Step 1: Bring your team together.

• This process should be initialised once you feel overwhelmed or stuck within some issues in your business.
   
• It might also be kicked off when there is a new project that isn't being done or reoccurring issues.
   
• Bring your team together to walk through this process.
  • Set up a meeting time.
     
  • Inform it'll take around 90 minutes.
     
  • Pick a closed-door and distraction-free environment.
     
• Start off by identifying the scope.
  • Inform your team members who'll be in the meeting about the specific scope this will cover.
     
  • Set the start and endpoint.
     
  • Get clear on your goals.
     
• During the meeting:
  • Start the tone of the meeting.
     
  • Get everyone in the room clear of the scope.
     
  • Move through the meeting quite quickly.
     
  • Don't try and solve too many problems at once.
     
  • Encourage your team members to be transparent to know what the current situation is.

Step 2: Jump into the waste areas.

• Raise these eight waste areas that might be causing the issues within the business.
  • Defects
    • Defects are part of the business where certain information/products/services are inaccurate or incomplete.
       
    • It could be a process problem or a human problem that is being passed on to the customers.
       
    • It basically doesn't add value to the clients of the business.
       
  • Overproduction
    • Anything in your process/project that you're making more of.
       
    • Might be in various cases such as earlier, faster, or actually making more than what is needed for the customer.
       
  • Waiting
    • It could be waiting for information, waiting for equipment, waiting for materials, waiting for people, waiting for processes, etc.
       
  • Non-utilised talent
    • You might see people in your team with unutilised experiences, talents, skills, etc.
       
  • Transportation
    • Any unnecessary movement for things such as materials, information, equipment.
       
  • Inventory
    • Accumulation of information that is not adding value to the business.
       
    • It also tackles cash.
       
  • Motion
    • Any movement by people that aren't adding value to the customer.
       
    • It could be unnecessary meetings.
       
  • Extra processing
    • Any steps that aren't adding any value to the customer in terms of what you might be over-processing.
       
• Once you've got all the issues that keep popping up in your business, it is now time to rank them accordingly for each waste area.
   
• You may identify low ranking points, but you may also come across points that will give your business a quick win.
   
• This step doesn't involve solving the issues but only ranking them from lowest to highest.

Step 3: Solve the issues and delegate the tasks.

• Once you've ranked all the issues, it will become clear which ones require the most attention.
  • Try to address as much as possible during the meeting.
     
  • It's apparent that there may be issues that would require the teams to go out and work on them outside the meeting.
     
  • Subject-Matter experts could play a big part in this.
     
• Assign team members to tasks and get clear on who's going to do what and by when.
  • This helps gain momentum and brings the business back into life.

System Notes

• Discuss the whole process to uncover the issues.
   
• It is important to get to the root cause of every issue.
   
• Turn problem areas into project areas.
   
• Revisit this process in the middle of solving the issues.