Workflow Efficiency: Balancing Demand Against Throughput
Every process has a bottleneck. The Theory of Constraints states that, in order to improve any system, the weakest link must be eliminated. Once a bottleneck has been identified and resolved, the flow of work moves on to the next…
Team Commitment in Kanban: How to Set Achievable Goals without Trimming Down Your User Stories
The Kanban Method revolves around the concept that work should be released early and often. To that end, product teams are focused on the constant delivery of value. The challenge lies in defining realistic goals and build sustainable team commitment….
How to Read the Cumulative Flow Diagram [Infographic]
The Kanban Method can help teams manage their workflows more efficiently but relying on your Kanban board alone isn’t going to help you achieve a stable process. You also need a way to identify bottlenecks and stabilize your workflow using…
How to Reduce Cycle Times to Boost Customer Satisfaction and Build a More Productive Workforce
The cycle times of your workflow is the period required for a product team to develop and deliver a valuable outcome to a customer. There are two things that are important here – how quickly the customer needs the results…
How to Use Kanban Project Management to Harness the Power of Visual Insights and Maximise the Delivery of Value
Successful projects always start and finish with a plan, but it’s how you put that plan into motion that will ultimately make or break your project. Without a clearly defined process, project managers end up unable to manage their work…
Roads Untravelled: Value Stream Mapping
In an increasingly saturated market, you must be able to deliver value to your customers faster and more consistently than your competitors do. Value stream mapping shows you exactly how your process delivers value to your customers, which steps suffer…
A Short Guide to Effective Daily Standups
The 15-minute standing meeting is everywhere in the Agile world. For some it’s a tool for collaborative productivity, for others, it’s yet another meeting that takes time away from what they really should be working on. What makes the difference…
Lean Manufacturing Wastes: Muri
Reducing waste allows you to achieve more with your team, streamlining your processes, and maximizing your profits. In our previous articles, we looked at two forms of Lean Manufacturing Wastes: Muda (waste) and Mura (unevenness), when they are likely to…
Lean Manufacturing Wastes: Mura
In our previous article, Lean Manufacturing Wastes: Muda, we began to explore the concept of waste and how to reduce it. Wastes in your process add extra costs, either to your customers or to your business. Reducing waste is the…
Lean Manufacturing Wastes: Muda
Larger profit margins can be boiled down to two actions – increasing output and improving efficiency. Frequently, businesses choose to increase their capacity to drive output, hiring staff and investing in new tools. They can also look for ways to…
