Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation

by Karen Martin

In terms of priorities, mapping teams should place their greatest attention on removing unnecessary non-value-adding activities, followed by reducing the work effort to perform necessary non-value-adding work (and finding ways to convert work that appears to be necessary non-value-adding to unnecessary non-value-adding), and lastly on reducing the work effort to perform value-adding activities.

Remember: if the overall process time and lead time are reduced and the customer experience has improved, the value stream design phase has been successful—even if the time and effort required within a particular department increases.

“maximum results through minimum effort.” The team should be bold in its thinking and keep only those processes that are truly value-adding or absolutely necessary for the business to function. All else is waste.

The second consideration is how to make the “right work” flow across the value stream without delays and unnecessary effort and expense.

Ideally, the “work item” passing through the value stream never stops.

What is preventing the lead time from being the same as the process time for each and every process block?

There are many ways to achieve flow of the “right work.” One way is to apply classic Lean countermeasures and improvement tools, several of which are discussed later in this chapter. Other ways include shifting previously consecutive processes to parallel activities, combining tasks to reduce handoffs (which may require cross-training, resequencing, or repatterning work so that downstream recipients can do more effective work), resequencing work (starting work earlier in the process or delaying the start of work), and creating service-level agreements between internal suppliers and customers,

The third consideration that should drive future state design centers on stabilizing and sustaining improvements, and embedding continuous improvement into the value stream.

Every value stream needs two to five key performance indicators (KPIs) that are tracked on a regular basis.

The problem is that most organizations have established neither value stream KPIs (remember that most don’t even have their value streams defined, let alone mapped and actively improved) nor process-level KPIs. This is a primary reason why organizations continue to fight fires, don’t capture greater market share, don’t generate as much profit as they could, have burned-out workforces, and create self-inflicted chaos that they could otherwise avoid. If there are no metrics in place, how can you know how well the value stream is performing, let alone if it is getting better or worse?

After reviewing the charter, the team should review its current state findings.

It’s also helpful for the facilitator to remind the team that the target metrics will not be achieved by making minor adjustments; bold, substantive change is necessary to improve value stream performance to the degree that most organizations need.

for less experienced mapping teams, or for teams being led by a less experienced facilitator, it’s often helpful to follow a more structured path.

With limited transformation time frames, the team would likely select those improvements that carry the greatest benefit for value stream performance and that can be accomplished most easily (in the upper right portion of the grid).

The facilitator should remind the team members that they shouldn’t be concerned about how the work will be done. The only thing they should concern themselves with at this stage is the high-level description of what will be done. At this stage, the Post-its should only include the process description: no metrics, no department names, and no process block numbers.

In most cases, the kaizen bursts should describe the improvement generally (what), not specifically (how).

We boil it all down to five unavoidable facts: you need a well-crafted plan, consensus around that plan, the discipline to stick with it, the wisdom to know when to adjust the plan, and the restraint to deviate from the plan only when absolutely necessary.

Like the future state value stream map, the value stream transformation plan is a living document that’s regularly updated.

all ideas need to be viewed merely as hypotheses; testing and evaluation of the test results must precede across-the-board adoption.

Defining the means by which improvements listed on the kaizen bursts will be executed helps leaders and planning teams determine time frames for completion, resources needed, and so on. We typically classify improvements into three categories: just-do-its, kaizen events, and more complex

We refer to those improvements that can be accomplished very quickly (in a day or less), are low risk, and don’t require extensive cross-functional involvement or deep analysis as “just-do-its” (JDI).

Some improvements are executed most efficiently and effectively during two- to five-day kaizen events (KE).

For those kaizen bursts on the future state value stream map that include complex improvements that cannot be accomplished within the kaizen event framework, we recommend using a more traditional project (PROJ) framework.

Owner This section houses the name of the one person who is ultimately accountable for seeing that each countermeasure is properly planned, designed, tested, adjusted if needed, implemented, and stabilized.

the purpose of creating value stream maps is to make improvements.

One approach to spreading organizational learning we’ve found effective uses a technique borrowed from medical education: grand rounds. These weekly or monthly gatherings offer a venue for clinical staff to learn new ways of approaching a problem. Physicians present the clinical problems and treatment paths for specific patients—in effect, the clinical PDSA cycle—to peers, medical students, residents, and clinical support staff.