Lean project management

Lean Project Management

John Bun

ScenarioCompany ABC

The needImprove IT service request response time

The How?

Start the project

Conclusion

We need a tool to register and follow up service requests

Results

a request for service is a waste of time Lack of visibility of overall workloadInterviews

Business IT Service Providers

Cross Functional Teams

The Project starts and delivers

Business CaseExecutive

Committee approval

Project Manager reports weekly

Steering comite meets

monthly

Training for the tool is

taking place

Users complain

about user friendliness

Project closes within

budget, time and scope

CEO declares: ¨I

see this as a qualified

win. system is up and

some people are already

using it!”

Is this a successful project?

Did the project take the need away?

Causes projects are failing

• People tend to jump to solutions

• During the project, solution is not challenged anymore

• Unanticipated events occur during the life cycle of projects

• ………………….

Project management - definition

• A temporary activity undertaken to create a unique product, service or result

• A project is goal oriented and consists of a series of interrelated non routine tasks

• Timely execution of a solution to address a need, opportunity, or problem

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) provides a framework that support central lean tenets including alignment, standard work, structured problem solving and effective teams

Lean - Definition

• A management strategy to improve and organize the operational activities of companies

• Goal is “Operational Excellence’” when each and every employee can see the flow of value to the customer, and fix that flow before it breaks down (Kevin J. Duggan)

Lean project management - definition

Reinforce the effectiveness of project managementby emphasizing

iterative discovery,problem solving, value delivery, and

eliminating wasteful tasks,

resulting in improved quality, reduced total elapsedProject time and reduced project costs.

Objectives (Promises) of Lean Project Management

Improved customer satisfactionFocus during every project and project activity on Value for the Customer

Shorter through put timesSmart standardized work processes,

Project Cost SavingsElimination of waste, remove non value added activities

Continuous organization improvementFocus on learning and critical attitude during project

Professionalism and Quality improvementContinuous feedback, empowered teams

• betere klantgerichtheid en daardoor hogere waardering van klanten;• snellere dienstverlening door slimmere werkprocessen en daardoor kortere doorlooptijden;• meer efficiëntie door elimineren van verspilling en daardoor (flinke) kostenbesparingen;• consequent werken aan de oriëntatie op leren en daardoor op continu verbeteren;• versterking van de ontwikkeling van de gezamenlijke professionaliteit en daardoor van de kwaliteit.• betere klantgerichtheid en daardoor hogere waardering van klanten;• snellere dienstverlening door slimmere werkprocessen en daardoor kortere doorlooptijden;• meer efficiëntie door elimineren van verspilling en daardoor (flinke) kostenbesparingen;• consequent werken aan de oriëntatie op leren en daardoor op continu verbeteren;• versterking van de ontwikkeling van de gezamenlijke professionaliteit en daardoor van de kwaliteit.

Project Preparation

Project Closure

Pro

ject

M

anag

emen

t

Quality M

anagement

design

develop

deploy

define

Traditional Project Management


• Small projects (max 90 days) limited scope and specific milestones)

• More time is invested in defining the project in terms of business value and measuring and analyzing business value

Lean project management – Critical Success Factors

Traditionally Project Managers

• measure their success on delivery of a planned focus within time and budget and are not used to measure their success on the benefits they deliver to their customer

• are focused on the own project activities and act from build expertise it is

difficult for project team to let loose existing ways of working

• are resistant to scope change and do not keep an end to end focus therefore miss opportunity; this results in suboptimal results and more unsatisfactory results delivered at a faster pace

For Lean Project Managers the focus has to go to

• Flexibility • Quickly delivering incremental value to internal and external

stakeholders.


Project Preparation

Goals: speed up PDCA cycles

Principles of Lean Thinking

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Lean Approach

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Create an Obeya Room (project war room)Daily (short) stand up meetings

Keep focus on business value

Keep Strategic Alignment

Team spirit, focus on collaboration and communication

Escalate sensibility to prevent waste

Minimize project administration

Shared visions and goals

Put improvement ideas in action

Daily directive: value creation by problem solvingrelieve project from redundant routinesMake decisions at the right time

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Visual Project Management Ability to understand the status of a project in 5 minutes or less by simple observation without use of computer or speaking to anyone

Define scope

Goals

Principles of Lean Thinking

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Lean Approach

To speed up a project you must first slow down

Identify root causes by (inter) team based problem solving

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Further specify Business CaseFind root causes of problems, needs or opportunities

Focus on root causes not symptoms

Every project needs a SMART Business Case

Correctly specify value for customer

Measure and Analyze

Goals

Principles

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Lean Approach

Process times

I

Current State Map (Measure)- Define activities- Measure process times- Measure lead time

Envision potential improvements(and select the one with most benefit)

- Develop a Future state map- Set targets- Prioritise efforts Iterations

Lead times

Empower the team

Define value added activities

Do not mistake activity for productivity

Identify and eliminate waste

Management by facts

Value Stream Awareness- Defined approach to analyze situation (based on

delivery of business value)

Improve – Monitor and Control Improvements

Goals

Principles

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Lean Approach

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closed loop feedback, to measure the impact of improvements

Focus on A3 Thinking

Plan Do Check Act Problem Solving

Flexibility in developing solutions

Create flow (non interrupted process)

Lean Thinking Evolving benefits

Fast customer requirements implementationEncourages flexibility and iterative problem solvingFocus on business process improvement

Keep sense of urgency

Close and action

Goals

Principles

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Lean Approach

Take actions to deploy lessons learned

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Consolidate lessons learned from previous stages

Make adjustments to project management practices – standardized work

Train and reinforce Lean Principles

Project is an opportunity to work on process improvement while getting the work done

Move beyond defending individual positions and ownership of ideas, serving the greater goals of the team, organization and its customers

Define lessons learned

Manage towards perfection

Benefits of Lean Thinking in Project Management

• Deliverable generate value at each improvement cycle, rather than only at the end of the project. Faster introduction of new product (to increase market share)

• Improvement cash flow: shorten time between spending and receiving money

• Agility and pro activity during project• Focus on current problems• Less risky• More likely to succeed, which increases buy-in for subsequent

stages• Less work in process, simpler coordination of tasks and

resources• Effective team engagement in root cause analysis and iterative

problem solving