Lean For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 8

Charting the Course: Using Value-Stream Maps

In This Chapter

Analyzing the current-state value-stream map

Creating the ideal-state vision of the future

Planning the next future state

To make a change, you need a catalyst. In Lean, that catalyst is the recognition that the current state is not where you want to be. Lean is applicable whether you need to fix something that’s broken or prepare for new opportunities to come. So like that “fat picture” that sends you to the gym and juice bar to get healthy, the current-state value-stream map (VSM) and supporting information — like quality data, customer complaints, or financial reports — provide objective reflection that motivates an organization to modify its processes and practices and helps the business regain its health and vitality.

When you decide to make a change, not only do you plan where you’re going to go, but you also consider where you could go. You ask what’s possible. For example, when you decide to get healthy, does healthy just mean weighing less? It may also mean better cardio performance, improved flexibility, lower cholesterol, a smaller clothing size, or living one hundred years. In a perfect world, what ...