A municipal utilities billing ART reports that meter-reader and billing-analyst utilization sits above 95 percent, yet customer rate-change items sit unfinished for weeks. Leadership wants utilization treated as the headline flow measure. What should the RTE recommend instead?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A packed parking lot does not mean cars are leaving. Utilization just says people are busy; flow metrics say whether rate-change items actually finish. Watch the items, not how full each desk looks.
Full Explanation
SAFe flow measurement emphasizes system-level signals—flow load (WIP), flow time, flow velocity or throughput, flow efficiency, and flow distribution—because they describe how value items move. Individual utilization near 100 percent often lengthens queues and flow time rather than proving delivery. For a municipal utilities billing ART, the RTE should reject utilization as the primary flow measure and coach the train to track item and system flow instead.