Abstract: The nature of the modern world pushes to us to do more, faster. This unrelenting pressure puts the people and teams that DO the work in a wonderful situation where they can indeed make everybody happy... if only they could do one. more. thing. Two clear choices emerge: start everything, or finish something.
This talk reintroduces three concepts critical to anybody who performs work:
- an understanding of flow and process efficiency,
- recognition of the tragedy of WIP, and
- insight to the cost of commitment.
We will then extend these core concepts, exploring:
- the impact of WIP in multi-tiered portfolio systems and
- strategy deployment at enterprise scale.
Each topic includes specific, immediately applicable advice on how to improve your throughput and reduce the stress associated with doing your work. Anybody who works with or leads multiple teams will benefit from the simple guidance. You can quickly apply and use several simple exercises that show the impact of WIP and over-commitment.
Learning Outcomes: - Apply correct lean terminology when discussing the state of work
- Distinguish between active, queue, and idle times
- Anticipate the impact of committing to additional work using Little's law
- Appreciate the degree of impact of overloading a system
- Recognize how excessive commitment can push a team over the cliff
- Connect visual, emotional, textbook, and kinesthetic understandings of Little's Law
- Recognize that WIP discussions are strongly supported by evidence, not opinion
- Apply the underlying mechanics of WIP limits to achieve improvement
- Extend basic WIP concepts to portfolio management and strategy flow
- Recognize the impact WIP has in impeding innovation
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