The Five Toyota Kata Questions

5 The 13 Toyota 24 Kata Questions Mike Rother Dec. 2011© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 1

ONE COACHING CYCLE = THE 5 QUESTIONS Click on the card to download a copy. Also available on the Toyota Kata website. The Five Questions 1) What is the target condition? Back of card - Reflection Section 2) What is the actual condition now? 3) What obstacles do you think are preventing you from reaching the target condition? Reflect on the Last Step Taken --------(Turn Card Over)---------------------> Because you don!t actually know what the result of a step will be! What obstacle are you addressing now? 4) What is your next step? (next PDCA / 1) What obstacle were you addressing? experiment) What do you expect? 2) What was your last step? 5) When can we go and see what we have learned from taking that step? 3) What actually happened? 4) What did you learn?Card is turned over to ------------------------------>reflect on the last step Return © Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 2

WHY THE FIVE QUESTIONS? The learning that is most useable for improvement, adaptation & innovation often comes from small PDCA cycles at the process Checks at higher, macro PDCA levels alone may lead only to conjecture about why something happened, rather than useful, detailed facts and data for adaptation." Those checks at the higher levels also come too late to do much about it. Long-cycle processes often involve longer PDCA cycles, which can slow your learning. When a process cycle is long, try to run experiments in a cycle that is intentionally shortened. “How can we test this step or idea as quickly as possible?” Remember, you can!t see beyond your current knowledge threshold without actually trying your idea in some way.© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 3

ASK THE 5 QUESTIONS AT EACH STEP Target Condition CurrentCondition © Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 4

THE COACHING-CYCLE PATTERN 1 2 Target Condition Current Condition What are we Where are we striving to actually now? achieve? 4 3 Next Step Obstacle What obstacle are What is our next we focusing on? Now reflect: experiment? - What was your last step? Reflect on the What do last step - What actually happened? we expect? - What did you learn? Now 1 2 5 Target Current Experiment repeat Condition Condition Testing a hypothesis in action 4 3 Next Obstacle StepBased on a diagram by Don Clarkhttp://nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leader.html © Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 5

A COACHING CYCLE SHOULD LEAD TO SOME KIND OF EXPERIMENT The coach guides the learner into making a chain of PDCA cycles, where one step builds on what was learned in the last step. In most cases the dialog of one coaching cycle should focus down to one PDCA cycle. (That PDCA cycle may be as simple as “go and see.”) 1) What is the target condition? Framing questions 2) What is the actual condition now? 3) What obstacles do you think are preventing you from reaching the target condition? Focus in -- (flip card & reflect on last step) -- & reflect What obstacle are you addressing now? A P C D 4) What is your next step? (next PDCA / The next experiment) What do you expect? experiment 5) When can we go and see what we Next Next coaching coaching have learned from taking that step? cycle cycle© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 6

“MACRO” AND “MICRO” PDCA CYCLES Shorter PDCA cycles are nested within the larger objective Shorter, rapid PDCA cycles are kicked off at Questions 4 & 5 Questions 1 & 2: MACRO What is the target condition? ACT PLAN What is the actual condition now? Go and See CHECK DO ACT ACT PLAN PLAN Questions 4 & 5: MICRO or Study ACT PLAN ACT PLAN What is your next step? CHECK DOACT PLAN CHECK DO What do you expect? CHECK DO CHECK DO When can we go and see CHECK DO what we have learned from taking that step? Illustration from Toyota Kata, page 144 And a lot of learning, improvement, adaptation, innovation and evolution comes from those micro PDCA cycles!© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 7

HOW PDCA HELPS YOU LEARN AND IMPROVE Learning happens when there is surprise... when reality differs from expectation The “P” of What are we PDCA is an learning from this? expectation... What do we need to adjust? ...a hypothesis Illustration from The Team Handbook, page 3-33 When a hypothesis is refuted this is in particular when we can gain new insight that helps us reach new performance levels... ...because a refuted hypotheses reveals a knowledge threshold© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 8

THE KNOWLEDGE THRESHOLD There!s an invisible knowledge threshold around us. What makes it visible are comments like could be, might, I think and fractures; when something other than what we expect happens. A refuted hypothesis -- when a plan, step, belief or thought turns out to be incorrect -- is an opportunity for learning, improvement, adaptation and invention. It!s the learning edge.The threshold of knowledge isthe place for your next PDCAexperiment. Use the pattern ofthe 5 Questions to help you:A) Spot knowledge thresholdsB) Define a hypothesis (a step) and test that hypothesis as simply and quickly as possibleC) Learn how you need to adjust and adapt in order to reach your next target condition© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 9

IMPROVING, ADAPTING, INNOVATING How will you make your kanban system work? How will you achieve 1x1 flow? How will you achieve shorter value-stream lead time? How will you achieve your objective? The way forward is iterative & experimenting, aimed at a desired condition that we don!t yet know how we will achieve Predictable Zone Uncertainty / Learning Zone tacl e s ? Ob s ? Next Target r nclea ry Condition ? U ito Terr Current We want to Knowledge be here Threshold next Learn to spot the knowledge threshold© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 10

THE WAY TO A GOAL IS ITERATIVENapkin drawing by Carl Richards© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 11

EXAMPLE We know how a kanban system works, but we don!t know what will make your kanban system work Target Condition Predictable Zone Uncertainty / Learning Zone Kanban im enting system between Exper processes A & B working as designed, by (date) Current Knowledge Threshold Spot the knowledge threshold, conduct your next PDCA experiment there and ask the Five TK Questions ...repeat© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 12

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY TO SEE THE KNOWLEDGE THRESHOLD (1) Persons who consciously acknowledge uncertainty are more able to influence their responses to it Our unconscious responses to uncertainty are fast, automatic and emotional. They may not lead us where we want to go.© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 13

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY TO SEE THE KNOWLEDGE THRESHOLD (2)Napkin drawing by Carl Richards© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 14

MOVING AWAY FROM THE MECHANISTIC VIEW The idea that learning comes from surprise is known in science, but in business and the popular press we often miss that point The Five TK Questions are an attempt to change that! • Quantification and precision What we • Objective and certain may think scientific is • Reveals what is there Eg: We have made the right plan • Involves uncertainty, ambiguity & incompleteness What • Never free from error scientific really is • A process of discovery, via systematic trial and error Eg: Our plan is a hypothesis© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 15

THE FIVE QUESTIONS ARE A KATA They!re a scientific behavior and thought pattern to practice deliberately so it becomes second nature Process PRACTICE PATTERN Learner r ients fo ill gred ng a sk In iri acqu COACHING© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 16

HERE!S ONE PRACTICE APPROACHPick 2 processes and 2 people, coach one another daily with the 5Q Process 1 Coach Learner Working with Process 1 Process 2 Coach Learner Working with Process 2© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 17

YOU CAN PRACTICE IK THINKING EVERY DAYEvery time you do or think something, you!re more likely to do it again Mentally refer to these five basic Toyota Kata questions whenever you!re involved in a team effort. The pattern of these questions is easy to learn, and each time you think through them and apply them it can strengthen the scientific pattern of the Improvement Kata in your brain!s wiring. Five Basic TK Questions 1. What are we trying to achieve? 2. Where are we now? 3. What!s currently in our way? 4. What!s our next step, and what do we expect? 5. When can we see what we!ve learned from taking that step?© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 18

FOR EXAMPLE When you conduct a Gemba Walk (at each stop), Tier Meeting or Huddle, use the Five Basic TK Questions Here substitute the word “you” for “we” Five Basic TK Questions 1. What are you trying to achieve? 2. Where are you now? 3. What!s currently in your way? 4. What!s your next step, and what do you expect? 5. When can we see what you!ve learned from taking that step?© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 19

FINALLY, BE CAREFUL ASKING WHY? The Lean community promotes “asking why five times” as a means to help get to the root cause of a problem. This is fine if you are asking those “whys” to yourself. However, when a coach asks a learner “why” it can easily seem confrontational rather than constructive, especially if “why” is asked repeatedly. You!re asking questions to help you see the learner!s current thinking pattern, and for that purpose it may be better to use questions beginning with the word “what”. Think of the 5 Whys as Five Experiments rather than five “whys”© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 20

DEVELOP NEW HABITS! The pattern of the Improvement Kata is Toyota!s fundamental pattern for improving, adapting and innovating. The goal is to make this pattern an autonomic habit. Think of the Improvement Kata as a "meta-habit"; one that aims to change our operating system so our human capabilities come to greater fruition. There are several ways the Improvement-Kata pattern is reinforced at Toyota, including in daily management, daily problem solving, quality circles, improvement events & A3s. We found a version of the Improvement-Kata pattern embedded in each of these activities. An excellent way to teach and practice Improvement-Kata thinking & acting is with the Five Toyota Kata Questions described in this SlideShare.© Mike Rother TOYOTA KATA 21

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The Five Toyota Kata Questions

by Mike Rother on Dec 15, 2011

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