For many people just starting with lean, nothing can be more intimidating than a full blown Value Stream Map with all those lines, numbers and different ways to measure time. This is a Lean Consultant’s rookie mistake – don’t blow people away with hard stuff.
Start simple. And know, for many, simple is not the same as easy. I always start with the line ‘everything you do more than once is a process and the better you think about it once, the more time you’ll save each next time’. Then I ask them a few very simple questions:
- Where does the process starts, what’s your input and from whom do you get that: who is your supplier?
- Then list all the major steps in the process.
- Then what is it you do it for, what is the desired outcome and for whom? Who is your customer?
With these 5 simple questions, you can create a very simple SIPOC process map that very often is more than sufficient. When people are now to lean, this is more than enough to have them thinking and finding wastes they weren’t aware of.
Keep it simple, be humble to know that simple is not always easy.
SIPOC Template
A SIPOC-sheet is a simple way to start mapping your processes. Before you go into deep Value Stream Mapping, this is a great way to visualize the basic parts and stakeholders in your process.
