Category: LEAN THINKING

KAI-ZEN

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

Little drops of water, Little grains of sand, 
Make the mighty ocean. And the pleasant land

That’s the underlying philosophy behind Kai-Zen : Change for the Better

Such small/ Micro changes, can help improve the Processes, People or the Product & Services that the Team produces or renders.

A Carrot & Stick approach helps initially, with the low hanging fruits. In due course of time, it loses its ability to engage or motivate individuals. Teams and Organizations that encourage improvements, without overbearing individuals with targets, will go a long way in inculcating such culture.

The Literal translation from Japanese (contextually) has been Change for the Better. But Kai ( Change ) Zen (Meditate) if we take the split. we could also infer that we can identify improvement opportunities, if we take the efforts to Ruminate over the Problem.

So how do we set up such processes & mechanisms that encourage small improvements ?? How do we sustain that behavior over time ?? Can we measure the value from such improvements ?? Should they be measured ??

Franklin’s Pros & Cons Framework

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

One of the first widely known framework for decision making by Benjamin Franklin

Franklin writes:

In the Affair of so much Importance to you, wherein you ask my Advice, I cannot for want of sufficient Premises, advise you what to determine, but if you please I will tell you how.

When these difficult Cases occur, they are difficult chiefly because while we have them under Consideration all the Reasons pro and con are not present to the Mind at the same time; but sometimes one Set present themselves, and at other times another, the first being out of Sight. Hence the various Purposes or Inclinations that alternately prevail, and the Uncertainty that perplexes us.

To get over this, my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavor to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out: If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Balance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther Consideration nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly.

And tho’ the Weight of Reasons cannot be taken with the Precision of Algebraic Quantities, yet when each is thus considered separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I can judge better, and am less likely to take a rash Step; and in fact I have found great Advantage from this kind of Equation, in what may be called Moral or Prudential Algebra.

Hidden Gaps

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

Jim is a new Manager assigned to a Program. He has been briefed by the management about his role, and expectations on the Goal to be reached.

Jim discusses with the team and other stakeholders, makes an assessment of the state of the program and defines a plan to get to the goal post. The plan is reviewed, everyone agrees and the program continues.

As the planned completion date nears, there is a realization that the actual’s are still far far away. why does this happen?

In LEAN thinking we use the terms Current & Future State, look at the image below

Unknown Unknowns

In Spite of Jim making an Objective assessment during planning, Cognitive Biases and VUCA forces, result in gap between Current State and Reality.

This hidden gap will always exist, in spite of all the efforts to be close to reality. During planning, It is required to be aware of this Hidden Gap, and plan contingencies for associated Unknown Risks.

3 Steps to successful Org transformation

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

To make a successful organizational transformation, there are only three overarching needs, everything else is subordinate to these

I) Leaders need to believe in the transition process & the benefits of making the transition

II) Leaders need to demonstrate that belief, through their actions and communications.

III) Both 1 & 2 above has to be continued till the transition is complete and deemed Sustainable

Dilution in any one of the above is a recipe for failure, while perseverance demonstrated on the 3 Steps, guarantees Success

ROTI – Food for Thought

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

Reading is such a wonderful thing, the more variety you read, the more wilder is your imagination. Last weekend I had an epiphany, R.O.T.I – Return On (TIME) Invested

Wow, What If that could be a Real measurable metric? A quick search on google, and i realized the Acronym is taken 😦  It is in use to evaluate agile meeting effectiveness. So my momentary dream of registering (R.O.T.I) acronym and having copyrights, died in its own womb.

Never Mind, so continuing the quest, If we could  realize the importance of Quality time, that would act as a natural fuel or catalyst towards building a Culture of Quality.it would trigger a virtuous cycle of Improvement.

Unlike Money, Time is a perishable asset, with a constant unit rate of depreciation (i.e. if we have 24 hours at the start after 6 hours, we have only 18 Hours left – or One Unit depreciation / Hour)

So after some more deliberation, The first preliminary draft of the equation.

R.O.T.I = (Utility value of an activity over applicable period of time) / (Time Invested in the activity) + (Additional Time Re-invested in same activity)

What ails Lean Sustenance ?

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

While most organizations are able to build awareness & induce Lean Transformation, not many of them manage to sustain them. In most such cases, there are multiple factors, which are interdependent and tend to reinforce each other in detrimental ways.

Briefly reviewing few such key factors (not in any logical order )

a.Goals are only stretched they are not audacious – When we set ourselves goals which can be reached with a stretch of current practices. we do just that and meet the objective. This stretching per se cannot be done for long. Team cannot be stretched for too long and soon all the energy saps. It is important that we set ourselves goals that cannot be met with the current was of getting things done, thus forcing ourselves to look for breakthrough strategies to fulfill vision.

b. Diminishing Returns / Marginal gains – In the initial first cycle of Lean Adoption, there are enough opportunities, there is enough visible waste around, and some low hanging gains. Again,It is easy to demonstrate progress without raking the heads. As subsequent cycle kicks in the Law of diminishing returns, and aspects of Marginal utility start impacting the transition. as the Marginal gains start reducing, the enthusiasm starts to fade.

c. Result Oriented – Learning disability – Though we learnt that Lean is about focusing on process also and not just the results. it is hard to instill; A key tenet of Lean thinking is fix the processes the results will follow. I term this as learning disability because we have seen this pattern elsewhere. Learning a subject to clear an exam or get a certification vs. Learning a subject with an intent to master it. So if the leaders look for outcomes, the teams find ways to get to those outcomes. If the leaders focus on the path taken, the team will take that path for sure.

d. behavior change takes time –  Changing ways is not easy, how many time have we planned to do something, and postponed indefinitely. If for a single individual it is difficult to make a new habit. how much more it would be for a group. The difficulty level gets multiplied. While making new habits itself takes time, the outcome of those changes take even more time to show their results. It is always easy to loose focus / interest and get back to old ways when fallback is an option.

Hence to make a sustained transition, the onus falls on the leaders to show the way, demonstrate the right behaviors, ask the right questions, & persevere in walking the talk.

Extending 3P’s to Planning effectiveness

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

“Jim Womack” refers to “Purpose, Process & People” time & again when expounding LEAN thinking.  ( One such note is  here).  To explain briefly …

Purpose is about, what is the Value / outcome expected / Why  / Need ?

Process – Do our processes serve the Purpose, are they …
               Valuable — Is the Output useful
               Capable – Get the required result consistently
                Available – Can be executed as and when needed
                Adequate – Does it meet the required Quantitative needs
                Flexible – Can it accommodate variations, can be quickly reconfigured. to changing needs.

People – Do we have engaged & Motivated people Skilled & Competent in executing the process

Jim explains that by asking these questions during Gemba walks, aligning the teams thought process to LEAN thinking, is triggered.

(This was an ultra brief summary … let’s get to the main part)

Now, If we have just conceptualized a project and need to plan the execution.
Purpose is about understanding the Needs and Identifying the Scope & its boundaries.
By explicitly questioning if the Selected Scope serves the true Purpose, we are bringing in alignment with the Customer Needs.

Process is about the Execution plan the WBS / Development Life-cycle / Intermediate Milestones… etc. The good part is we get to think through the abilities (Valuable / Capable / Available / Adequate / Flexible) of each of the Sub processes / Activities. this would help in strengthening the espoused Abilities

Focus on People is about having a team with the required Competencies / Skills, and developing plans to acquire them. Providing for an environment to maximize team engagement towards attaining the purpose.

When we have Uncertainties associated with the 3P’s those are identified as Program Risks. Then we develop plan to mitigate them to reduce the uncertainties.

When we have gaps between the expected outcome & purpose, or the planned processes are not adequately executed, those result in product or process Quality issues .

Thus approaching Project Planning with 3P’s thinking helps improve the Planning effectiveness.

Process Design for Flow (PDF) in Knowledge Industry

Srivatsa SeshadriLeave a comment

Process Design for Flow (PDF) is a fundamental LEAN principle which is about having the right materials , tools and resources at the right point of time in the right place, in right quantities to ensure Customer deliveries with minimal wastage of time, material & other resources. Designing layouts and material & information flow methods with the above principle in context is what PDF is all about.

In case of a knowledge industry, or where activities & outcomes are a result of mental effort rather then Physical effort, requires a different approach to enable Flow or to ensure Customer delivery with minimal wastage of time & effort..

Works of Mihaly csikszentmihalyi on Flow, (the psychology of optimal experience) provides the foundation for determining PDF in knowledge based industries. An individual is most productive when his skills and the challenge at hand are in sync thus creating an experience of flow.

Organizations should invest there resources & time in ensuring that employees & teams have the right set of skills for the challenge at hand. employers should create & maintain such conditions to maximize overall productivity by creating an Optimal flow environment.