Boost your flow
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The document outlines a strategy for optimizing the flow of value using a system thinking approach, emphasizing the importance of understanding systems, work items, and workflow measures like throughput and cycle time. It discusses the transition from multitasking to focused work to enhance efficiency and introduces concepts like push vs pull systems and the theory of constraints to address workflow bottlenecks. Additionally, it highlights the significance of feedback loops for measuring flow efficiency and adjusting processes accordingly.
Boost your flow
- 1. 1 There is a better way OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Boost your flow A sustainable pace with good quality
- 2. There is a better way 2 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved A strategy for optimizing the flow of value
- 3. There is a better way 3 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Flow thinking is a system thinking approach What is a system ? A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something (function or purpose) How to know whether you are looking at a system or just a bunch of stuff : A) Can you identify parts? . . . and B) Do the parts affect each other? . . . and C) Do the parts together produce an effect that is different from the effect of each part on its own? . . . and perhaps D) Does the effect, the behavior over time, persist in a variety of circumstances Input Output Goal Parts
- 4. There is a better way 4 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved What do you do as a team? A definition of the individual units of value that are moving through the workflow Work item
- 5. There is a better way 5 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved System thinking from the trenches https://simplifychange.se/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Kanban-Kick-start-Field-Guide-v1.1.pdf
- 6. There is a better way 6 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Know where you are ๏ • WIP: The number of work items started but not finished. • Throughput: The number of work items finished per unit of time. Note the measurement of throughput is the exact count of work items. • Work Item Age: The amount of elapsed time between when a work item started and the current time. • Cycle Time: The amount of elapsed time between when a work item started and when a work item finished. Flow measures to track Cycle time = WIP / Throughput Little’s Law
- 7. There is a better way 7 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved One or more defined states that the work items flow through from started to finished Visualize Pending Analysis Development Test Deploy Doing Done Doing Done Demand : What does a card mean ? Identify your input types. Buffer : You may want to highlight waiting time. Queues are your stocks. !! Warning : A visual symbol to make problems visible.. Process : This is your current way of working.
- 8. There is a better way 8 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Explicit policies about how work items can flow through each state Make policies explicit Pending Analysis Development Test Deploy Doing Done Doing Done Cards must be prioritized by PO Any available BA can pull US with desc, acc criteria & size Any available dev can pull UT OK and CR done. Deployed. US matched acceptance criteria Deployed in production
- 9. There is a better way 9 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved From multitasking to focus for a better efficiency Limit work in progress Positive Very easy to start anything Negative Very difficult to finish something valuable Frequent delivery Negative Prioritization SAY NO ! Positive
- 10. There is a better way 10 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved To support discussion and decision Work in progress limits How to do it? By limiting the number of work items in a single column, several grouped columns/lanes/areas. Not necessary to put a limit on every columns. By activities How to do it? By limiting the number of work items managed by people (avatars) or group of people. By people How to do it? By limiting the number of work items in the whole system. Whole system When to do it? When you got a constraint in your system and not everyone can work on every columns. When to do it? When people availability is not that clear, most of the time due to run activities. When to do it? When everyone can work on every columns, the constraint is more at the system level.
- 11. There is a better way 11 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Avoiding work items piling up in any part of the workflow Push vs pull system Pending Analysis Development Test Deploy Doing Done Doing Done Push system • Symptom : Done steps are overloaded. • Usual cause : The focus is on people efficiency and not the overall efficiency. • Cure : Use a right to left synchronization focused on the system to foster collaboration. Stop starting, start finishing. System members should start work on an item only when there is a clear signal that there is capacity to do so Pull system
- 12. There is a better way 12 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Theory of constraints Remove impediments Pending Analysis Development Test Deploy Doing Done Doing Done Locally saturated system • Symptom : One step is overloaded. • Usual cause : There is less resources to manage this step than the others. The level of mutual assistance is low or not possible. • Cure : Use the theory of constraints (Identify the constraint, Subordinate the system to the constraint, elevate the performance of the constraint.
- 13. There is a better way 13 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Overloaded system See the big picture Pending Analysis Development Test Deploy Doing Done Doing Done Globally saturated system • Symptom : A lot of steps are overloaded and not always the same. • Usual cause : Too many items in the system which can’t handle it. • Cure : Stop adding new items to the system until you reach a sustainable flow. You can use a work in progress limit at the system level.
- 14. There is a better way 14 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Do the right thing Implement feedback loops Use feedback loops Measure flow efficiency To track progress Flow efficiency = added value time / cycle time Poor : 0-10%, Medium 10%-20%, Good > 20% To know as early as possible And adjust accordingly
- 15. There is a better way 15 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved Places to Intervene in a System Leverage Points ๏ Visualize constants, parameters, numbers. ๏ Change the size of buffers. ๏ Add/remove feedback loops. ๏ Change the structure of information flows. ๏ Modify the rules of the system. ๏ Update The goal of the system.
- 16. There is a better way 16 OCTO Part of Accenture © 2020 - All rights reserved