VS-13
Value Delivery Blocked — All Paths to Done Are Blocked
Value Stream Graph
Default severity: medium
PrioritizationProcessOutputRisk
What it detects
For a given Initiative, all remaining delivery paths to achieving Done status for all required issues pass through at least one blocked node — no unblocked path to completion exists. Business value cannot be delivered without first unblocking a specific set of nodes. G = delivery_graph(initiative) unfinished = \[N
Detection formula
FOR N IN G.nodes IF N.status NOT IN terminal_statuses\] FOR each_path P FROM initiative_root TO each_unfinished: IF any_node_in_path IS blocked THEN path_is_blocked IF ALL paths are blocked THEN CRITICAL — initiative is at standstill Minimal unblocking set = minimum node set whose resolution opens at least one pathExamples in practice
- Dependency links or initiative graph paths are missing, cyclic, or blocked.
- Downstream work waits on unresolved upstream dependencies.
- A team shows for a given initiative, all remaining delivery paths to achieving done status for all required issues pass through at least one blocked node during analysis.
Suggested response
Repair dependency and initiative graph links so delivery paths and handoffs are explicit.
Coaching playbook
Symptom
For a given Initiative, all remaining delivery paths to achieving Done status for all required issues pass through at least one blocked node — no unblocked path to completion exists. Business value cannot be delivered without first unblocking a specific set of nodes. G = delivery_graph(initiative) unfinished = \[N
Why it matters
When "Value Delivery Blocked — All Paths to Done Are Blocked" keeps appearing, the team is signalling a repeatable process gap. Left unexamined, the pattern hides where work really stalls and makes improvement metrics harder to trust.
What you can achieve
Repair dependency and initiative graph links so delivery paths and handoffs are explicit.
Facilitation questions
- What system change would stop "Value Delivery Blocked — All Paths to Done Are Blocked" from firing again?
- What do the cited issues have in common — same root cause or same workaround?
- Who owns the two-week experiment and how will we verify on the next import?
Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.