1. Beyond WIP limits
Pawel Brodzinski
@pawelbrodzinski

2. Hi, I’m Pawel
VSoft
http://vsoft.pl
Software Project
Management
http://blog.brodzinski.com
Twitter
@pawelbrodzinski

3. Once upon
a time…

6. Why?

7. 100% utilization

8. Cost of multitasking
Source: Gerald Weinberg, Quality Software Management:
Vol. 1 System Thinking

9. Time to market

10. Catching up
UM… HOW DOES THIS
DARN CODE WORK,
AGAIN?

11. More
mistakes
Source: E. Ophir, C. Nass, A. Wagner:
Cognitive control in media multitaskers

12. On a highway

13. In a call center

14. On a computer

15. At a conference

16. Ball
Flow
Game

17. No WIP Limits

18. Using WIP Limits

19. Total time: 26% better
Average cycle time: 59% better
Predictability*: 89% better
*Standard deviation

20. Why something that intuitive
seems so counterintuitive
when we talk about
management?

21. …and they lived
happily ever
after

22. WIP limits!
5O

25. Average cycle time: 50% better
Pessimistic scenario: 53% better
Predictability*: 65% better
*80th percentile

26. Why?

27. Slack time

28. Automation

29. Code quality

30. Simple
configuration

31. Self-
balancing
team

32. Slack time introduced by
WIP limits drives continuous
improvement

33. When introducing WIP
limits start with 2x
average WIP
Don Reinertsen

34. Cost of blocked work: 1% worse
Cost of idle capacity: 1% worse
Average cycle time: 28% better
Source: Don Reinertsen, #lkce12 keynote

35. Are aggressive
WIP limits
useful?
2O

36. What’s the use
of slack time?

37. Idle
time
only?

38. Help
others

39. Learn

40. System
improvements!

41. COST OF DELAY
VALUE

42. Project and
COST OF DELAY
product
work
VALUE

43. Project and
COST OF DELAY
product
work
System
improvements
VALUE

44. Cost of blocked work: 1% worse

45. Cost of blocked work: 1% worse
What’s the value of
blocked or rejected
work?

46. Cost of idle capacity: 1% worse

47. Cost of idle capacity: 1% worse
Is capacity wasted or
used to do
something else?

48. Average cycle time: 28% better

49. Average cycle time: 28% better
What happens to
cycle time thanks to
improvements?

50. Project and
COST OF DELAY
product
work
System
improvements
VALUE

51. Takeouts

52. 100% utilization is a myth
1OO%

53. Introducing WIP limits results
in improved efficiency

54. Slack time sets us on path of
continuous improvement

55. Thank you
Special thanks to Don Reinertsen
Pawel Brodzinski
blog.brodzinski.com
vsoft.pl
@pawelbrodzinski