Learn how—and why—to conduct a VSM workshop. This tutorial caters to an IT audience but is applicable to any department within an organization. With its origins in manufacturing, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) has been successfully adopted by other industries to improve business processes.

1. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 1
Running
a
Value
Stream
Mapping
Workshop

2. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 2
Sound
Familiar?
“Our
IT
organization
develops
requirements
in
silos
without
considering
the
end-­‐to-­‐end
business
processes”

3. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 3
Sound
Familiar?
“Our
IT
organization
develops
requirements
in
silos
without
considering
the
end-­‐to-­‐end
business
processes”
“The
business
requirements
for
our
new
IT
solutions
are
not
based
on
current
business
practices”

4. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 4
Sound
Familiar?
“When
we
collect
business
requirements,
we
don’t
really
focus
on
the
hard
questions.”

5. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 5
Sound
Familiar?
“When
we
collect
business
requirements,
we
don’t
really
focus
on
the
hard
questions.”
What
problems
are
we
trying
solve?

6. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 6
Sound
Familiar?
“When
we
collect
business
requirements,
we
don’t
really
focus
on
the
hard
questions.”
What
problems
are
we
trying
solve?
Will
these
requirements
deliver
our
product
faster,
at
a
lower
cost,
at
the
quality
level
our
customer
expects?

7. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 7
Sound
Familiar?
“When
we
collect
business
requirements,
we
don’t
really
focus
on
the
hard
questions.”
What
problems
are
we
trying
solve?
Will
these
requirements
deliver
our
product
faster,
at
a
lower
cost,
at
the
quality
level
our
customer
expects?
Are
we
improving
our
ability
to
deliver
value
and
remove
waste?

8. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 8
Sound
Familiar?
“When
we
collect
business
requirements,
we
don’t
really
focus
on
the
hard
questions.”
What
problems
are
we
trying
solve?
Will
these
requirements
deliver
our
product
faster,
at
a
lower
cost,
at
the
quality
level
our
customer
expects?
Are
we
improving
our
ability
to
deliver
value
and
remove
waste?

9. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 9
The
Solution
If
these
symptoms
sound
familiar,
you
may
want
to
consider
asking
your
IT
department
to
conduct
a
Value
Stream
Mapping
(VSM)
workshop.
Here’s
how…

10. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 10
Definitions

11. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 11
What
Is
a
Value
Stream?
A
Value
Stream
is
a
sequence
of
activities
an
organization
performs
to
address
a
customer’s
request.

12. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 12
Who
Is
Impacted
by
a
Value
Stream?
A
customer
may
be
internal
or
external
to
the
organization.

13. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 13
What
Is
a
Value
Stream
Mapping
Workshop?
A
VSM
workshop
maps
the
current
flow
of
information
and
materials,
generates
an
ideal
future
state
and
puts
forth
a
high-­‐
level
plan
to
achieve
the
future
state.

14. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 14
The
Key
Elements
of
Value
Stream
Mapping

15. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 15
Customer
Focus
The
customer
is
the
most
important
entity
for
each
organization.
Start
with
the
customer
and
see
what
can
and
should
be
improved
for
their
benefit.
Customer
Focus
Strategic
Level
Holistic
View
Waste
Detection
Metrics

16. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 16
Strategic
Level
Approach
A
VSM
workshop
should
focus
on
strategic
direction
and
not
get
bogged
down
in
the
weeds.
Customer
Focus
Strategic
Level
Holistic
View
Waste
Detection
Metrics

17. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 17
Holistic
Organizational
View
Most
organizations
are
a
coalition
of
silos.
VSM
breaks
down
barriers
between
functional
silos to
uncover
improvement
opportunities
across
the
entire
value
stream
of
the
organization,
not
just
within
a
discrete
area.
Customer
Focus
Strategic
Level
Holistic
View
Waste
Detection
Metrics

18. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 18
Waste
Detection
In
almost
all
business
processes
there
is
waste.
A
VSM
workshop
exposes
waste
in
a
process,
and
provides
the
visibility
and
the
opportunity
to
eliminate
it.
Customer
Focus
Strategic
Level
Holistic
View
Waste
Detection
Metrics

19. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 19
Metric
Analysis
Often
there
isn’t
an
awareness
of
the
current
performance
of
a
process.
The
VSM
workshop
quantifies
the
current
state
and
sets
targets
for
improvements.
Customer
Focus
Strategic
Level
Holistic
View
Waste
Detection
Metrics

20. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 20
Preparing
for
a
Value
Stream
Mapping
Workshop

21. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 21
Prerequisites
for
VSM
Success
Identify
an
experienced
VSM
workshop
facilitator
(internal
or
external).

22. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 22
Prerequisites
for
VSM
Success
Identify
the
organization’s
Value
Streams,
also
known
as
core
business
processes.

23. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 23
Prerequisites
for
VSM
Success
Prioritize
your
Value
Streams
based
on
customer
impact
and
organizational
strategy.
Then
pick
the
one
that
most
meets
the
organization’s
needs.

24. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 24
Prerequisites
for
VSM
Success
Establish
an
executive
sponsor
or
champion
who
can
commit
to
the
VSM
workshop
and
provide
the
leadership
necessary
to
implement
the
future
state.

25. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 25
Prerequisites
for
VSM
Success
Empower
the
team
to
make important
changes
that
will
transform
the
organization
and
meet
strategic
needs.

26. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 26
Executing
a
Value
Stream
Mapping
Workshop

27. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 27
Step
1:
Mandate
Develop
a
workshop
mandate,
or
charter, which
includes:
• Scope
• Problem
Statement
• Objectives
• Metrics

28. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 28
Step
2:
Agenda
Produce
a
detailed
agenda
(typically
over
2
or
3
days,
8
hours
per
day)
and
a
logistical
plan.

29. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 29
Step
3:
Kick-­‐Off
Meeting
Hold
a
kick-­‐off
meeting
with
the
executive
sponsor
to
review
the
workshop
mandate,
logistics,
recommended
training
(depending
on
organizational
maturity),
and
pre-­‐work
assignments
to
get
a
head
start
on
capturing
current-­‐state
processes.

30. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 30
Step
4:
Final
Preparations
Final
preparations
include
holding
a
Q&A
session
(if
required
before
the
workshop)
and
setting
up
the
space with
post-­‐it
notes,
flip
chart
paper,
and
whiteboards.

31. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 31
Step
5:
Facilitation
Day
One:
Map
out
the
current
state.

32. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 32
Step
5:
Facilitation
Day
One:
Map
out
the
current
state.
Day
Two:
Brainstorm
and
map
the
future
state.

33. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 33
Step
5:
Facilitation
Day
One:
Map
out
the
current
state.
Day
Two:
Brainstorm
and
map
the
future
state.
Day
Two
&
Three:
Identify
the
improvement
opportunities,
assign
owners,
and
estimate
overall
implementation
time
for
each
improvement.

34. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 34
Step
5:
Facilitation
Day
One:
Map
out
the
current
state.
Day
Two:
Brainstorm
and
map
the
future
state.
Day
Two
&
Three:
Identify
the
improvement
opportunities,
assign
owners,
and
estimate
overall
implementation
time
for
each
improvement.
TIP:
Produce
a
daily
briefing
for
executive
management.

35. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 35
Step
6:
Governance
Establish
governance
and
a
review
cadence
to
realize
the
improvement
plan.

36. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 36
Deliverables

37. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 37
VSM
Output
The
deliverables
from
a
VSM
workshop
are
designed
to
bring
about
change:

38. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 38
VSM
Output
The
deliverables
from
a
VSM
workshop
are
designed
to
bring
about
change:
– Process
map
of
the
Current
State

39. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 39
VSM
Output
The
deliverables
from
a
VSM
workshop
are
designed
to
bring
about
change:
– Process
map
of
the
Current
State
– Process
map
of
the
Future
State,
with
improvements
highlighted

40. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 40
VSM
Output
The
deliverables
from
a
VSM
workshop
are
designed
to
bring
about
change:
– Process
map
of
the
Current
State
– Process
map
of
the
Future
State,
with
improvements
highlighted
– Performance
metrics
(current
and
future)

41. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 41
VSM
Output
The
deliverables
from
a
VSM
workshop
are
designed
to
bring
about
change:
– Process
map
of
the
Current
State
– Process
map
of
the
Future
State,
with
improvements
highlighted
– Performance
metrics
(current
and
future)
– Transformation
plan
to
achieve
the
Future
State

42. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 42
Outcomes

43. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 43
VSM:
So
What?
A
well-­‐executed
VSM
workshop
with
a
committed
champion
can
be
a
game
changer
for
your
organization.

44. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 44
VSM:
So
What?
A
well-­‐executed
VSM
workshop
with
a
committed
champion
can
be
a
game
changer
for
your
organization.
The
outcomes
may
include:
reduced
lead
time
and
waste,
improved
customer
service
and
product
quality,
and
increased
employee
engagement.

45. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 45
VSM:
So
What?
Your
IT
organization
is
in
a
unique
position
to
initiate
a
VSM
workshop,
given
its
involvement
in
business
requirements
gathering
and
cross-­‐functional
projects.

46. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 46
VSM:
So
What?
Your
IT
organization
is
in
a
unique
position
to
initiate
a
VSM
workshop,
given
its
involvement
in
business
requirements
gathering
and
cross-­‐functional
projects.
If
IT
builds
the
capability
to
plan
and
execute
VSM
workshops
to
enable
business
transformation,
the
department
can
move
up
the
value
chain
within
the
broader
organization.

47. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 47
Andy
Nemtzow:
linkedin.com/in/anemtzow
James
Healey:
linkedin.com/in/jamescundarihealey
Abraic
helps
improve
business
processes
&
outcomes
for
IT
organizations.

48. VSM
Workshop
-­‐ Slideshare 48
Learn
more:
abraic.com/blog
Abraic
helps
improve
business
processes
&
outcomes
for
IT
organizations.