Value Stream Mapping and Facilitation

June 18, 2005

This paper is a supplement to a 2004 paper by this author, “Facilitating Learning and Improvement” with a narrower focus on the process of value stream mapping and how to facilitate it with subject matter experts (SMEs). As usual, we start a PDSA (plan-do-study-act) cycle of learning and improvement with team dialogue to clarify our purpose of a value stream mapping session with three basic questions: 

1. What are we trying to accomplish? 2. How will we know that a change is an improvement? 3. What changes can we make that will result in improvement? 

These three questions are “the model of improvement”, when used in conjunction with the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle of learning and improvement. They come from the work of the API (Associates of Process Improvement). 

• What are we trying to accomplish? Our aim is to create a graphic, a picture to understand a process better, to see where value flows to satisfy the customer need. 

• How will we know that a change is an improvement? When we document it visually, we see where value flows and see the parent and child relationships between steps in the process, we will have a baseline to measure all changes from. 

• What changes can we make that will result in improvement? Documenting a value stream in a disciplined method allows us to use a common language for all further discussions about improvement by converting team member opinions into thoughts through team consensus and team decision-making. This can later be converted to knowledge through the PDSA cycle of learning and improvement. 

In this paper, we document a model of value stream mapping that works for facilitator, customer and subject matter expert alike. We know that mapping processes helps subject matter experts know and understand their work and their system better. Thus, we believe it will aid their improvement efforts. What we think must change to create that improvement will be to increase the knowledge of facilitators of value stream mapping with a disciplined philosophy and method. 

Quality deployment flowcharts (QDFs), process maps and value stream maps (VSMs) are a fundamental way to enhance our understanding of our organization and the value our team’s work brings to our customers. It can be the start of new learning and an infusion of new energy into any on-going continual improvement efforts. They help us document a picture of a process that all can refer to with the data to understand our system and team, suppliers, internal resources and customers. We have a fold out supplement depicting the VSM process that can be shared on request.