{"id":36337,"date":"2024-04-04T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/?p=36337"},"modified":"2024-04-02T17:22:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T21:22:22","slug":"nine-tips-to-better-process-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/the-lean-post\/articles\/nine-tips-to-better-process-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine Tips to Better Process Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Be among the first to get the latest insights from LEI\u2019s\u00a0Lean Product and Process Development<\/a>\u00a0(LPPD) thought leaders and practitioners. This article was delivered to subscribers of\u00a0<\/em><\/em>The Design Brief<\/a>, LEI\u2019s newsletter devoted to improving organizations\u2019 innovation capability.<\/em><\/em> It is the first of four in a series on process development entitled “Making Things Well<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have you ever launched a new process only to find it riddled with old problems, either problems encountered during a previous product launch or problems that had been solved once before? In the fall of 2021, we published our book, The Power of Process: A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development<\/em><\/a>. The impetus for writing it is that much of what we call \u201ckaizen\u201d is actually touzen1<\/a><\/sup> \u2014 kaizen that should not have been necessary. In other words, engineering rework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Process development is the work of finalizing the value stream that ultimately generates customer value. In our conclusion to better process development, we suggest \u201cpick something and get started.\u201d We realize that can be daunting, especially with the variety of tools and techniques that may weave together to yield a newly designed process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spirit of this month\u2019s Design Brief theme, \u201cMaking Things Well,\u201d below we highlight nine key concepts or tips to aid in starting better process development. We wanted these tips to provide new process development insights to the reader, so we have purposely steered away from some of the basic lean concepts such as waste, standard work, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Appoint a system architect<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n\n\n
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A critical early step is to find a champion or change agent to lead this new way of thinking about lean process development. The system architect must simultaneously look at the big picture of the value stream and scrutinize the details of every work element while experimenting and evaluating along the way. The system architect has two areas of focus: (1) Piloting better process development on an actual project and (2) Linking this new way of working and thinking to a management system and standardizing the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Develop a successful value stream, not merely a process.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Often, process development efforts fall short of meeting the organization\u2019s expectations. But when development\u2019s scope is limited to \u201cthe new line\u201d or \u201cthe new piece of software,\u201d poor business performance should not be surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, Al Ward defined the role of development as \u201cproducing profitable operational value streams.\u201d2<\/a><\/sup> In 2019, Jim Morgan and Jeff Liker expanded the definition from profitable to successful, as defined by the organization and its stakeholders.3<\/a><\/sup> The primary focus of development should be defining \u201cgood\u201d from the perspective of all key stakeholders (customers, employees, shareholders, etc.). Then, it should design a value stream that satisfies their needs. The value stream consists of all the elements necessary to create value for the customer, including material flow, information flow, and processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the term \u201cprocess development\u201d is widely used, you need to think about value stream<\/em> development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Define \u201cgood\u201d by translating the organizational needs into an operational vision.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Take the idea of a successful value stream one step further by creating a detailed vision for how it will achieve its goals. Critical assessment is vital. Are there assumptions you must declare based on operational capabilities or best practices you should utilize?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with proven value stream standards. Where none exist, establish them. Are supplier parts self-certified? How will you handle defects? Where will you locate inventory markets? How much inventory will be at the cell? Establish answers to such questions among others. Like any standard, if someone has a better idea, test it to see if it is truly better, resulting in an improved standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system architect is responsible for creating this vision. As an analogy, consider the concept paper by the chief engineer<\/a>, but focused on the value stream vision. Similar to a concept paper, much of an operational declaration\u2019s value comes from the development, socialization, and resulting alignment around the vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Manage to takt time, but do not design to it.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Okay. Calm down. We are not suggesting abandoning takt time. But for all the talk about takt time, it is still very misunderstood and misused. Most are familiar with the takt time formula:<\/p>\n\n\n

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People who develop new processes are comfortable with numbers. They think, \u201cTake one number, divide it by another, and that new number is my target. Now get out of my way.\u201d<\/em> The problem with this thinking in process development is that neither the numerator nor denominator is clear. A new product\u2019s demand and its process\u2019s capability, however well planned, are unknown. So, when you calculate a takt time for designing<\/strong> a value stream, what are you actually targeting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our suggestion is to design<\/strong> to a natural cycle time (NCT). NCT considers the product characteristics, process knowledge, and more to suggest a least common multiple as a target for processes and work balances. You want NCT to be as low as reasonable<\/em>. Let that soak in. The lower the NCT, the smaller the increments of process times you will have to mix and match to meet varying takt times. It is like having smaller Lego bricks that can be assembled into larger brick shapes versus having only large bricks that limit flexibility. Ultimately, you manage<\/strong> to takt time but do not hard-design processes to it because takt time is variable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Put creativity before capital with O1<\/sup>S2<\/sup>I3<\/sup> model.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n
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When it comes to process development, organizations too often attempt to achieve their goals by prematurely jumping to expensive and risky solutions without understanding the basic work. Leaders commonly think success lies in new technology, machines, IT systems, or even rearranging whole facilities \u2014 the list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O1<\/sup>S2<\/sup>I3 <\/sup>is a simple yet powerful mental model to overcome this trap. It stands for Observe, Standardize and Stabilize, and three levels of Improvement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n