Value stream maps, in the past done primarily on a whiteboard, did a great job of establishing the common language among people involved in the value creation work.

Maps reflecting the process steps and their interdependencies advance the common understanding of where the problems are. Unfortunately, static pictures provide a snapshot of a situation at a particular moment in time and might be misleading; models, on the other hand, can reveal a dynamic perspective of the value stream behavior. Such a perspective focus on systematic issues instead of local or temporary ones.

A value stream model can help you answer a lot of burning:

• How backward flow affects the performance of a value stream? Examples of backward flow are defects, reworks, outages, and other unplanned activities.
• What is the main bottleneck of the value stream, and what are the local bottlenecks of the flow variations?
• Given the demand curve, what are the implications on the lead time, unit cost, activity ratio, and other important metrics?

We help you to analyze value stream dynamics so that you can make informed decisions on what to change or optimize.