Value Stream Mapping
It’s a common exercise in the Agile arena to surface improvements in our day-to-day processes throughout the value chain
Overview
It’s a common exercise in the Agile arena to surface any potential improvement in our day-to-day processes. It comes from the lean manufacturing revolution that makes things visible by embedding materials and information on flow diagramming to introduce lean practices.
The idea is to bring together representatives of each vertical section of your System Map and collaborate to outline time spent in between each vertical area (think of it being in a queue ready to be consumed by the next vertical step), where you co-create ways to streamline it.
In Figure 8, the relationship between lead time and process time is shown. The top part of the diagram is a diagram of the process. As mentioned earlier on the left is an image representing the customer and on the right is the final product. In between are all the processes required to create the product. There is an additional line looping back to the world, sales and prospective customers. Below are two bars, one showing lead time and the other process time. This outlined the time spent working on parts of the product development, design and production, and waiting times in between each of these steps. For example, an order is received but it is three hours before the first part of the process begins. This process may take three hours, followed by a three hour wait time which incurs a delay before the next step in the process. Figure 8 shows eight periods of lead time, or delay between the six periods of process time. The aim of lean manufacturing is to minimise these wait times in order to shorten the overall time needed between the order being received and delivered.
You may have already started! Pick up your System Map. And enrich it with variables beyond 'time'; include materials and energy, find the leverage points and how can you streamline it throughout your whole value chain.
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Fiona Miller
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dr. Fiona A. Miller is a Professor of Health Policy in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She directs the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems and CASCADES, a national initiative for climate action and awareness in healthcare funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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Caroline Pidcock
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Tom Owen-Smith
Lambeth, London Borough of Lambeth, England, United Kingdom
Doughnut Economics is an inspirational text, and I am keen to be part of building it out to change our economy and society. I am the Sustainability lead at SUMS Consulting – we are a not-for-profit membership organisation providing consultancy services to the university sector, mostly in the UK. One aim is to make universities run sustainably and in harmony with their place. Universities are also at the centre of knowledge production and can make big contributions to the paradigm shift through their research, education and ability to bring people together. I hope to learn from this community and share ideas for change – both for my work and for living my own life.
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Bruce Hey
Baardskeerdersbos, Western Cape, South Africa
I spent my early career in the oil and gas industry. Today I write and campaign as a sustainability activist, focused on one question: how do businesses — especially fossil fuel companies — survive the next fifty years? My first two books grew out of that industry experience, setting out what it takes to improve the performance of managed assets across oil, gas and process operations, including a deep dive into turnaround management as a driver of long-term success. My third book, The Death of Business as Usual, widened the lens: it argues that long-term business survival now depends on a genuine refocus toward renewables and net zero by 2050. My fourth and most recent book, Sustainability for the Energy and Process Industries, brings it together — a practical look at how energy and process companies are realigning around new technologies, new partnerships, and new business models to make that transition real. My overall focus is the long-term sustainability of business. I'm particularly interested in how fossil fuel companies can realign themselves using new technologies and ideas — and in making sure the phase-out of fossil fuels is handled carefully, minimising social and environmental harm while keeping the transition to net zero economically viable.
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Nicolas L
Bristol
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Nelly Rahimy
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Ines Garcia
Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
Agile & Climate Coach | Circular Economy professional (Cambridge) | Biomimicry Practitioner Author tiny.cc/authorinesgarcia Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame @ getagile.co.uk www.inesgarcia.me
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Angela Schmidt
Arraial D'Ajuda - Porto Seguro - BA
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