Value Stream Mapping in Program Management

“All we are doing is looking at the time line from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing that time line by removing the non-value added wastes.” (Taiichi Ohno, 1988)

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a widespread tool in Lean manufacturing environments. It enables practitioners to distinguish between value adding and non-value adding activities, supports to eliminate the waste, and thereby gain efficiency. The ongoing extension of Lean principles to applications other than production also involves the VSM methodology. VSM, as well as other concepts, therefore need to be adapted to the specific new purposes and environments.

Background

Lean Thinking

The term Lean Thinking was introduced in the best-selling book “The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production” [Womack et. al] published by the MIT International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP) in 1990. The term was further established in IMVP’s second bestseller “Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation” [Womack and Jones, 1996]. In their in-depth study of Toyota’s prominent Toyota Production System (TPS) the authors James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones identified a basically new management paradigm.

Already in the 1970’s scientists and practitioners, with Edward Deming leading the way, started to explore Japanese management techniques. Prior Japanese companies had overtaken U.S. consumer electronics and auto markets by higher quality and cheaper products. The outcomes were single practices such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Six Sigma, which were later adopted by Lean Thinking. (Oppenheim)

The essence of Lean Thinking can be represented by the concepts value, waste and process of creating value without waste. Value is basically interpreted as “what the customer says it is, considers important, and is willing to pay for” (Oppenheimer2011) while waste can be described as "any human activity that absorbs resources but creates no value” (Hopp 2000). Regarding that, Lean Thinking assigns any work activity to either:

• Value Added Activities (VA);
• Required Non-Value Added (RNVA or Type I waste) or;
• Non-Value Added Activities (NVA or Type II waste). (Womack Jones 1996)

Furthermore, Ohno divided waste into seven different forms, which also help to identify waste at all.