Process Improvement Tool

Four stages, in order

Each stage asks one question and hands its answer to the next. You can stop after any stage: save your progress file, and pick up later on any computer. The process speed-up playbook explains the method behind each one.

1. 1

   Stage 1 of 4 · Value Stream Mapping

   Where does the time go?

   1 to 2 weeks

   You bring

   Ten to thirty recent items: the date each reached each step and when it finished, from your system or a spreadsheet, and how long the work at each step takes.

   You get

   The process on one page: lead time against working time, and the longest wait.

   How value stream mapping worksUse the value stream mapping tool on its own

2. Every step's working and waiting time
3. 2

   Stage 2 of 4 · Theory of Constraints

   Which step holds everything up?

   2 to 3 days

   You bring

   A few days watching the slowest step: whether work piles up, whether the steps after it wait, whether it is ever idle.

   You get

   The bottleneck, confirmed by three signs, and a plan for each of the Five Focusing Steps.

   How the Theory of Constraints worksUse the Bottleneck Finder on its own

4. The constraint, and how to get more through it
5. 3

   Stage 3 of 4 · Kaizen Blitz

   How do you fix that step quickly?

   A five-day event, then a check 30 days later

   You bring

   Six to eight people for a week: the people who do the step, its neighbours, and someone who can change a form or a rule.

   You get

   A change tested on real work, written down as the standard with an owner, and whether the gain held after 30 days.

   How a Kaizen Blitz worksUse the Kaizen Blitz Planner on its own

6. A tested change, running as the new standard
7. 4

   Stage 4 of 4 · Kanban

   How do you stop work piling up again?

   Set up during the event, then daily

   You bring

   A count of what sits in each step now, the items finished in a normal week, and ten minutes a day at the board.

   You get

   A limit on every step, the lead time the board implies, and the next bottleneck from weekly counts.

   How Kanban worksUse the Kanban WIP Limit Calculator on its own

8. A board that keeps work flowing, and the full report

What you finish with

A PDF report of the whole playbook. One headline for each stage, as in the example, then each stage's diagnosis: what it found, what that means, and what to do next. It ends with the board, the lead time to track every week, and the next bottleneck.

A progress file you keep. An Excel workbook with a sheet for every stage, updated each time you save. It is how you come back for the 30-day check and the weekly counts: choose it on this page or on any stage, and the playbook reopens where you left off.

Checks along the way. A process slowed by errors rather than waiting is sent to Lean Six Sigma; a step with a queue that isn't always busy isn't taken for the bottleneck; adding people before getting more from the step is stopped; a gain that faded within a month stops the playbook; and limits too loose to bite are flagged.