Value Stream Mapping - Identify Wastes and Opportunities for Improvement

Map how work flows from customer request to delivery, then find out why it gets stuck. Start with the value stream map to see the whole flow across departments -- lead time, takt, the real constraint and where work waits -- and design its future state. When one process in that flow is the problem but nobody can say why, zoom in with a Makigami process map: follow a real case through every handoff, document and system to find the waits, re-keying and rework.

3 katas, in the order they are used. Each is free, open-licensed, and comes with a companion guide.

1. Step 1

   Value stream mapping

   Value stream map — current and future state

   See where a whole value stream is choked, from customer request to delivery across departments: the map is drawn from what you measured, with lead time, flow efficiency, takt and the real constraint computed, and a future state to compare. Start here for the big picture; zoom into one problem process with a Makigami.

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2. Step 2

   Value stream mapping

   Makigami process map

   Zoom into one office or service process to see why it's slow or error-prone: follow a real case through every person, handoff, document and system, with lead time, handoffs, re-keying and first-pass yield computed. Use it when a value stream map points at a problem process, or for any process full of approvals and rework.

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3. Step 3

   Value stream mapping

   Sales funnel value stream map

   The same value stream discipline applied to a sales pipeline: real stage-to-stage timing from your customer relationship management (CRM) system, computed flow efficiency, and a ranked list of exactly which stage is choking the funnel — stalled deals as work in progress, conversion as first-pass yield.

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