Much is currently heard about the different Lean tools, but there is one that comes up with particular frequency in various conversations, Value Stream Mapping, but what is it?

We’ll tell you about it!

Introduction to Value Stream Mapping

A Value Stream Mapping is a tool that can help us a lot when we want to know the current situation in which we are in certain processes of our company and that can help us to know where we want to go and why.

Value Stream Mapping is a mapping in which we capture our workflow not only identifying the most problematic points, but also detecting waste, diverse opportunities, and from where we can propose, devise and implement improvements that help us to get from a current state to an improved one, with a view to an ideal one.

To do this we will normally do 3 things:

-We will identify those activities that clearly add value.

-We will detect those activities that apparently do not add value and analyze them.

Within this last category, the activities that do not add value, we will see that there are two subtypes of tasks: we have the necessary activities and we have the non-necessary activities. Our objective will be to eliminate the unnecessary ones and look for improvement opportunities within the necessary ones so that our processes flow better, we avoid bottlenecks, we have better indicators and greater efficiency.

Value Stream Mapping is carried out by a multidisciplinary team with decision-making power and different visions that create an important synergy to detect waste: overproduction, unnecessary inventory, unnecessary movement, waiting times, transportation and storage, over-processing, defects and under-utilized talent.

This waste can be found in any environment and in any type of product or service, as we will see below.

Application of Value Stream Mapping in Lean Manufacturing

So how do I apply this tool?

Before applying it, it is necessary to understand the types of activities involved in Value Stream Mapping that we mentioned earlier..

The activities that add value are those that we want to have, those whose existence we will defend and for which we will seek continuity. Depending on the type of process, it may be more or less complicated to detect them.

For a physical product, the detection is clearer, value-adding activities will be those that change the physical or chemical composition of the product directly.

For example: In an automobile factory, all those processes within the assembly line that shape the new vehicle are value-adding activities.

In the manufacture of a toothbrush, value-adding activities are all those activities where the plastic of the toothbrush handle is shaped, and all those that are directly related to the waxing of the toothbrush, the rounding of the bristles, and the packaging and transportation to the final warehouse.

Of course, although they add value, this does not mean that they should stay that way forever because we can improve them and look for changes, cost improvement, process innovation or any other type of opportunity, but they are very necessary activities that we cannot eliminate or at least not all at once without affecting our product.

In the case of the toothbrush factory, the activities that do not directly add value would be those that do not physically or chemically modify the product.

As an example we can talk about those activities related to production planning, marketing, accounting, sales strategies, etc. This of course does not mean that these activities should disappear, many of them are very necessary. But it is the first place where by doing a Value Stream Mapping we will seek to detect those that are not necessary, and we will see ways to reduce or improve them according to the metrics and strategy of the company.

Sales strategy for example is very important, but perhaps we can start by looking for the sources of waste within the business processes and start eliminating or improving them.

And why do we start by carrying out improvement or elimination actions in activities that do not add value? Because they are faster and we get faster results and improvements. The improvement of the activities that do add value, involve direct modification of the product, so they will have to be done in more detail.

It is of utmost importance to mention that when carrying out these analyses, we will always focus on improving processes and tools, and we will not use any of these classifications to evaluate people or do without them.

Of course we will always look for what is best for people, and all relationships are fixable and can be improved, but this is not what Value Stream Mapping will focus on.

In other types of products, services, and environments where we do not have a physical product, we can also find ways to detect activities that add value, it will require more analysis and even debate, but simply put, it will be those where our process is directly focused on what the customer wants.

For example: If we are an expert consultancy in Strategy and the client wants us to design for his new company, a series of values and purposes, the activities directly related to them, will be the ones that add value. The creation of presentations, dynamics and workshops.

The collection process, accounting and marketing of our consultancy would belong to the activities that do not add direct value.

Value Stream Mapping and Lean Six Sigma

Six Sigma was born to help organizations with measurable improvements in effectiveness and efficiency in the processes whatever the challenge the company is currently facing, with any scheme of strengths, weaknesses, environment and demands.

Value Stream Mapping contributes as an auxiliary tool in the achievement of these objectives. Thanks to VSM, it is easy for us to visualize and have at our fingertips the reality of our current situation, in terms of activities, flows, pain points, communication, materials, suppliers and many other factors.

By helping us focus on what is most valuable, and detecting sources of waste that can be eliminated, we will automatically help a system’s efficiency and effectiveness increase its impact indicators.

Value Stream Mapping Implementation in Agile

Value Stream Mapping is a tool that, as it is easy to guess, facilitates many situations in many different environments.

And today, Agile and its frameworks are no exception. With Value Stream Mapping we can as we know map the current state of our process and devise future states where we solve a myriad of issues, really for almost any circumstance.

We know that with Agile we are always looking for what adds the most value to our customer, so it is clear that a tool such as Value Stream Mapping will be very beneficial and powerful in defining future states in an iterative incremental manner. It gives us an Agile based on tangible improvements, and helps us to have purpose and focus.

For example, using Scrum, with the help of a Value Stream Mapping both in planning and retrospectives, can help us to have a continuously improving MVP.

Suppose we are developing new functionalities for an app. We already have customer feedback and we have in the Backlog a list of prioritized tasks that we will be doing sprint by sprint.

What if we used Value Stream Mapping to incorporate pain points, improvement points and a constant culture of finding and eliminating waste at our various events?

This does not mean that Value Stream Mapping will replace our product specifications or the Canvas we use with Stakeholders. But it will help us to be very clear about where we are, where we are going, and where we are when we include a certain new functionality in our app.

It can even help us to see where we are in relation to other equipment and the possible dependencies we have with them. It helps us eliminate bottlenecks, blockages, headaches and feelings of not getting anywhere, or rowing against the current.

It can also help the team to have a little more certainty in an environment that is likely to be complex and abstract in itself. It is not a substitute but a complement that could add great value.

And just like this example with Scrum, Value Stream Mapping can be used with other frameworks and at countless points in process flows and the value chain.

Conclusion: Adopting Value Stream Mapping for Continuous Improvement

An important thing to remember is that every process and product, and everything in general, can always be improved. Value Stream Mapping helps us to foster a culture of continuous improvement where we are always looking for this.

The Ideal state that we see today as the future, in the future will be the current state from which we will design new intermediate states to reach new ideal states, and so on, as long as the contribution of value continues to exist and continues to make sense in our vision and purpose.

Value Stream Mapping is a tool that also helps us to improve by laying the groundwork for a terrain where all kinds of metrics that make sense to us can be born, grow, and mutate along the way.

Of course, quality, by having this type of tools working for us, will always benefit, as there will be clarity and transparency for all involved, we will have the customer as the focal point of our thoughts and actions, and it will be easier to detect parameters that go beyond the limits we have defined.

If we think about cycle times, Value Stream Mapping will also help us in the management of these, optimizing them and increasing throughput, values that by having so much clarity we can be continuously challenging.

Having the vision and synergic work of a multidisciplinary team focused on this, also brings benefits in terms of communication, sense of belonging, self-organization, transparency and team strengthening.

Would you like to start using this tool? We can help you!