the network formed by the connections within and between software value streams. The nodes in this network are the teams of people and other processing units that create business value by working on, processing, and creating artifacts that correspond, either directly or indirectly, to one of the four flow items. Each node corresponds to a particular activity within the value stream, such as development, design, or support. The edges are the connections between the people, processes, and tools along which the flow items progress, from business objective or initiative through to running software. The network can be represented as a directed graph, which can contain cycles. The Value Stream Network is the top of the three network layers and is produced from the tool network and artifact network.
— Project to Product, Mik Kersten