Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15

TFC 2015 TRIZ FUTURE 2015

Value stream analysis for complex processes and systems

Teemu Toivonena*, Juha Siitonenb
a
Nitor Delta, Kalevankatu 3 A 45, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
b
Tietokarhu, Typajankatu 9, 00580 Helsinki, Finland

* Corresponding author: Teemu Toivonen. Tel.: +358-50-575-3596; E-mail address: teemu.toivonen@nitordelta.com

Abstract

Understanding the current condition of complex systems and systematically improving is a difficult challenge, which many
organizations are struggling with. Repeatable success requires the right method in addition to domain expertise. Lean value stream
mapping (VSM) is a commonly used method that has been applied successfully in many domains. Despite its success VSM does
have short comings when it is used to analyse complex processes where the value produced varies for different stakeholders and is
largely intangible. Traditional VSM also lacks a practical way of modelling elements that are present in multiple steps of the value
stream and a systematic approach to generating different type of improvement ideas (incremental and step change). This article
introduces a value stream analyses method for complex systems, which combines traditional value stream mapping with TRIZ
analyses (Ideality, functional world, FAA, perception mapping) and ideation tools (trimming, inventive principles, inventive
provocations). The new method is designed to solve the weaknesses of VSM and enable systematic idea generation based on a
holistic understanding of the system (including intangible perspectives). The method also integrates practical facilitation practices
to ease the learning curve for participants. The article will also present two case studies from an IT company (change management
and financial reporting and forecasting processes) and analyse results and benefits of the new hybrid method.
2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of scientific committee of Triz Future Conference.
Peer-review under responsibility of Scientific committee of Triz Future Conference
Keywords: Lean; Value stream mapping; TRIZ; Systematic innovation;

1. Introduction x Support the systematic creation of different kinds of

This article will introduce a new method for analysing
complex value streams and creating improvement ideas. The
method builds on the rich tradition and tools of Lean value
stream mapping and TRIZ in a way, which aims to combine
their strengths into a holistic and practical process.
The goal for the new method, values stream analyses for
complex processes and systems, is to offer a systematic method
for analysing complex systems with the following attributes:
x Understanding the value the current systems provides
from a holistic perspective (tangible and intangible)
x Understanding the current system as a collection of
components with a focus on interactions and
interfaces
improvement ideas (from small improvements to
breakthrough ideas) in all phases of the process
x Support collaboration across organizational
boundaries and be simple enough that anyone working
with the process can participate in a productive way
with the support of a facilitator
This article will also describe experiences from applying the
value stream analyses method into practice.
2. Previous work
This article builds on Lean value stream mapping research
by Mike Rother and John Shook, and TRIZ/systematic
innovation research by Darrell Mann.

2212-8271 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Scientific committee of Triz Future Conference
doi:10.1016/j.procir.2016.01.035
10 Teemu Toivonen and Juha Siitonen / Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15

2.1. Value stream mapping and Lean
A key idea in Lean is that there is two different types of
efficiency: 1) resource efficiency and 2) flow efficiency.
Traditionally there is a strong focus on resource efficiency, but
Lean highlights the meaning of flow efficiency, which is
defined as the percentage of the time of value added work out
of the whole process end to end time [1, pages 8-16]. Value
stream mapping is a technique for understanding a value steam
with emphasis on flow efficiency.
The goal of value stream mapping is to improve the value
stream by optimizing the whole instead of the individual parts
[2, page 6]. Traditional value stream mapping has a strong
focus on industrial processes. The Value stream mapping
process has four parts [2, pages 6-13]:
1. Selecting a product family
2. Current state drawing
3. Future state drawing
4. Work plan & implementation
The value stream analyses method borrows the basic
structure of current state and future state mapping from the
traditional value stream mapping method as well as considering
delays between work steps to be important.
2.2. TRIZ
The TRIZ tradition has rich set of tools for analyzing
problems and creating improvement ideas. The value stream
analyses for complex systems and processes method uses
mostly TRIZ tools from Darrell Manns work. The selection of
the tools is mainly driven by their fit into the whole process and
how easily they can be applied in facilitated workshops. The
authors first outlined the process and goals for each step at a
high level and then selected based on our experience TRIZ
tools, which were a good match for that step. On key criteria
for selecting tools for workflow steps was what kind of
ideas/insight we are looking for (minor improvements, major
business impact innovations, or radical change). Many of the
incorporated tools could be replaced with other similar TRIZ
tools.
is formed by stakeholders and the other by
system attributes. The matrix is useful for
identifying contradictions [3, pages 141-144]
Trimming The trimming tool offers a systematic way
of simplifying a system with a list of questions.
The tool can be applied to static systems or
time based processes [3, pages 437-454].
Perception mapping is a good method for
Perception mapping
approaching complex problems by mapping
the network that the individual perceptions
form and identifying which perceptions hold
key positions in that network and focusing
improvement efforts to those areas [3, pages
150-167].
Conflict elimination A collection of twelve strategies to solve
conflicts based on 3.5 million data points [5,
strategies
pages 56-57].
Inventive principles The inventive principles offer patterns for
designing innovative solutions to problems.
They are based on the patent database and are
documented with relevant examples to
provoke ideas [3, page 270]
Functional analyses Is a proven technique to form an
understanding of the current state of a system
by mapping its elements and their interactions
[3, pages 95-115].
The Conflict- The template offers a good visual
representation for problems as a problem
contradiction
statement, conflict and contradiction [3, page
conversion template
303].
A key concept on which the value stream analyses for
complex systems and processes method is based on is the
importance of intangible value. A product or service often
offers two different types of functions: tangible and intangible.
The intangible functions are often the real reasons in purchase
decision [4, pages 10-11].
3. Description of the value stream mapping for complex
processes method
3.1. Process outline

Table 1 TRIZ techniques used in the VSM for complex systems method. The value stream analyses for complex systems method is
TRIZ technique Description composed of nine different steps. Several steps can be
Ideality The current state of system ideality, which completed within a single workshop. The steps are:
can be described as an equation, where ideality 1. Setting the stage
is perceived as benefits divided by costs and 2. Defining stakeholder value
harms [3, page 131] 3. Mapping outputs to value
Functional world Functional world is a method of mapping 4. Analyzing the workflow
the functions provided by a product/service. It 5. Perception mapping
is a 2 by 2 matrix with one dimension being
me/we and the other tangible/intangible. It is
6. Analyzing interfaces and delays between steps
very useful for discovering the intangible 7. Analyzing individual steps of the workflow
functions of the product/service [4, pages 10- 8. Analyzing key problems
11]. 9. Creating an improvement roadmap (future state)
Stakeholder ideal This tool allows the mapping of what
final result definition perfect looks for different stakeholder groups
regarding different attributes of the system
(like speed, cost, etc.). The results are
documented in a matrix where one dimension
 Teemu Toivonen and Juha Siitonen / Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15
3.2. Setting the stage
The process begins by setting the stage. This is necessary
ground work for a successful improvement project. The key
activities of this stage are:
x Defining the goal and constraints of the project
x Setting up the team and its goals
x Creating a work plan and make calendar reservations
for key workshops
It is important that the goal and constraints for the project
are set clearly to make sure the teams efforts and
managements expectations are aligned. A good goal should be
presented clearly in one A4/slide and it should be the end result
of a couple of iterations between the team and management.
The iterative and participative method of setting the goal is
perhaps even more valuable in creating a shared understanding
than the actual goal statement. It is also a good idea to
document the known constraints during the process as well.
The aim should be to try to make all constraints explicit,
challenge them, and respect the remaining constraints.
The members of the improvement team should be
representative of the most important stakeholders who are
working with the value stream. Ideally the team also has a
management sponsor who participates in the actual
improvement work and a facilitator. The management sponsor
creates a channel for gaining management buy in for the
generated improvement ideas and brings a strategic perspective
to the team. The role of the facilitator is to allow the team
members to concentrate on content instead of the process and
support the work. The facilitator can also bring an outside
perspective and challenge existing assumptions. Another key
role is a local project manager with good knowledge and
connections in the environment in question. It is important to
makes sure all the team members are allocated enough time for
the project to participate in all the workshops and to do
background work between them.
A work plan should be created at this stage as well. The
work plan should contain the main workshops (as well as one
or two contingency workshops). It is important to make
calendar reservations for the workshops to ensure that project
can be completed in a concise timeframe. There should be at
least a couple of days between the workshops to allow for
background work (team members rarely have a 100 %
allocation). The work plan should be documented concisely
(typically a single A4/A3 is sufficient) to support creating a
shared understanding of the project workflow.
3.3. Defining stakeholder value
Often the value provided by a value stream to the customers
seems very obvious for the improvement team members, and
they may have a strong temptation to move on to the next step
of the process. In reality this is rarely the case though. There is
a lot of value in thinking deeply about the value provided. It is
especially important to understand customer value from
tangible and intangible perspectives. Understanding value and
11
perfection from an employ perspective helps to improve quality
and productivity. Understanding value and perfection from a
management perspective is often a must in order to design a
future state that is acceptable for key decision makers in the
organization. Understanding value deeply enables discovering
breakthrough ideas that can provide that value in an alternative
way.
The key activities of this stage are:
x Analyse current ideality of the value stream
x Create a value matrix
x Stakeholder ideal final result definition
x Teach Lean principles to improvement team
x Generate improvement ideas based on understanding
value and Lean principles
It is not always necessary to do all the activities in order to
understand value deeply. Deciding which exercises should be
done (and which dropped) is highly context dependent.
A good starting point for understanding the current
condition of a value stream is mapping the ideality from the
perspective of the customer in a form of an equation: ideality =
perceived value / (costs + harms). A good way of facilitating
the analyses of ideality is to:
x Have team members write down their perspective on
sticky notes (it is important to encourage the
identification of also intangible value, costs and
harms)
x Group the teams sticky notes
x Prioritize the value, costs and harms by using dot
voting (every team member has three dot votes that he
can use in any way he wishes) for value, costs and
harms.
A value matrix is a good way of documenting value for key
stake holders by creating a matrix where one dimension is the
stakeholder group the other dimension has two elements:
tangible value and intangible value. The technique is a
modification of the functional world tool. This tool can give
value insight to intangible value for different stakeholders.
Stakeholder ideal final result definition is the process of
describing the ideal outcomes for the main attributes of the
system from the perspective of different stake holders. It can
give insights into the preferences of stake holder groups and
help to identify key contradictions between them. The stake
holder ideal final result definition is a matrix where one
dimension is the stake holder groups and the other key
attributes of the system (quality, speed, costs, etc.). Its creation
can be facilitated with these steps:
x Team members identify key stake holders and
document them to sticky notes
x Stake holders are discussed and grouped
x Team members identify key attributes of the systems
and document to sticky notes
x Key attributes are discussed and grouped
12 Teemu Toivonen and Juha Siitonen / Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15
x Stake holder preferences are identified and
documented. Work is split to team members based on
expertise, experience and preferences
x Contradiction between preferences are identified and
documented
Basic Lean principles and examples of them in practice are
taught to the improvement team. The goal is not to create Lean
experts, but to create awareness of basic Lean principles that
can be utilized to improve the value stream. The team members
are also given study material that they can read between
workshops. Lean is large topic and decision of which Lean
areas should be emphasized is largely context dependent. The
authors preference is to cover such topics as customer value,
flow optimization, pull, interface design, limiting work in
progress, small batch sizes and quick feedback cycles briefly
with practical examples.
It is generally a good idea to generate improvement ideas in
all of the steps of the process and this one is not an exception.
The team members are encouraged to come up with their own
improvement ideas based on the following sources of
inspiration (often divided into separate time boxes):
x Better/alternative ways to achieve the tangible and
intangible customer values
x Reducing costs and harms in the ideality equation
x Improvement ideas based on stakeholder ideal final
result definitions
x Lean principles and examples
The improvement ideas are shortly discussed and team
members are encouraged to build new ideas based the
discussed ideas.
3.4. Mapping outputs to value
After identifying the value produced, the logical next step is
to catalogue the outputs of the process and map them to the
value. This step offers often low hanging fruits for trimming.
The key activities of this stage are:
x Identify outputs
x Map outputs to value
x Trimming
The identification of outputs is best done by asking all the
team members to list the outputs of the process as individual
work and then group the discovered outputs. Often a couple of
iterations are required to make the output list comprehensive.
The definition of output is intentionally vague covering
rapports, excels, printouts, information transferred to other
systems, etc.
The next step is to map the outputs to value. It is important
to link the outputs to intangible value as well, because often an
output that is seemingly waste provides intangible value to
some stake holders.
After the outputs are mapped to value the stage is set for
trimming. TRIZ offers a good question list for trimming
outputs from the process, which is easy to apply to this
situation. A good practice for trimming work is to split the team
into pairs or individuals who can concurrently work with
different outputs. The outputs that are not directly connected to
customer value should be considered prime trimming
candidates. The discovered possibilities for output trimming
are documented as improvement ideas.
3.5. Analyzing the workflow
The key activities of analysing the workflow are:
x Identification the process workflow
x Gathering basic information of process steps
x Trimming the workflow
A good method for identification of the real workflow (not
the one on the process chart) is to split the team into two sub
teams and ask each sub team to map the flow and share the
results with the other team. Sometimes a couple of iterations
are required to reach consensus and exceptions and variations
should be documented.
Basic information for each of the process step should be
documented and verified. A practical way of doing this is to
split the responsibility of different steps to team members and
have them document the steps using sticky notes, and discuss
the results with the team, and validate them by interviews as a
homework assignment. Basic information that should be
documented (1-3 PowerPoint slides) include value (function)
provided by the step, description, key activities, important
exceptions, key problems, value added time, total time to
complete step, amount of work in progress, batch sizes, IT-
systems and roles.
Using the trimming questions to try to eliminate individual
workflow steps is a great opportunity to generate high value
and relatively easily implementable improvement ideas.
3.6. Perception mapping
After analysing the workflow it is a good time to do a
perception mapping exercise, because team members have a
good understanding of the value stream as a whole which leads
to a more comprehensive list of perceptions. The value
provided by perception mapping is to gain a better
understanding on the fuzzy aspects of the value stream which
can remain hidden otherwise.
Key activities:
x Collecting perceptions
x Understanding relationships
x Mapping and analysing the perceptions
The collection of perceptions starts with a formulating of the
question/statement of the exercise. Usually it is a variation of
the theme what is stopping us from achieving the improvement
goals for the value stream, but can vary depending on the
context. Perceptions are collected as an individual exercise
utilizing sticky notes. Next the perceptions are grouped and
duplicates removed.
 Teemu Toivonen and Juha Siitonen / Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15
The relationship mapping of the perceptions can be done
using facilitated group discussion, but when the team or
number of perceptions is large this can be first done as an
individual exercise and the collective opinion is formed based
on the individual exercise.
Creating the perception map and doing the analyses is best
done offline from the workshops, but the results should be
discussed with the team, and this is good opportunity to
generate improvement ideas based on what could be done to
improve the most important perceptions in the map. The
conflict resolution strategies can be used as additional
stimulation to generate more/better quality ideas.
3.7. Analyzing interfaces and delays between steps
Interfaces between the steps can be a prime place to discover
important issues and improvement ideas. A special focus
should be placed on delays between the various steps. Key
activities:
x Identify interfaces and delays
x Generate ideas for improving interfaces and delays
Identifying interfaces and associated delays can be done as
an individual exercise with responsibility divided between the
members. It is a good idea to start in the workshop and present
the results to other team members for feedback. It is almost
always necessary to complete the descriptions as a homework
assignment, because finding and validating this information
often takes a little bit of detective work. When no data can be
found group estimations can be used. When this information is
combined to previously collected information it can be used to
calculate the flow efficiency of the value stream. Flow
efficiency is a key metric for understanding the current
condition.
Conflict elimination strategies or selected inventive
principles can be used to support improvement idea generation
for interface problems and delays. This session can often create
easily implementable improvement ideas like changing
interfaces or improving IT-system integrations.
3.8. Analyzing individual steps of the workflow
Analysing individual workflow steps is relatively time
consuming, so it is not a mandatory activity for all the steps,
but should be done for those with high potential for
improvement. Key activities:
x Functional analyses
x Generate ideas for improvement
Functional analyses is best done in small sub teams, where
teams are chosen by their familiarity with the step at hand. A
good way of doing functional analyses in a workshop is to
create an N*N matrix out of the components of the workflow
step and fill in their interactions. It is important to also identify
the intangible interactions both useful and harmful).
13
Idea generation can be done using trimming questions and
conflict resolution strategies. This will likely produce a large
quantity of quick win type of improvement ideas.
3.9. Analyzing key problems
At this point of the process there is probably a clear
understanding of the key problems (1-3), but if this is not the
case then key problems should be identified and prioritized.
Key activities:
x Expert analyses
x Team analyses
Expert analyses should start with formulating the problem
as technical and physical contradiction using the Conflict-
contradiction conversion template and creating conceptual
solutions using inventive principles, separation strategies and
known effects.
The key findings of the expert analyses should be reviewed
with the team. The goal of the team analyses is to generate
concrete improvement ideas to the key problem based on
brainstorming, conflict resolution strategies and the conceptual
solutions from the expert analyses.
3.10. Creating an improvement roadmap
The improvement ideas are documented as one page
documents (PowerPoint), which can be easily printed to
visualize the roadmap. The actual roadmap is a 3x3 matrix,
where the other dimension is impact (quick win, significant
business impact, breakthrough idea) and the other relative
importance (critical, important, valuable).
Because creating the roadmap can be a difficult task
(prioritization, large number of ideas) it is advisable to print all
the improvement ideas and use a physical wall to structure the
roadmap. A good practice is to give a scarce quota for each
team member for critical and important improvement ideas (the
rest will be categorized as valuable) for each of the impact
categories to create the first version, which will be refined
based on group discussions.
In addition to the roadmap a subset of the improvement
ideas can be communicated in the form of future state. The
future state consists of roughly 5 to 10 top ideas and is
communicated as a modified version of the value stream.
4. Understanding IT systems and facilitation tips
4.1. Understanding the value streams IT systems
The value stream exercise creates a good understanding
from an IT perspective by documenting, which IT systems are
involved in the outputs of the process, IT systems that are local
to single workflow steps, and IT systems that span several
steps. Duplication in IT systems that have a similar function is
also made visible. The IT architecture design philosophy is also
made visible from the perspective of whether it supports the
14 Teemu Toivonen and Juha Siitonen / Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15
end to end workflow or functional goals of different work
stages.
4.2. Points of emphases for facilitation
Good facilitation is important for getting a team with no
previous experience from Lean or TRIZ to work in a productive
way. Perhaps the single most important facilitation tip is to
always start doing the home work exercises during the
workshops. This creates clarity about the assignment (the
question get asked when everyone is present) and creates
motivation because people have a tendency to finish what they
started.
Use physical visualization and tools instead of trying to do
it digitally straight away is also important. By using sticky
notes and a war room (a project room, which walls are used
to visualize the situation and work) it is possible turn the
abstract improvement project into something more concrete
and approachable.
Using time boxes is helpful in almost all the steps of the
process. When something feels complex it can be difficult to
get started, but when people are given, for example a fifteen
minute time box, it forces them get started and do the best they
can within that time (which is often really good work). One
could say that time boxes decrease barriers and increase
productivity.
The war room can also be used to communicate the results
of the project. Combining the war room visualization and a
story telling approach can be an effective communication
strategy.
5. Experiences from Tietokarhu
The value stream mapping for complex processes method
was applied into practice in two separate projects at Tietokarhu.
Tietokarhu is Finnish IT Company that provides services and
software development in a very reliability and security focused
context (tax related systems). This need for reliability, security
and control can be seen in the design of processes sand systems.
The goal of the improvement projects was to find ways of
reducing complexity and increasing agility without
compromising the value provided by the current situation. The
value streams that were analyzed were:
1. Change management
2. Financial reporting and forecasting processes
Both value streams contain approximately 50 applications
and 230 personnel.
The improvement projects were successful in meeting the
business goal. Improvement ideas were successfully generated
in all the roadmap categories. The number of improvement
ideas (all categories) was 46 improvement ideas for change
management and 57 improvement ideas for financial reporting.
The overall business impact of the project can be
summarized with this quote from business unit manager and
member of the executive board Janne Metsnoja:
The value stream analyses projects produced results that
were well above expectations. As a result a holistic
understanding of the value stream was achieved along with a
number of high impact and practical improvement ideas. The
working model was a success from two different perspectives:
1) the project was completed in a very tight time schedule even
though the work was done with only a 30 % capacity allocation
for team members, 2) everyone who participated in the project
was very energized due to the new and engaging approach to
innovation. As a result of the project interest in Lean and
systematic innovation spread across the organization.
The experiences of the improvement team members were
measured (excluding the innovation facilitator and Tietokarhu
project manager) by a survey with two questions after the
project were completed:
1. Was the value stream mapping for complex systems
method well suited for the Tietokarhu context?
2. How effective was the method in their opinion?
Table 2.Summary of survey answers
Question Average Average Number
for question for question of answers
1 (scale 1-5) 2 (scale 1-5)
Change management 4,6 4,6 5
Financial reporting 4,3 4,3 4
The survey also had the possibility to give open feedback.
The key findings from the open feedback where that
improvement team members had improved their understanding
of the value stream and felt that the approach was effective in
generating improvement ideas. A difference between the two
projects was that in the first one (change management) the
participant felt that a lot of the ideas came from the facilitator
and project manager, but in the second one the felt more
ownership about the results. This was likely due to the
difference in execution time (one month vs two months).
6. Conclusions
The strengths of model are that it offers a systematic and
easy to follow approach for analysing the value stream as a
whole and generating different types of improvement ideas
reliably. The main improvements compared to traditional value
stream mapping approaches are in analysing the intangible and
fuzzy aspects of the value stream and better support for
systematic improvement idea generation.
The model can possibly be improved by streamlining the
overlap between different tools and by integrating the key
findings from stakeholder value more closely to the other
stages of the process. Also better IT tool support can make the
process more efficient and convenient.
The approach is best suited for value streams that offer
substantial financial potential through improvements, because
although the approach is relatively light it still does require
investing resources to the improvement project.
The next steps for developing this model is to gather
experiences from different contexts and more data about the
effectiveness of the approach (for example improvement ideas
per step of the method).
 Teemu Toivonen and Juha Siitonen / Procedia CIRP 39 (2016) 9 15 15

References [3] Darrell Mann, Hands on systematic innovation for business and
management, IFR Press;2007.
[1] Niklas Modig and Par Ahlstrom, This is Lean; Rheologica Publishing; [4] Darrel Mann and Yektra zzer, TrenDNA, IFR Press;2009.
2012 [5] Darrel Mann, Innovation Capability Maturity Model: An Introduction, IFR
[2] Mike Rother and John Shook, Learning to See, Lean Enterprise Press; 2012
Institute;1999.