6 Steps to Become a Lean Organization

In order to become a lean organization, you must first determine your goals and objectives for adopting Lean practices. Becoming a Lean champion is also important, as it is your responsibility to encourage others to follow Lean principles. Learning and applying Lean principles is challenging, but it can be done with practice and reading popular Lean blogs, listening to podcasts and webinars, and reading books exploring new areas of Lean theory. Mapping your value stream can help you analyze and improve various steps within the operation and Kanban boards enable teams to prioritize tasks, pinpoint bottlenecks and stoppages preventing teams from completing a task, and recording and assessing time spent on each step in the workflow. Embracing failure is part of the Lean methodology and by experimenting and failing fast, teams can learn what went wrong and approach problems differently to improve their product. Innovative software solutions like Planview AgilePlace can help organizations achieve agility on their terms and timeline, connecting all parts of the business to the overall goals of the organization.