fbpx

On Managing Work - Not People (Part II)

July 30, 2020
3 minute read
Read

By James Steele

Part I: On Managing Work – Not People suggested that in low flow efficiency environment the big levers for improving service delivery are in an addressing the amount of time that work spends in a wait state (removing delay). In this post I would like to highlight the commonly seen sources of delay and what we might do about it!

First I would like to offer a cautionary note. Flow efficiency should be viewed as a health indicator of your service – with a low efficiency signalling the likelihood of poor service health in terms of the flow of work. However, don’t make your improvements efforts completely about improving your flow efficiency at the expense of other important fitness criteria – like lead time! If your flow efficiency is improving, but doing so at the expense of unacceptable lead times that are outside acceptable thresholds, then you may actually be making things worse. So consider balancing your flow efficiency metric with a metric like lead time. Use flow efficiency as an improvement driver for your service that provokes important discussions about your service.

These are the commonly seen sources of delay. Be on the lookout for them and look to evolve your services and their policies to help address the delay.

Too Much Work-in-Progress (WIP)
If may not initially be obvious, but working on too many things at once is a big contributor to the delay of work. Making a decision to limit the amount of things you choose to have in progress is an effective way to improve flow efficiency and also improve lead times.

Dependencies
Other than the most trivial type of work, we usually encounter dependencies when trying to deliver customer recognizable work items. Common dependencies are other people, other teams, other companies/vendors, and other services.  In order to improve the flow of work and predictability of your service delivery, it’s important to identify and work towards managing these dependencies. Make the dependencies visible. Measure the impact. Put a price-tag on the delay. Work towards developing Service Level Agreements with internal and external dependencies.

Your service is likely to experience poor flow efficiency and unpredictable service delivery until you are able to manage dependencies. Make them known, understand them, and have important discussions about them.

To be continued…

 


 
If you find this useful, please consider contributing with our
Value for Value” model.

 


 

  • Kanban System Design® (KMPI) badge

    Kanban System Design® (KMPI)

    13 to 14 JUN 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin

    C$1895.00 Register Now

    - Improve Knowledge Work Productivity -

    This 2-day workshop - Kanban System Design (KSD) - also known as 'Kanban for Real Agility®' - provides you with the fundamentals of the Kanban Method® . It is designed specifically for leaders starting their organization on the gentler path towards Real Agility™. This learning event is ideal for you if you are responsible for the delivery of a service. Learn the concepts of flow, pull, classes of service, and learn to deal with interruptions and multi-tasking. Learn the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK) through a multi-step interactive case study review.

    This KSD course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 1 - KMP I), is the first of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The KSD is the prerequisite to the Kanban Systems Improvement course (KSI). By completing both this course (KSD) and the KSI, participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

    Key Benefits
    - Participate in a Kanban simulation for immersive learning
    - Design your service's Kanban board with guidance from our Kanban experts
    - Start your Kanban adoption and in evolving your system
    - Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
    - Obtain your Kanban University® KSD certificate
    - Completion of this and the KSI class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
    - Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
    - We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
    - Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

    EXCLUSIVE: Free "Kanban for Managers" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!

    Download the recommended reading by "David J. Anderson and Andy Carmichael":
    Essential Kanban Condensed

    Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
    Read More

    Location:

    Online

    Date:

    Tue 13-Jun-2023
    Wed 14-Jun-2023

    Time:

    09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)

    Trainer:
    David Vicentin

    David Vicentin


    Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
    About Trainer
  • Kanban System Design® (KMPI) badge

    Kanban System Design® (KMPI)

    26 to 27 SEP 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin

    Early-bird Discount! C$1795.00 C$1525.75 Until 12-Sep Register Now

    - Improve Knowledge Work Productivity -

    This 2-day workshop - Kanban System Design (KSD) - also known as 'Kanban for Real Agility®' - provides you with the fundamentals of the Kanban Method® . It is designed specifically for leaders starting their organization on the gentler path towards Real Agility™. This learning event is ideal for you if you are responsible for the delivery of a service. Learn the concepts of flow, pull, classes of service, and learn to deal with interruptions and multi-tasking. Learn the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK) through a multi-step interactive case study review.

    This KSD course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 1 - KMP I), is the first of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The KSD is the prerequisite to the Kanban Systems Improvement course (KSI). By completing both this course (KSD) and the KSI, participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

    Key Benefits
    - Participate in a Kanban simulation for immersive learning
    - Design your service's Kanban board with guidance from our Kanban experts
    - Start your Kanban adoption and in evolving your system
    - Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
    - Obtain your Kanban University® KSD certificate
    - Completion of this and the KSI class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
    - Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
    - We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
    - Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

    EXCLUSIVE: Free "Kanban for Managers" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!

    Download the recommended reading by "David J. Anderson and Andy Carmichael":
    Essential Kanban Condensed

    Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
    Read More

    Location:

    Online

    Date:

    Tue 26-Sep-2023
    Wed 27-Sep-2023

    Time:

    09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)

    Trainer:
    David Vicentin

    David Vicentin


    Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
    About Trainer
  • Kanban System Design® (KMPI) badge

    Kanban System Design® (KMPI)

    12 to 13 DEC 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin

    Early-bird Discount! C$1795.00 C$1525.75 Until 28-Nov Register Now

    - Improve Knowledge Work Productivity -

    This 2-day workshop - Kanban System Design (KSD) - also known as 'Kanban for Real Agility®' - provides you with the fundamentals of the Kanban Method® . It is designed specifically for leaders starting their organization on the gentler path towards Real Agility™. This learning event is ideal for you if you are responsible for the delivery of a service. Learn the concepts of flow, pull, classes of service, and learn to deal with interruptions and multi-tasking. Learn the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK) through a multi-step interactive case study review.

    This KSD course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 1 - KMP I), is the first of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The KSD is the prerequisite to the Kanban Systems Improvement course (KSI). By completing both this course (KSD) and the KSI, participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

    Key Benefits
    - Participate in a Kanban simulation for immersive learning
    - Design your service's Kanban board with guidance from our Kanban experts
    - Start your Kanban adoption and in evolving your system
    - Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
    - Obtain your Kanban University® KSD certificate
    - Completion of this and the KSI class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
    - Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
    - We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
    - Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

    EXCLUSIVE: Free "Kanban for Managers" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!

    Download the recommended reading by "David J. Anderson and Andy Carmichael":
    Essential Kanban Condensed

    Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
    Read More

    Location:

    Online

    Date:

    Tue 12-Dec-2023
    Wed 13-Dec-2023

    Time:

    09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)

    Trainer:
    David Vicentin

    David Vicentin


    Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
    About Trainer
  • Kanban Systems Improvement® (KMPII) badge

    Kanban Systems Improvement® (KMPII)

    11 to 12 JUL 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin

    Early-bird Discount! C$1895.00 C$1610.75 Until 25-Jun Register Now

    - Optimize Services for Flow and Performance -

    This 2-day workshop - Kanban Systems Improvement (KSI) - focuses on the leadership aspect as well as the roll out and daily operation of a multi-service system using Kanban as a management method. You will also learn how to use Kanban to manage, optimize, scale, and evolve your system over time.

    This KSI course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 2 - KMP II), is the second of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The Kanban System Design (KSD) course is the prerequisite to this course. By completing both the KSD as well as this course (KSI), participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

    Learning Objectives
    - Managing Evolutionary Change
    - Dealing with Resistance to Change
    - Feedback Loops and Continuous Learning
    - Implementing and Scaling out Kanban
    - Balancing Demand and Capability
    - Optimizing Flow and Predictability

    Key Benefits
    - Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
    - Obtain your Kanban University® KSI certificate
    - Completion of this and the KSD class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
    - Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
    - We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
    - Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

    EXCLUSIVE: Free "Agile Advice" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!


    Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
    Read More

    Location:

    Online

    Date:

    Tue 11-Jul-2023
    Wed 12-Jul-2023

    Time:

    09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)

    Trainer:
    David Vicentin

    David Vicentin


    Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
    About Trainer
  • Kanban Systems Improvement® (KMPII) badge

    Kanban Systems Improvement® (KMPII)

    25 to 26 OCT 2023 (2 days) - Starting Wednesday - Online - David Vicentin

    Early-bird Discount! C$1795.00 C$1525.75 Until 11-Oct Register Now

    - Optimize Services for Flow and Performance -

    This 2-day workshop - Kanban Systems Improvement (KSI) - focuses on the leadership aspect as well as the roll out and daily operation of a multi-service system using Kanban as a management method. You will also learn how to use Kanban to manage, optimize, scale, and evolve your system over time.

    This KSI course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 2 - KMP II), is the second of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The Kanban System Design (KSD) course is the prerequisite to this course. By completing both the KSD as well as this course (KSI), participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

    Learning Objectives
    - Managing Evolutionary Change
    - Dealing with Resistance to Change
    - Feedback Loops and Continuous Learning
    - Implementing and Scaling out Kanban
    - Balancing Demand and Capability
    - Optimizing Flow and Predictability

    Key Benefits
    - Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
    - Obtain your Kanban University® KSI certificate
    - Completion of this and the KSD class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
    - Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
    - We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
    - Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

    EXCLUSIVE: Free "Agile Advice" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!


    Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
    Read More

    Location:

    Online

    Date:

    Wed 25-Oct-2023
    Thu 26-Oct-2023

    Time:

    09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)

    Trainer:
    David Vicentin

    David Vicentin


    Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
    About Trainer

Berteig Consulting

Empower Your Entire Organization with BERTEIG Consulting in Agile, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe and LEAN.

Aimia
Bruce Power
Capital One
CBC
Comcast
Equitable Life of Canada
FreshBooks
Suncor
We are a referral centric business. And as such, we stand ready, willing and passionately able to serve anybody important to you by giving them perspective, advice, recommendations, and treating them in a very special way.