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Thinking in Diagrams

Value stream map

Processes & experienceField guide · Processes & experience · 4 of 6

Where does material wait from order to delivery, and what starts each step?

On a value stream map, one product family’s path from order to delivery is drawn as process boxes, the inventory waiting between them, the information that starts each step, and a timeline beneath of work against waiting.

Marks

Section titled “Marks”
MarkDrawn asStands forSource
customer or suppliera factory outline with a saw-tooth roofthe supplier, top left; the customer, top rightUW
A customer on a value stream map: a factory outline with a saw-tooth roof A factory outline with a saw-tooth roof: customers. customers
process boxa box with the step’s nameone area of material flow, ending wherever the flow stopsLEI Lexicon
A process box on a value stream map A process box: order and pay. orderand pay
data boxa box of figures beneath a process boxits cycle time, changeover time, uptime and moreLEI Lexicon
A data box on a value stream map: a box of figures beneath a process box A process box: order and pay, with a box beneath it: cycle time 40 s. orderand pay cycle time40 s
inventorya triangle with an I, its count beneathmaterial waiting between stepsRoser; UW
Inventory on a value stream map: a triangle with an I, its count beneath A triangle marked I, with its count beneath: 4 people queuing. I 4 peoplequeuing
FIFO lanetwo ruled lines around a square, a circle and a triangle, MAX=XX above; FIFO in the figurematerial taken first in, first out, up to a limitUW
A FIFO lane on a value stream map: two ruled lines marked FIFO Two ruled lines marked FIFO, with its count beneath: 3 cups waiting. FIFO 3 cupswaiting
supermarket; pullan E-shaped outline; a curved line with an arrowheada controlled store, and material taken from itUW
A supermarket and a pull on a value stream map: an E-shaped outline and a curved line with an arrowhead An E-shaped outline, a supermarket, open to the left. From its closed side a curved line with an arrowhead, a pull, runs right to a process box: hand over. hand over
shipmenta broad outlined arrowdeliveryUW
A shipment on a value stream map: a broad outlined arrow A process box: hand over. From its top a broad outlined arrow runs up to a factory outline with a saw-tooth roof: customers. customers hand over
push arrowa broad striped arrowmaterial pushed to the next step; not in the figure, which has no fillUW; Roser
production controla boxwhoever schedules the workUW
Production control on a value stream map: a box A box: till. till
manual informationa thin straight line with an arrowheadinformation passed by memo, report or conversationUW
Manual information on a value stream map: a thin straight line with an arrowhead A factory outline with a saw-tooth roof: customers. A thin line with an arrowhead, spoken order, runs left from it to a box: till. customers spoken order till
electronic informationa zigzag line with an arrowheadinformation passed electronicallyUW
Electronic information on a value stream map: a zigzag line with an arrowhead A box: till. A zigzag line with an arrowhead runs right from it to a process box: make the drink. till make thedrink
shared processa process box, its lower part hatcheda step shared with other value streams; not in the figure, which has no hatchingUW
timelinea square wave beneath the boxeswaits in its troughs, work on its peaksUW; Roser
The timeline on a value stream map: a square wave A square wave: a trough, a wait of 4 min; a peak, 40 s of work; a trough, a wait of 3 min. 4 min 40 s 3 min

A line with an arrowhead

Section titled “A line with an arrowhead”

Between steps, material moves on then: pushed, along a push arrow; pulled from a supermarket; or passed first in, first out down a FIFO lane. A thin or zigzag line with an arrowhead carries the order or schedule that starts a step’s work. Whereas an effect produces a change in the variable at its head, the lines between steps move material and the thin and zigzag lines carry orders.

A café’s coffee order

Section titled “A café’s coffee order”
A café's coffee order from the queue to the cup, as a value stream map Every time and count is illustrative. Top right, a factory outline with a saw-tooth roof: customers, with a box beneath it: 1 order a minute at the peak. A thin line with an arrowhead, spoken order, runs left from the customers to a box at the top: till. From the till a thin line with an arrowhead, name and drink on the cup, runs down to the second step. Along the middle, left to right: a triangle marked I, 4 people queuing; a process box, order and pay, with a box beneath it: cycle time 40 s; a FIFO lane, two ruled lines marked FIFO, 3 cups waiting; a process box, make the drink, with a box beneath it: cycle time 55 s; a triangle marked I, 1 drink on the counter; a process box, hand over, with a box beneath it: cycle time 10 s, and from its top a broad outlined arrow up to the customers. Along the bottom, the timeline, a square wave: its troughs, the waits, 4 min, 3 min and 1 min; its peaks, the work, 40 s, 55 s and 10 s. Beneath it: about 10 min from queue to cup, under 2 min of it work. customers 1 order a minuteat the peak spoken order till name and drinkon the cup I 4 peoplequeuing orderand pay cycle time40 s FIFO 3 cupswaiting make thedrink cycle time55 s I 1 drink onthe counter hand over cycle time10 s 4 min 40 s 3 min 55 s 1 min 10 s about 10 min from queue to cup, under 2 min of it work

Of about ten minutes from joining the queue to taking the cup, under two are work; the timeline’s troughs are the queue, the cups waiting in the FIFO lane and the drink on the counter. The order spoken at the till reaches the drink’s maker written on the cup. Every time and count is illustrative.

When to draw one

Section titled “When to draw one”

Draw one before changing how a product reaches its customers, one product family at a time, the current state and then the future state, with material and information mapped together, in Rother and Shook’s words, as “two sides of the same coin”.

When not to draw one

Section titled “When not to draw one”

The steps inside one area are a process map’s. “Don’t map your organization”, Rother and Shook advise, but the flow of products through it. One total, such as order-to-delivery time, is a sentence.

Reasoning and polish

Section titled “Reasoning and polish”
  • Reasoning5 of 5
  • Polish4 of 5current-state walk → future-state design
  1. Process boxes from supplier to customer, inventory between them, the information that starts each step, and the timeline
  2. Data boxes (cycle time, changeover, uptime, % complete and accurate), customer demand and takt time
  3. The future-state map: pull, supermarkets, FIFO lanes, kaizen bursts, and the implementation plan
Section titled “Related types”
  • A value stream map is a process map with data added: each step’s time, the waiting between steps, and the information that tells each step what to make next.

Sources

Section titled “Sources”