Category: knowledge

Posted on

Work in Progress (WIP)

WIP is an important concept in Lean and Agile.

By definition, WIP is: a form of inventory, usually unfinished goods which still require further work, processing, assembly and or inspection. This type of inventory is usually found within steps or sub-processes of a production process. Only raw materials which have commenced to move through their value adding processes can be classified as WIP.  Raw materials which have still not been worked with are still classified as raw materials. Work in progress is usually the major type of inventory in a one bin or two bin system.

Why #WIP is Important
Work in progress is considered a type of waste just like inventory, as it ties up cash for a certain period of time which could be generating higher returns elsewhere in the organization. In a large manufacturing facility even small amounts of #WIP can add up to a large sums of capital locked up in this type of inventory.

In the #agile world this means simply, #WIP limits delivery of Value, something critical to successful agile teams.

The presence of unnecessary work in progress can also be an indicator of an unreliable supply chain, lack of proper production planning, excessive manual labor required in the production process, production line balancing or supply chain which are causing unnecessary delays and build-up of work in progress inventory. This may warrant further analysis. An efficient productive system should only pull materials through when needed , without the need for much #WIP. This is the concept of Just in Time and is what ultimately led to the utilization of #KANBAN Systems (Kanban Boards)

In the #agile world, this is realized in a number of ways, but essentially it comes down to Spent Costs, which further dissuades teams from focusing on value and instead has them focus on non-economic drivers. This is also an inhibitor to moving quickly to MORE valuable work because people and resources are over utilized on non-value realized work.

In the agile world this is critically important to ensuring teams complete their work within a time box (Sprint, Iteration, Increment, Release).  In order to ensure that the team consistently delivers value and has good Flow, the teams Focus on a few stories at a time, they limit #WIP

Work in progress also presents a business risk to the company because #WIP will usually be stored on the factory floor, close to machinery, plant and equipment and also mobile equipment traffic areas.

The video below provides a good understanding of optimizing a system for flow, rather than applying traditional management thinking since often the system has a number of sub optimal processes or work units. We want adjustments and value to be understood in terms of the entire system used to deliver the value. This type of thinking is commonly referred to as #Systems Thinking and there are a number of management models and books on the topic.

In my next post I will talk about a corollary to #WIP called #batch size.

Until then, enjoy this video!

Jacksonville, FL·Posted Oct 17, 2018
Posted on

Knowledge and Knowledge Management

There is a lot of talk about Communities of Practice (CoP).  You may have already heard about something called a Center of Excellence (CoE).

While the 2 entities have common goals and objectives and generally support improvement throughout the organization, they are targeted towards different groups and ways of interacting.

As background, it is important to look at how knowledge is gained, and how organization knowledge is gained and ultimately shared and managed.  For the individual, a sample knowledge model might look as follows:

The DIKW model:

In this model, there is a representation of how an individual gains knowledge through a process of acquiring data and maturing it. This is a common model and provides a good basis for the value of Training and Continual Learning.  Noting that application of Data and Information is critical to acquiring the Knowledge/Wisdom Level.

If you want to learn all about the DIKW model, there is an excellent paper in the Journal of Information Science, entitled ‘The wisdom hierarchy: representations of the DIKW hierarchy’ (PDF) and written by Jennifer Rowley of the Bangor Business School.

Organizations acquire knowledge differently.  Typically through the acquisition of people or expansion of the existing workforce’s knowledge bands.

This brings us back to an earlier discussion about Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. In order to facilitate the knowledge growth in an organization the following CoP’s might be established:

    • Product Owner CoP
    • ScrumMaster CoP
    • Leadership CoP

Some background on CoP vs CoE:

Centers of Excellence (CoE)

SUPPORT: For their area of focus, CoE’s should offer support to the business lines. This may be through services needed, or providing subject matter experts.

GUIDANCE: Standards, methodologies, tools and knowledge repositories are typical approaches to filling this need.

SHARED LEARNING: Training and certifications, skill assessments, team building and formalized roles are all ways to encourage shared learning.

MEASUREMENTS: CoEs should be able to demonstrate they are delivering the valued results that justified their creation through the use of output metrics.

GOVERNANCE: Allocating limited resources (money, people, etc.) across all their possible use is an important function of CoEs. They should ensure organizations invest in the most valuable projects and create economies of scale for their service offering. In addition, coordination across other corporate interests is needed to enable the CoE to deliver value.

Communities of Practice (CoP)

SUPPORT – provision of a network of experts from both inside the organization and from outside

GUIDANCE – a CoP can be entrusted to devise and document best practices, standards, methodologies, tools, bodies of knowledge

SHARED LEARNING – Except for actually creating formalized roles in a company hierarchy, a CoP does all the same things as a CoE under this heading, plus provides mentorship, apprenticeships, and access to external informal and formal trade groups.

MEASUREMENTS – besides providing measurements of efficacy, a CoP typically describes what measures are appropriate for the proper execution of the domain of expertise or trade

GOVERNANCE – in this one dimension a CoP differs greatly from a CoE and instead of managing resources, a CoP strives to refine and improve the domain of expertise itself. A central function of the CoP is to improve the domain itself rather than simply managing its deployment. A CoE for project management seeks to improve the deployment of project managers and the like in furtherance of operational targets, whereas a CoP would seek to improve the entire field and practice of project management itself.

These distinctions will serve you well as you plan to improve and harness your organization, and leading transformations into a future of unleashed talent to build your solutions.

In a future article, I will add some additional information to help you further these ideas.