Value Stream Mapping (VSM) can be traced back more than three decades, to the visual mapping technique used at the Toyota Motor Corporation. Then known as the “material and information flow”, it came about as the company’s focus shifted to gain a better understanding of the material and information flow throughout the organization. Popularity of this mapping technique grew as American companies observed and studied the efficiency and consistency of Toyota’s operations.
This may seem like something that most companies are already doing – or should already be doing – but often it isn’t fully integrated into a company’s DNA, especially in IT departments where methodologies and techniques are constantly evolving. Looking at it through the modern lens, how can VSM add value to a business from a competitive and customer satisfaction point of view?
Mapping the process
Simply put, a value stream is a series of steps that occur to provide the product or service that customers want or need. Value steam mapping (VSM) provides a structured visualization of the key steps and corresponding data needed to understand and intelligently make improvements to optimize the entire process, not just one section at the expense of another.
The start and end points of the mapping exercise, known as fenceposts, can differ depending on an organization’s goals and objectives, which should be set out from the start. Additionally, many projects have several different value streams to fulfil its objectives, so understanding the end goal is key to success.
VSM not only maps the key process steps, but also shows which of those steps actually apply any real value to the process it is analysing. Charting it in this way facilitates quality process improvement discussions with other team members and stakeholders.
VSM – clarifies process, inspires people
The business landscape is more competitive than ever, with development and operations teams having to work more quickly and efficiently to cope with customer demands and expectations. However, with speed often comes wasted time and steps in an effort to do things fast. While process mapping looks at a single process and improves short term tactical changes, fully embracing VSM considers the bigger picture. Using VSM, organizations can take a step back, identify areas for improvement and those not integral to the success of the process, and better coordinate teams.
This mapping activity can be immensely helpful in providing leaders, stakeholders and team members with a unified view. This new view empowers them to step out of their information silos and gain a more holistic understanding of the overall process and their respective roles and contributions to the finished product. Without this, team members often lose perspective, distort and/or discount the value of their role. Participating in a VSM activity is a great way for team members to gain clarity and understanding of the value of their respective roles. Which in turn, goes a long way to elevating individual and team morale.
Putting VSM to work
The VSM exercise can be used to meet a variety of objectives. For example, it can have a very tactical function when developed and applied at the practitioner/specialist level. On the other hand, it can have a high-level strategic function when developed and applied by leadership.
- Match objectives to VSM. As mentioned previously, it’s critical to know from the outset what is to be achieved and identify where there is waste – in time, effort of personnel – in order to eliminate this as part of the exercise.
- Don’t lose sight of the customer. Remember to start the process by identifying the customer, what they want, and how they realize the value. This will help to focus the team on what really does add value from the customer perspective.
Some key things to remember when creating a VSM for an organization:
- Clearly define the focus, objectives and get the key stakeholders involved
- Go to Gemba – meaning walk the process in the shoes of those who manage it day to day
- Engage the team in the mapping activity to understand everyone’s perspective
- Create a current state value stream map that can be used to identify hot points, bottle necks, backlogs, strengths, and weaknesses to create a future state value stream map
- Use Kaizen Bursts – look for key learnings, patterns and small areas for improvement inside the larger exercise, this is where the value will truly be discovered and it will drive changes in the future state
Ultimately, it’s all about the results
Efficiency can be measured through a wide variety of metrics depending on the organization and the level of detail that is being tracked. However, as with anything that is being tracked, it’s important to have an established baseline that shows your starting point. For example, if the original VSM was created in January and now, in April, all the changes have been made and are running smoothly, a comparison of your original current state map from January with an updated current state map from April will provide an apples-to-apples comparison of all changes in the performance data. This delivers an all-inclusive view of not only how the changes impacted the changed area, but also the entire process.
VSM is integral to continuous improvement
Value stream mapping provides a great way to make changes and improvements to the process without doing so at the expense of other process segments.
Depending on the organization, the value stream mapping activity should be held as often as needed for each process. If, for example, your project value stream uses a waterfall methodology, it might be a couple times a year, but if you use an agile methodology, it could be for each cycle. It can also be used to focus on smaller segments of the process, enabling a deeper dive into those process specifics.
The goal is to make continual improvements to the process, which can take multiple forms, including changes in procedures, incorporating automation, adding new tools, increasing head counts, etc. It’s also important to note that not all improvements are centred on time or process efficiency. Some identified improvements might focus on improving team morale, team or cross-team unification, trainings, improving team focus, or inter-department process and workflow transparency.
Ultimately, the goal is to develop a corporate culture that provides the best possible product to meet or exceed customer needs and expectations. This is achieved by making continual improvements to the value stream and ensuring you are not fighting an up-stream battle. And as customers’ needs and expectations evolve, so will value streams.
