Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation Hardcover – November 25, 2013

I bought this book because it was required reading for an operations management class. I loved it! It gave me a better understanding of the processes of the value stream. It's a short read but full of information on how to improve processes. It doesn't just apply to manufacturing, but services as well. I am the type of person who values saving money and perfecting how to do things. This book validated my beliefs that there is a way to reduce waste. I was afraid that this book would intensify my need for perfection, but it did not. What it did was help me understand that I can get close to perfection as long as I understand the process. I highly recommend this book.

Value Stream mapping: How to visualize Work and align leadership for organizational transformationAs with most of my book reviews, I’ll approach the write-up from a pragmatic perspective. That is, as most authors do provide detailed explanations, background and theory describing each of their topics and subject areas … what are the practical examples of artifacts, forms/templates, questionnaires, methodologies etc., which a reader could use in either in, day-to-day operations, management or project delivery responsibilities?I’ll list some (!) of the major takeaways I find (with thoughts and rationale), which would make this book worth purchasing.• The author offers an excel tool for documenting the processes and calculating results• Identifications of risks to be avoided – some foundational areas to watch for• Value stream mapping phases and tasks – gets you started• Value stream map charter example – always good to see an alternative template.. if you don’t have a format• Value stream map design questionnaire – identifying the areas of opportunities for the future state model• Value stream transformations plan – high level executive view• Examples (Appendix): Seeing how others used VSM to identify and measure process improvements, is a great takeaway...o VSM for outpatients imaging – current and future stateo Supplier purchasing VSM - current and future state and recommendations for process improvementso Repair services - current and future state as well as metrics on % improvementso Custom shelving systems - current and future state with metrics on % improvemento Software development change request - current and future state with metrics on % improvements

Karen Martin provides excellent guidance regarding the purpose of the value in and her approach to value stream mapping. Specifically, there is excellent blow-by-blow guidance regarding the steps in Karen Martin's lead up to and execution of her three full business day process.Challenges that the reader might face include:1) Getting their enterprise leadership's cooperation to devote so many resources for the full month lead-up to and the three full days for the current and future state mapping exercises, and the following, ongoing action plan execution. The cost of NOT doing it is the most compelling answer, but persuading them of this truth will be a challenge.2) Establishing the enterprise leadership's patience with this activity when the skills at doing it are initially non-existent, and the cost of it is high. If you hire consultants to lead it, do you learn it? Maybe some. If you do it yourself, will the org embrace the risk of mediocre results for the first or second attempts?

In Learning to See by Shook and Rother, I learned how to illustrate a manufacturing process or value stream to illuminate the waste in that process. Keyte and Locher helped me refine the tool and apply it to non-manufacturing environments in The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes. Armed with these basics, I've led many mapping events, and being honest, some were successful while others were not.Value Stream Mapping by Karen Martin & Mike Osterling is the missing piece that will help me go from how-to-map to how-to-be-more-successful in helping with the continuous improvement efforts in my organization. Learning how to have conversations with upper management, using value stream maps as the vehicle for strategic talks, was an aha moment for me and something I hadn't found in other books.I would recommend this book to all change-agents, and all mappers (beginners and experienced). For those organizations that have the wall-decorating, unused value stream maps gathering dust, this book will help put the value-add back in value stream mapping.

Are you familiar with Lean (but not an expert)? Do you really want to start using Lean at your company, but aren't sure how to get the ball rolling? This is a GREAT book that is basically a walk-through of how to create a value stream map of your current situation, then create a target map, then plan how to continually improve your company to reach the target map.I don't necessarily recommend reading it on its own -- there are a lot of lean concepts that are better understood in context. A book like "The Toyota Way" can give you the underlying philosophy behind a lot of lean thinking, whereas this gives you a light dose of philosophy and a heavy dose of "how to actually do stuff."