Toyota kata for continuous improvement

01/05/2023

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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTSudipta Lahiri, Digite

@sudiptal #AgileNoida2015

Sudipta Lahiri (Sudi)[email protected], [email protected]

• Senior Vice President, Digité• Agile/Lean practitioner (75%)

• Lean Transformation of our own team• Developed SwiftKanban (www.swiftkanban.com), SwiftALM (

www.digite.com)• Licensed user base of over 300,000

• Agile Coach (25%)• Train and coach teams/organizations in Lean/Agile

• Run the LimitedWIP Societies in India

My Background

06-06-15

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.swiftkanban.com/

http://www.digite.com/


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Why this session?

01/05/2023

Are we missing the point? Should we have a different perspective? Are we really happy with how Agile

teams have performed so far? Have the retrospectives delivered the

results we were told they will deliver?


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Toyota: unparalleled success

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Toyota is one of the most open organizations There are many known practices that are widely

adopted and followed Andon, Kanban, Jidoka, Heijunka...

There is so much talk about ‘Continuous Improvement’ A3 sheets, others...

Yet, the success of Toyota rarely been replicated... why? Even within Japanese companies::

It all comes down to Toyota’s key values!


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Toyota’s value It values organization’s routines for

improvement and adaptation for competitive advantage and long term success Not quantitative/financial targets

“ Toyota has long considered its ability to permanently resolve problems and then improve stable processes as one of the company’s competitive advantages.

- Kathi Hanley, Toyota”

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We aren’t the best “copy cats”!

Teams need to be adapt and continuously improve External and internal environments are

changing continuously; you can’t predict how they will develop

We jump to “implementation”... we jump to methodologies... we jump to certifications!

We copy what we see...

Practices and Principles

Management thinking and routines

(Visible)

(Invisible)

Picture from Mike Rother’s book “Toyota Kata”

... forgetting that some of these practices and principles were a response to their issues, their problems

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What do we mean from continuous improvement and adaptation?

Small incremental steps, adjusting along the way, continuously

Relying on periodic retrospectives assumes a system that is “temporarily” static Standards that don’t keep continuously

improving bring down system performance because system characteristics keep changing

We are here

We want to be here

Picture from Mike Rother’s book “Toyota Kata” 01/05/2023

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Quality of a product does not necessarily mean high quality. It means continual improvement of the process, so that the consumer may depend on the uniformity of a product and purchase it at a low cost.

- W. Edwards Deming, 1980


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Kata means “routine” ... routines that help its people continuously

improve and evolve... systematically, not as a special initiative

A way of keeping 2 things in alignment, synchronized with each other One: The system Two: The continuously changing environment

We don’t control the environments around us but we can control how to manage them

Kata is not a technique, not a principle It’s much deeper.... it’s part of work, everyday

01/05/2023http://www.another-reality.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Experiment.gif


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Two fundamental “Kata” routines Improvement Kata

A routine that helps you to improve, adapt and evolve

Coaching Kata A routine that makes the experienced

leaders and managers teach the Improvement Kata to everyone

Coaching

Kata

Improvement KataImages from:http://www.memrise.com/user/dominici/http://imgbuddy.com/cartoon-people-standing-up.asphttp://getafteritsales.com/the-importance-of-process/

01/05/2023

http://www.memrise.com/user/dominici/

http://imgbuddy.com/cartoon-people-standing-up.asp


http://getafteritsales.com/the-importance-of-process/



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It does not happen with... Workshops or Classroom sessions Action Item Lists Value Stream Mapping helps but...

http://www.slideshare.net/KarenMartinGroup/value-stream-mapping-in-officeservice-joint-webinar-with-igrafx

Improvement Kata at this level

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What happens in retrospectives? Best case scenario:

We get a “scattered” set of improvements These are not generally directed in any specific direction (vision) Without a vision, once you address these improvements, you will

get a static system You can’t predict the outcome!

In the most common scenario: Action items don’t get closed; over time, team loses faith and the

quality of feedback drops Often, too many items and too many “organizational” items

Freshers, attrition, requirements are not well defined, etc. Rarely, problems within the team, within the team members are

identified! Rarely, a 5Why analysis to get to “real” Root Cause

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You must have a “vision”... Is “Lean” = “Waste Management”?

Yes but... we focus on wastes in silos (system thinking is missing) Defining a vision gives a direction for the “system” to think in one

direction

Mike Rother’s definition of “Continuous Improvement and Adaptation” “Moving towards a desired state through an unclear territory by being

sensitive and responding to actual changes on the ground”

Alvin Toffler’s says” You have got to think about big things while you are doing small things,

so that all the small things go in the right direction

We are here

Vision eg:0

defectsCSAT>X

%ESAT>Y

%01/05/2023


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... but Vision is just a Direction giver! Nothing more!

Utilize these “next steps” to manage the team/people However, as you move from point to the next, you will get

“Obstacles” Either avoid them and move off from your vision OR Work through it by understanding it and addressing its root cause(s)

We are here

Vision eg:0 defectsCSAT>X

%ESAT>Y%

Define the next step:

Specific and detailed

Define the next step...

Define the next

step...

Define the next step...

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So, lets establish the “Next Step”...

Out intent must be to establish a work “pattern” Without a pattern, you cannot identify where to

improve... Without a pattern, you are not certain how to react

to OR how the system would react to when you change something

We are here

Vision eg:0 defectsCSAT>X

%ESAT>Y%Patte

rn

Pattern

Pattern

Pattern

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To set a working pattern... Without a pattern, every day is a different day! Many of the TPS principles are to establish a

pattern Heijunka, Kanban, 1*1 flow Initially, work will not fit to the pattern...

You will get almost always get obstacles... Resolve them and continuously improve When people say, its not working for us...

You got it! Nail that problem All these methods are used to see the problems

and obstacles

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Kanban as a method for “Continuous Improvement”

Visible intent: produce only what we need

Invisible intent: support process improvement to provide a target condition by defining a relationship between stages of the value stream In push systems, you dump work to

downstream; rest is his problem!

01/05/2023

@sudiptal #AgileNoida201501/05/2023

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The purpose of Kanban is to eliminate Kanban!

http://www.vijaywebsolutions.com/what-is-a-backend-developer/

Eliminate the supermarket... - But don’t do it too fast!

Use Kanban to define the “next stage” of improvement journey

There is no point in seeing the same thing what you are doing today! There is no

improvement...


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Target condition ≠ Target

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Target condition (pattern) depersonalizes and aligns the corrective actions

Target condition points towards a process improvement; target points towards numbers! You can get the numbers by cheating the system but you can’t game

improvement If you push for targets without process improvement, the system will

break down! When you have high WIP, that reflects a scope for process improvement

Target condition should be something that is distant AND you don’t know how to get there It shouldn’t be easy enough that we know how to get there + it

shouldn’t difficult enough that the team gives up! Start with a small simple definition and expand as you go

forward... As you face obstacles and resolve, you will be able to refine better Try hard NOT to think about the counter measures!

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... how to try and achieve that?

So, you have a Target Condition...


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Execution to target condition Accept that the path is unclear

“No Problem” = Problem Small, incremental and rapid step

Sometimes in minutes; no detailed plan Don’t lose time in trying to get the perfect

step; take a bandaid step to see farther This is where PDCA comes in

With single-factor experiments, not necessarily the biggest problem

Not this... ... but this...http://zarboleanhealthcare.blogspot.in/http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-building-teamwork-image23767024 01/05/2023

http://zarboleanhealthcare.blogspot.in/

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-building-teamwork-image23767024


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Summary: 5 questions for Improvement Kata...

What is the target condition (the challenge)?

What is the actual condition now?

What obstacles are preventing you from reaching the target condition? Which one are you addressing now?

What is your next step (starting PDCA)?

When can we go and see what we have learnt from the next step?

There is no end...

Make it into daily

routine,

for everyone!

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Retrospectives vs Kata

Focus: Stop/fix the problem

Typical Behaviour: Hide the problem Quickly move into

corrective action Apply several corrective

actions at once

Focus: Learn about the work system Understand the

situation Typical Behaviour:

Observe and study the situation

Apply 1 corrective action at a time to see cause and effect

Retrospectives Kata

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Don’t mess it with “metrics”The manager relies on signals that he or she assumes are good results measures. In fact, employees know ways to make signals look good that the manager hasn’t thought of and that have nothing to do with results.Another lousy feature of such systems that they punish workers who have too much integrity to game the measures

- Robert Austin01/05/2023

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This is where “Coaching Kata” comes in!

Thinking like this is not easy...


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Who does it?

Limited impact Voluntary

improvement activity

Train them to think of kaizen

Identify who is ready to go to the next level

90% impact 50% of their time!

Part of their job function

Cost reduction via improvement in productivity and quality

Team Members... Leader/Managers

http://networtech.com/despite-inert-economy-computer-programmers-still-high-demand/ 01/05/

2023


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Pareto Charts don’t get it done! Its simply too

late! Even then, we

don’t look into what is happening now

Root cause trail is cold

The “Other” bucket

Our response has to be immediate

Our response should NOT BE from the team members... Why? Because if

the problem is quickly fixed, you will not be able to address the root cause

Too strongly influenced by your pain.. 01/05/

2023


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Coaching the Straight Drive...

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Your observations...

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What’s the approach?

How is it different from what we do today?

Bottomline, this isn’t traning OR workshop! You learn the art by doing it again and again and again... Till your brain does it in an auto mode! Think about how you drive... KUMON...

Do metrics, incentives and motivators help?


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The basics of Coaching Kata

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Menton-Mentee-Mentor-Mentee... Relationship

At lowel levels, Mentor is mostly the line manager; as you grow, the mentor changes to someone not in the line

Mentee is responsible for “doing”; mentor is responsible for the “outcome”

If the learner hasn’t learnt, the teacher hasn’t taught...


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The basics of Coaching Kata

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As a mentor, let them experiment but keep them in the zone; don’t tell them what to do (too hard!) There is value of learning through small errors; its more

permanent in nature It helps the mentor understand how the mentee thinks Inputs for future training and improvement

Use a written document... A3... for a focussed discussion Putting it down in one sheet is damn hard! Needs extreme clarity to be concise Don’t even suggest the template to begin with... lead to

something like it


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Let’s summarize

01/05/2023

Inspect and adapt... don’t copy It not adequate to implement a methodology,

model or method Think about you can make Continuous

Improvement a routine that your team can follow without a second thought

Coaching

Kata

Improvement Kata

Images from:http://www.memrise.com/user/dominici/http://imgbuddy.com/cartoon-people-standing-up.asphttp://getafteritsales.com/the-importance-of-process/

http://www.memrise.com/user/dominici/






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Join us at: Lean Kanban India 2015

01/05/2023


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Thank you for your time today...

For any questions or clarifications, reach me at: @sudiptal [email protected]

I share my experiences at: http://sudi-thoughts.blogspot.in/

Join Limited WIP Society NCR, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai Chapters

01/05/2023

Toyota kata for continuous improvement

Technology

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