Creating a Value Stream Map for Lean Success

Creating a Value Stream Map : A Step-by-Step Guide for Lean Success

1. Introduction

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is one of the most valuable Lean tools. It is essential for companies that want to successfully adopt Lean methods and thinking. Although these principles were created for the Toyota Production System, multiple industries have adopted them to drive business transformation.

Creating a value stream map will enhance the flow of your product or service, from conception to delivery. This is true regardless if you're a manufacturing or service-based business. By using this visual tool and following the value stream mapping procedure below, you will create a process that eliminates waste and increases efficiency. VSM helps you to optimise both your current process as well as improve initial planning for future products and services.

There are two main types of maps involved in Value Stream Mapping: a Current State Map, which focuses on understanding how things are performing at the moment. Generally, we look at historic and current data. We want to identify current issues, what processes need to be optimised, and what steps are non-value-adding. The other map is a Future State Map, which looks at how the process could be redesigned to perform better. We assume realistic process fixes are put in place and model the impact they will have on the end-to-end process.

This article will look at creating a value stream map, going through the various steps to create a useful picture of how your business operates and how to transform its performance.

2. When Should You Create a Value Stream Map?

Firstly, knowing when to use VSM is important. When used correctly, VSM will deliver significant benefits with regard to process bottlenecks, waste elimination, and service inefficiencies.

If you want to increase efficiency and value-adding elements and decrease waste or non-value-adding elements, then VSM is a good option. This will ensure your current project is maximised and your future project approaches are improved.

Andrew works in a Software-as-a-Service company, and they have noticed that there are delays in time to market, frequent rework, and poor collaboration between team members. He decided to use VSM to help him identify the areas that were hurting efficiency. He discovered that idea prioritisation was affected by business indecision and unclear specifications, which affected development with overloaded devs, which led to disorganised test environments, and finally resulted in production delays. These things increased cycle and wait times.

In his future state map, his team decided on using an automated CI/CD pipeline and gated quality checks, WIP limits, and Kanban boards for transparency, shared dashboards, and QA embedded in dev teams for early testing.

In three months, Andrew noted that the lead time had reduced from 30+ days to 9-12 days, the bug rate post-deployment went from 18% to less than 7%, and the deployment frequency increased from weekly to three times a week. He believed that the VSM process was a success.

3. Tools You’ll Need

You will need certain tools to create your value stream maps. Many of these tools are digital (some being free value stream mapping software). These digital tools could be a value stream mapping creator or VSM toolkits with mapping templates.

Some of these digital tools are:

Lucidchart is a tool that offers integration with Google Workspace, Microsoft, and Slack. This helps provide a collaborative platform that assists with the process of VSM.
Miro has interactive board templates on its online whiteboard platform. This platform is used for brainstorming, Agile ceremonies, and mapping workflows.
Visio is integrated with Microsoft 365 and offers comprehensive features for VSM.

However, you may not have access to this type of software, this is not a problem, you can manually create a value stream map. You can use Excel or a physical whiteboard, pens, paper, and sticky notes.

4. Step-by-Step Procedure to Create a Value Stream Map

Before starting, we need to understand the process of creating a value stream map. Following this process will allow you to get a useful value stream map in a short period of time and ensure your team enjoys the journey.

Step 1: Define the Scope

Defining the scope is the first step in the VSM process. Without a clear scope, the VSM exercise can become unfocused and overwhelming, leading to ineffective results.

This step sets the foundation for the entire mapping process, ensuring that the team concentrates on the most relevant areas that will provide the most value.

Firstly, we must determine a specific product or service family to focus on. By choosing a specific product or service (not an overall average) when value stream mapping, we can be precise about particular performance metrics and issues. This drives clearer insights and therefore clearer actions. At this point, we can identify the team members we want to collaborate with and who will be responsible for improving things.

When you look at setting boundaries, you need to think of the start and end point to ensure you capture the entire value stream, without missing or adding unnecessary areas.

We can also start considering what metrics are important. Is the goal to improve Customer Experience? Then lead time is worth measuring. Is cost the focus? Then, labour hours and error rates need to be looked at.

Step 2: Form the Cross-Functional Team

Now that you have a good idea of the scope of the map, you will need to form the cross-functional team. Generally speaking, you will choose people from their natural work groups.

For example, if we’re mapping back-end admin processes, we would include those people. We also need to consider the amount of time people have available to dedicate to this team. Are they merely going to offer information and advice, or will they be carrying out project tasks?

You will also need to consider who are the process owners (for example the team leader on the production line), frontline workers (subject matter experts and agents on the ground), business representatives (the salesman who works face-to-face with the customers), and the support functions (such as HR, who support the process).

Once all this is clear, you can then select your team and clarify roles, ensuring good collaboration, input from various perspectives, and commitment to implement change.

Step 3: Map the Current State

Mapping the Current State in the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) process involves creating a visual representation of how the current processes work, from start to finish, and identifying key areas of waste, inefficiency, or opportunity for improvement. You document the existing workflow, focusing on how work flows through the system, where bottlenecks occur, and how each step contributes to or hinders value creation.

You could also perform a Gemba walk during this step. Gemba is the Japanese word for “actual place”. A Gemba walk is being on the ground and in the actual work environment (not in a meeting room!) to understand the tasks, activities, and flow of the everyday work. You (and other stakeholders) would enter the work environment and engage with the employees to understand the following:

What is happening?
What is not happening, but should be?
Who and what is involved at each point?
What is the flow like?
How are the 8 wastes featured in the process?

From the Gemba walk, you will have key information to do the following:

You will list all the steps involved in the process from start to finish.
Then you will begin to create the map. You would use symbols such as:
Process Boxes - which hold actions that will happen.
Material Flow - arrows that show the direction of the flow of information or product.
Inventory Triangles - triangles with the amount of inventory on hand.
Once you have begun to map the flow, you can add the metric data of lead time, cycle time, and wait time. This will help you identify waste and bottlenecks.

Step 4: Identify Waste and Bottlenecks

This step involves identifying the non-value-adding elements (waste and bottlenecks), to provide the improvement process with an accurate foundation to work from.

When looking at waste, you can use the 8 process wastes (the acronym TIMWOODS will help you remember them):

Transportation - unnecessary transportation of inventory or information.
Inventory - excess materials or WIP that do not add value.
Motion - the excessive movement of people and resources.
Waiting - the time spent waiting for material or information to be delivered.
Overproduction - making excess stock without the same demand.
Overprocessing - adding extra, unnecessary work to the process.
Defects - items or services that are not of standard.
Skills - not fully utilizing the skills of the employees.

Step 5: Create the Future State Map

The fifth step is to create your Future State Map. This map is how the Current State Map should look in an ideal world. In this map, the wastes are eliminated, and the process flows smoothly, to increase productivity and customer satisfaction.

Some of the interventions you could implement in this map are:

Removing unnecessary steps that do not add value.
Automating processes where possible to reduce manual work and waiting.
Improving communication and handoffs to avoid delays in information flow.
Reducing inventory at each stage, decreasing storage, and increasing flow.
Balancing workloads across team members or equipment to avoid overburdening any one part of the process.

For the Future State Map, we assume (based on experience and what's achievable) that the issues identified in the Current State Map are solved. We then model the impact of those changes and assess the benefit to the business. This allows us to create a business case for the changes based on a well-founded ROI.

Step 6: Develop an Implementation Plan

Now you know what the ideal state is, you can work on a plan to implement these elements in reality. When creating a value stream mapping model, the implementation plan must be clear and realistic.

Here are some things that you should think of:

Begin with moderate and easy changes. Small but visible changes should be your priority. Build momentum through the execution of worthwhile change
Assign roles and responsibilities. Most initiatives fail because teams fail to engage. It sounds obvious, but ensure tasks are delegated clearly and ownership is taken. Projects that come out of a Value Stream Mapping exercise are usually in addition to a person's Business As Usual role. Therefore, it is common for there to be tension between working on improvement tasks and fulfilling your "regular" job.
Set deadlines. These should be realistic and have some flexibility for challenges.
Set metrics. What do you need to see to know that the implementation is a success? Metrics can help you track the progress of the improvements.

Ensure all stakeholders (especially senior management and sponsors) are kept up to date with the progress of your implementation plan. Identify barriers early and request support if needed, as soon as possible. This will help your implementation plan achieve a successful outcome

5. Tips for Facilitating a VSM Workshop

Facilitating a VSM workshop might seem like a daunting task. Keep the following in mind to help you feel confident:

Involve the Right People: Ensure the team is cross-functional and has hands-on knowledge of the process.
Stay Focused: Keep the workshop focused on mapping the current state first, then moving to improvements.
Use Visuals: Make use of charts, sticky notes, and visual aids to simplify complex discussions.
Encourage Participation: Create a collaborative atmosphere where everyone’s voice is heard.
Be Neutral: Don’t judge or criticize during the mapping process. The goal is to understand first and then improve.
Repeat: If the first version of the map isn’t perfect, don’t worry—improvements can always be made over time.
Celebrate Small Wins: Recognize any improvements or breakthroughs, no matter how small.
Make It Fun: Turn it into an engaging, creative activity where the team enjoys problem-solving together.

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some common mistakes that you can avoid to help boost your value stream map:

Not defining the scope clearly. Ensure a clear focus for the product/service is being mapped.
Focusing too much on the future state at the start. Map the current state thoroughly before designing the future state.
Lack of cross-functional representation. Include participants from all relevant departments and functions.
Ignoring the voice of the customer. Align the process with customer needs and expectations.
Focusing only on one type of waste. I.e., labour or inventory. Consider all 8 types of waste (TIMWOOD) in the process.
Not having a facilitator or leadership support. Use an experienced facilitator and ensure leadership support for decision-making.
Overcomplicating the VSM map. Keep the map simple and focused on key process steps. Less is often more when it comes to Value Stream Mapping
Failure to align metrics with business goals. Link success metrics to overall business objectives like lead time, quality, or cost reduction.

7. Integrating with Lean and Six Sigma Initiatives

VSM serves as a foundation tool for both Lean and Six Sigma methodologies by helping to identify areas for improvement and providing a structured way to measure progress.

Lean focuses on eliminating waste and improving flow. VSM helps visualize the flow of materials, information, and tasks, making it easier to target inefficiencies and implement continuous improvement (Kaizen).
Six Sigma aims to reduce process variation and defects. VSM helps in the Define and Measure phases of the DMAIC framework, providing a baseline of the current process and identifying areas of high variability or defects.

When you integrate VSM with Lean and Six Sigma initiatives, it helps to:

Identify priority projects for improvement.
Optimize processes using both DMAIC and Kaizen events.
Measure progress with metrics/KPIs to ensure that changes lead to real business results.

When tying VSM to metrics, Lean tools, and Six Sigma principles, you ensure that the improvements are:

Data-driven,
Aligned with customer needs,
Lead to sustainable process improvements.

8. Conclusion + Additional Resources

As you can see, VSM is a vital tool for streamlining your projects and ensuring the highest efficacy, flow, and customer satisfaction.

If you are interested in starting a journey with VSM, you can download our PDF PPT template for workshops, and Excel VSM template. If you have more questions, contact us, and we would be happy to assist you.

Call us on 1800 874 167
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Creating a Value Stream Map : A Step-by-Step Guide for Lean Success