Common Mistakes of Process Development

Although every situation is unique, the three lean process development mistakes we see most often are:

Confusing Tools with Goals.  This is often rooted in not understanding the true purpose of the many lean tools at one’s disposal, coupled with a poor grasp of the current state of the existing processes.  This results in a patchwork of “lean stuff” stitched together – a veritable Frankenstein of a process.  First, understand your situation (CONtext) and then apply the right tools at the right time to learn what you need to know.

Losing Sight of Targets.  New projects most likely have a business case.  Done properly, this business case is based on assumptions that have been documented.  These might include a particular margin level, production rates, volumes – and the list goes on.  Likewise, these assumptions are calculated from a variety of other expectations such as cycle times, process up time, projected yields, and material costs.  Once money is approved, progress towards some of the high-level metrics is sometimes tracked, but often the more basics expectations that fed the calculations get lost.  Additionally, these assumptions are rarely translated into metrics that make sense to the project teams earlier and earlier in the development process.  End-state targets need to be translated backwards to meaningful targets at key points, earlier and earlier, in the development process.  What does a final target of 15% margin look like to someone who is developing early process concepts?

Treating Development as an Event instead of a Process.  It is amazing what a properly selected and inspired team can accomplish.  Just think about the impact a 3-day kaizen event can have.  Yet, the organizations that really excel with lean have figured out how to make improvement part of everyone’s daily work.  The same thinking applies to process development.  It is okay to start your journey to better process development with a great, focused team.  But make certain to capture lessons learned along the way to incorporate into your “process of process development.”