Mapping and Failure Mode Effective Analysis
A. Carrying out the Survey in the SMEs, PSUs, Private and Public Sector
The section shows the analysis of the survey carried out in the SMEs, PSUs, Private and Public Sector
Table 1: Turbulence of Business Environment Due to Uncertainty of Market Needs
Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Strongly Agree 190 78.19 78.19
Agree 25 10.29 88.48
Neutral 15 6.17 94.65
Disagree 8 3.29 97.94
Strongly
5 2.06 100
Disagree
Total 243 100

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

Figure 1: Turbulence of Business Environment due to Uncertainty of Market Needs

Table 2: Turbulence of Business Environment Due to Competition in Indian Market
Valid Cumulative
Frequency
Percent Percent
Strongly
145 59.67 59.67
Agree
Agree 65 26.75 86.42
Neutral 20 8.23 94.65
Disagree 8 3.29 97.94
Strongly
5 2.06 100.00
Disagree
Total 243 100.00

Figure 2: Turbulence of Business Environment due to competition in Indian Market

Table 3: Turbulence of Business Environment due to Competition in Global Market
Valid Cumulative
Frequency
Percent Percent
Strongly
155 63.79 63.79
Agree
Agree 55 22.63 86.42
Neutral 20 8.23 94.65
Disagree 8 3.29 97.94
Strongly
5 2.06 100.00
Disagree
Total 243 100.00

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

Figure 3: Turbulence of Business Environment due to Competition in Global Market

Table 4: Turbulence of Business Environment due to Change in Technology
Valid Cumulative
Frequency
Percent Percent
Strongly
55 22.63 22.63
Agree
Agree 155 63.79 86.42
Neutral 20 8.23 94.65
Disagree 8 3.29 97.94
Strongly
5 2.06 100.00
Disagree
Total 243 100.00

Figure 4: Turbulence of Business Environment due to Change in Technology.

Table 5: Turbulence of Business Environment due to Dependence on Automobile Market
Valid Cumulative
Frequency
Percent Percent
Strongly
5 2.06 2.06
Agree
Agree 3 1.23 3.29
Neutral 65 26.75 30.04
Disagree 150 61.73 91.77
Strongly
20 8.23 100.00
Disagree
Total 243 100.00

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

Figure 5: Turbulence of Business Environment due to dependence on Automobile Market

B. Non Value added Activities and Longer Lead Time
In this section, through the case study carried out in a SME where we approached ACN Technologies. The section
gives the complete scenario of the problems faced by the company while carrying out one of their project with their
client. The name of the project and the client name was undisclosed by them for the security reasons, but the process
was explained. The same explanation is taken up in this section.
When the company (ACN technologies) was carrying out the project with client. The client wanted to evaluate the
Proof of Concept (POC) before signing up the project. The requirement of the project was to develop new web
application having same features as their existing desktop application.
So for this two Developers were appointed to work on the Proof of Concept (POC). The languages being used was
Angular JS, ASP.NET Model View Controller (MVC) for POC. After demonstration client came back with
requirement to use React JS instead of Angular JS. Again POC was prepared according to React JS and ASP.NET
MVC. This was effort used for POC was approximately 2.5 months and then the project got approved.
After the approval recruitment of 5 more members took place and were made to work on the project. The
company followed agile approach for the software development process with 2 week Sprint. The challenges faced by
the team is that team members were not aware of React JS. On top of that for getting requirement client blindly
pointed to legacy desktop application.
After 6 months client came up with many changes that caused rework on many modules. With new requirements
resulted in rework on some modules as it was not supporting with the initial technical architecture. So again there was
architecture rebased as per the new modules and features required.
After 1 year client decided to go for JAVA spring boot instead of ASP.NET MVC to cut down license cost on
.NET. The company recruited 2 JAVA developers. DOT NET developers were made to learn JAVA. With basic core
JAVA training, the developers were able to start working on JAVA modules too.
Altogether the contractor (ACN Technologies) had both JAVA and DOT NET work being done on the React JS
front end. Client added some more developers from their end as well to speed up the work. So whole team included
developers from both the Company side and the Client side. Client started insisting contractor to deliver the work
quickly as the team were working at the slower pace.
As the team followed agile delivery model, there used to be delivery with every Sprint (2 week duration). JIRA
tool had been used to update the stories in the product backlog. Before starting any Sprint there is a Sprint planning
meeting where team picks up stories to new Sprint.
Each story is sized according to agile practice at client side itself. On each Sprint end client insisted to increase
velocity of Sprint. But team felt that they were working at their best pace and also were facing several challenges. The
main challenge were working remotely on the virtual machine with lower configuration which were taking too much
of time.
Also requirement was not elaborated or detailed to required level. So to this the client agreed to upgrade the
virtual machine configuration which reduced the team’s problems to some level but still the requirement

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

communication were not up to the mark. Thus high level requirement of each feature were documented in JIRA tool
product backlog.
Initial state of each such story is open (using JIRA tool). When taken to sprint it was ready for the development
state. Developer picked that story and set it as in the development state. When development completed it was turned
to ready to test state.
Testers tested whether all the feature included were working and were then turn the story to ready for showcase
state. When it was showcased to the client, the story was then set to the closed state. In this way after the end of every
sprint all the committed stories are set to closed state.
C. Value Stream Mapping and Failure Mode Effective Analysis
The following figure explains about Value Stream Mapping Technique using Luz Tool carried by another SME in
Embitel Technologies, Bangalore

Figure 6: The Project Description Tab describing about the Client information

Figure 7: Detailed Description of the Project

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

Figure 8: Freezing Deliverables

Figure 9: Scheduling of the Project Displaying Delay

Figure 10: Scheduling of the Project Displaying Delay

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 11, 04-Special Issue, 2019

Figure 11: Chart Summary of Planned Days vs. Days Utilized and Total Income vs Total Costs
The above Figure 6 to 11 shows the snapshot of the project carried out – which is an insurance based company
performing the following tasks: At first the company using the Luz tool registers client’s company profile. Followed
by the project undertaken from the client along with project price, schedule date and the completion date. In the next
tab the company (contractor) filled the number of staffs undertaking each deliverables where the scope of each
deliverables (functionalities of the modules) were defined which is nothing but the Value Stream Mapping. Once
defined after the approval from the team leaders and the project managers the deliverables are frozen. Followed by the
allocation of the staff members that are required to work in the scheduled period, based on which the project schedule
is planned. The team now goes into development and for every module or the deliverables the Gantt chart is plotted
which shows the delay in lead time based on which Failure Mode Effective Analysis is being done (as shown in
Figure 9 to 11)

V. Conclusion and Future Scope

We have successfully carried out the surveys in 243 companies in various sectors like SMEs, PSUs, Public and
Private as a result we were able to find out the problems faced by these firms related to lead time as shown in the
Tables 1 to 5. In order to understand the cause of longer lead time the case study was carried out in the SME ACN
Technologies. To know how Value Stream Mapping is done and Failure Mode Effective Analysis is carried out
another case study was carried out in Embitel Technologies. To this we can conclude that the effects of longer lead
time has an adverse effect to the costs involved in the project. Secondly incompletion of the subsequent modules leads
to delay in the overall project. Finally the delay in the completion leads to client snapping ties with the contractors. As
a future scope a mathematical model will be created which reduces the lead time of the SMEs in IT sector.

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Received: 28 Feb 2019/Accepted: 21 Mar 2019