The models we use to describe the world impact how we see it and how we reflect on what we see. Our models also shape our thinking about what might be improved and how. Just consider the impact of military strategy and sports on business thinking.
When we began our mission to bring Lean to the IT sector in 2004, it was obvious that it was very different from sectors dominated by manufacturing and physical logistics. Merely mapping and improving value streams was not going be enough.
The heart of Lean is a commitment to always be on a path of learning and improvement, individually and as an organization. Part of that learning is to discover better ways of seeing the world. The traditional tools and practices that are considered part of Lean have themselves evolved over many years and even decades. I strongly believe that we must continue to not merely teach, but also to innovate and improve these practices.
Next week I will be speaking at the Lean Software and Systems Consortium conference in Long Beach, California. I will be sharing some stories about our development of a system-of-systems model for organizations in the IT sector. This model, which adds four dimensions in addition to value streams, can be used to achieve performance breakthroughs with Kaikaku as well as more effective incremental improvements with Kaizen.
Just like our clients, we have learned along the way. Today we use a variety of frameworks as part of our quest to always reflect, learn, and improve. We have learned to link Lean with business models, organizational lifecycle stages, individual productivity (GTD), and accounting models. The Bigger Game continues to be how learning yields value for shareholders, employees, and customers.
My talk will focus on mapping, redesigning, and improving business systems. I will discuss how value stream performance is related to organizational structure, information architecture, product architecture, and organizational culture. I will also talk about our method for structuring Kaikaku projects, and how our model enables Kaizen.
If you have an opportunity to attend the Lean SSC conference, please consider doing so. We have a lot of interesting speakers, and the audience will be of high quality as well, making this a great opportunity for learning and networking.
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