Lean Thinking   ● Type 2 Muda​ - This is “pure waste” or things  final column (Done), each state becomes a 
1. Identify Value​ - ​Specify value from the  that could be eliminated immediately without  column on the board. 
standpoint of the end customer.  damaging our ability to deliver value.     
2. Map the Value Stream​ - ​Identify steps in the  ● Type 1 Muda​ - This is “Supposedly Necessary  Metrics and Definitions around Flow 
value stream, removing all unnecessary steps.  Waste” and refers to things which do not  ● Cycle Time​ - time elapsed from starting work 
3. Create Flow​ - ​Make value-creating steps occur  directly create value, but eliminating them all  on a request to fulfillment. 
in tight sequence so product flows smoothly to  at once would damage our ability to deliver  ● Lead Time​ - time elapsed from a customer 
customers.  value. An example of this might be a  request to fulfilment. 
4. Establish Pull​ - ​As flow is introduced, let  validation process which doesn’t actually  ● Throughput​ - the number of items completed 
customers pull value from the next upstream  create value, but omitting it could be  in a fixed amount of time. 
activity​.  catastrophic while at our current level of  ● WIP or Work-in-Progress​, the amount of work 
5. Seek Perfection ​- A ​ s value is specified, value  producing defects.  that has started but not yet completed. 
streams are identified, wasted steps are     
removed, and flow & pull are introduced, begin  Kanban Boards  How to Sabotage Flow 
the process again and continue until a state of  “The hard part about developing eyes for waste 
perfection is reached in which perfect value is  is that most waste is caused by doing things 
created with no waste.  right within the conventional system.”  
--Adapted from Lean.org 
--​Allen Ward 
 
Easy ways to sabotage flow include: 
What Is Va​lue? 
● Allow High WIP​. WIP is a leading indicator of 
“Value is what customers actually want” 
cycle time and the primary lever to establish 
- Womack & Jones, Lean Thinking 
(or destroy) flow. 
 
● Minimize Slack​. As slack approaches zero flow 
“Value is what people are willing to pay (or do) 
abruptly halts. 
to have their requirements met.” -​-Gerald M. 
● Maximize Utilization​ Maximizing utilization is 
Weinberg 
an intuitive and seductive, but horribly 
    destructive practice. 
What Is Waste​?  Creating a basic kanban board:  ● Multitasking​. Multitasking, despite best 
Waste, or muda, is everything that is not value.  1. ​Identify the “states” the work moves through.  intentions to maximize utilization of 
We sometimes refer to two types of muda:   This may or may not be a change of hands  resources and skilled people, reliably reduces 
(people) handling the work.  flow. 
2. Other than the first column (Backlog) and the 
Value in Product Development  even when thinking hasn’t yet changed  Experimentation and learning rapidly is a 
In repeatable processes like manufacturing, it’s  enough to make it automatic. When can you  Modern Agile principle and the heart of 
reasonable to define value as what the customer  reduce those WIP caps?  continuous improvement. 
is willing to pay for.    “The trick to learning rapidly is creating small 
In new product development, who the customer  Flow - an Example  cheap experiments that will inform a decision 
is and what the customer might find valuable    you’re trying to make” -- J​ oshua Kerievsky & III 
are often unknown. In this environment, we  Things to consider: 
need a new definition of value, one that  ● Before trying something, ask how will we 
supports discovery of customers and their  know if it’s better. Decide what better is, and 
needs.  how you might measure it? What is your 
We recognize this essential role of learning and  hypothesis? How will you know if it’s valid or 
we define value as validated learning​.   invalid? How could you learn that faster? 
--​adapted from Eric Ries.  ● How much measurement do you need? 
    When you have no data, even very little 
Shifting from Push to Pull Thinking    information can improve your decision. 
Pull is doing work in response to immediate  Assuming the above system has been running at  ● Look at the kanban board. Properly 
downstream demand. This is sometimes difficult  full speed for an hour:  constructed, it’s a view of current reality. 
for people to grasp and apply in their context. A  ● Where is the bottleneck?  ● What would happen if we reordered columns 
few suggestions for doing so…  ● What is the capacity at each station?  and tried working in a different order, or even 
● Rather than thinking about task lists, or ​things  ● Starting with an empty system, what is the  concurrently? 
we want to do​, focus on r​ equired outcomes​.  cycle time, from A through F?  ● What could be done to eliminate a column? 
What are the minimum essential completion  ● Starting with the current WIP, what is the   
criteria and how we deliver this sooner.  cycle time for a new item starting now? Why?   References and Recommended Sources 
(Relate to Evolutionary Design.)    Lean Thinking​, by Womack & Jones. 
● Stop starting and start finishing​. Always prefer  Questions to Ponder  2 Second Lean​, by Paul Akers. (Choose audio.) 
working the task closest to done over working  ● How does failure to meet the preconditions 
a younger item, or a new item.  Lean Startup​, by Eric Ries. 
for agility reduce flow? 
● Use a kanban board. ​Review the board from  ● Does lack of psychological safety reduce flow?  Making Work Visible​, by Degrandis & DeMaria 
right to left rather than left to right​. Example:  ● Does Evolutionary Design accelerate flow?  The NUMMI Story, 
what’s in the rightmost working column, and  ● Which of these impacts do you see most in  https://www.thisamericanlife.org/561/nummi-2015​. 
how could we move it to completion ASAP?  your current work?    
As we clean out that column, move one to  ● What could you experiment with, to  Updates to this Document 
the left and repeat.  accelerate flow?  This is a living document. Find the latest updates 
● Some find it useful to reverse the board, with  ● What metrics may cause local optimization at  at: h
​ ttp://modernagile.org/flow 
“Done” at left and pending work at the far  the expense of flow? What metrics make flow   
right. As many of us are accustomed to  visible? 
reading left-to-right, this reversal makes the   
previously suggested item more intuitive. 
   
● Set WIP caps​, limits for each working column 
of your kanban. This forces effective behavior  Experiment & Learn Rapidly