WIP and Kaizen: KeyWIP and Kaizen: Key Tools for Enabling Continuous Improvement
Michael DePaoliAgile/Lean Coach, VersionOne
[ August 9, 2011
Welcome – About your Speaker
Michael DePaoli• Agile / Lean Coach, VersionOne• 13 Years Agile and Lean experience• 26 Years in software industry – roles
from developer to CTO, Product o de e ope o C O, oduc Owner, Management Consultant
• Specializing in helping companies craft strategies for Lean-Agile transformation and context specific tactics leveraging systems & interdisciplinary thinking
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mdepaoli
@AgileMike
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@AgileMike
Why Do Continuous Improvement Efforts Fall Short?
• Magical Thinking• Teams executing a PDA cycle and forget g y g
the ‘C’• Assumption that continuous improvement Assumption that continuous improvement
at the Team level is an innate skillC p C lt D ’t V l It• Company Culture Doesn’t Value It
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Share what has impeded your Team’s Continuous Improvement Efforts?
Sailboat Innovation Game
Continuous Continuous Improvement
Paradise
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Improvement in Organizations requires change of one type or another
Why does change fail so frequently?y g q y
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Big Changes Can Be Scary… Cause a more primitive response
OrHere’s how your role will change working within g k gthe Scrum process……
Product Manager
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g
Our 3 Brains
Don’t awaken the Amygdala!It can override our NeocortexIt can override our Neocortex
Our rational brain
(AMYGDALA)(AMYGDALA)
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H d bl ti How do we enable continuous improvement without having p g
continuous fear…?
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Why Kaizen Works
“All changes, even positive ones, are scary. Attempts to reach goals through radical or
l i f f il b hrevolutionary means often fail because they heighten fear. But the small steps of Kaizen disarm the brain’s fear response stimulatingdisarm the brain s fear response, stimulating
rational thought and creative play.”
- Robert Maurer, PhD.
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• Kaizen enables“continuous improvement” − roots in TWI• Kaizen deals in the small – small thoughts, actions, and
rewardsrewards• Small change avoids fear response• Many small changes can quickly result in big change Many small changes can qu ckly result n b g change
without the overhead
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WIP Limits – A Small Change With Big Impact
• This small change can have dramatic affect in improving cycle time, throughput and quality
• It provides a means to enable continuous improvement• It provides a means to enable continuous improvement
Product Customer
WIPLIMIT
Product Quality
Customer Satisfaction
Process Effectiveness
Social Capital
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WIP id i t lik WIP can provide an immune system like response to impedimentsp p
It frees up the time for improvements d i ti t and innovation to occur
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Know what you'd like to improve? Wh t ill t k What will you measure to know
that you are improving? y p g
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Review
• We shared experience of Why continousimprovement / change efforts fall shortp g
• Explored why change fails – Our brain and the importance of the size of changep g
• Explored Kaizen• Looked at introd cin WIP as an Exa ple of • Looked at introducing WIP as an Example of
KaizenI i l • Improvement requires measurement, else how do you know you’re improving
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y y
References
• James Thorton, “Humans have three brains” , article posted on site “The Book of Threes -a Subject Reference Encyclopedia”
– Article: http://www.threes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2472:humans-have-three-brains&catid=70:science&Itemid=52
• Robert Maurer, Ph.D. , One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way
• Dan and Chip Heath, Switch
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