The document discusses mapping processes of knowledge discovery beyond traditional value stream mapping (VSM). It notes knowledge discovery processes differ from production processes and provides examples of mapping dominant activities over time. Participants are invited to map examples for their work item types by identifying dominant knowledge-creating activities. Mapping is a social process that can provoke improvement rather than inertia. The document concludes by encouraging readers to try mapping their own processes and sharing stories.

1. Alexei Zheglov
Lean Kanban Central Europe
Hamburg, November 2014
#NoVSM:
Understanding and Mapping
Your Process of Knowledge Discovery
Beyond
Collaborative

2. Alexei Zheglov
connected-
knowledge.com
alex@LeanAtoZ.com

3. @az1
#lkce14

4. Knowledge Discovery Process?
Bereicherungsprozess?
Процесс обогащения?
“KDP is another fine English TLA”

5. What’s the Problem?

6. Kanban Values
Mike Burrows
customer focus
understanding
collaboration
agreement
respecttransparency
leadership
respect
balance

7. Understanding
“If you can’t describe what you
are doing as a process, you
don’t know what you’re doing.”
~ W. Edwards Deming
Claudio Perrone

8. Understanding?
BA Dev Test Deploy

9. Visualize?
BA Dev QA Deploy DoneBacklog

10. Just Add WIP Limits?
BA (2) Dev (3) QA (2) Deploy DoneBacklog
?
?
?

11. Example: An Attempt
to Map Process Steps
I can’t use a Kanban board
with thirty-five columns...
...thirty-four
...and that’s only one
work item type

12. Is There a Better Way?

13. Is There a Better Way?
Toyota’s
Product Development System
is completely different from
the Toyota Production System
Hints: knowledge discovery,
information arrival
Michael Kennedy

14. Knowledge Created
(not necessarily in this order)
• Exact production environment configuration (OS,
Web server, DB server, third-party software, etc.)
• Key behaviour examples (acceptance criteria,
executable specs, use cases, etc.)
• Integration (upgrade procedures, data migration,
etc.)
• Code design and implementation
• Tests needed to support the code
• Actual behaviour of the integrated software with
respect to non-functional requirements
• Results of usability tests and exploratory testing
sessions
• Etc.

15. Knowledge Accumulated
Time
KnowledgeAmount
Specification by Example
Code Construction
Exploratory Testing
Deployment

16. Knowledge Accumulated
Time
KnowledgeAmount
Dominant Activity #1
Dominant Activity #2
Dominant Activity #3
#4
Not handoffs
Changes in the
dominant activity
Shifts in the
collaboration pattern

17. Example #2
(Lean Startup circa 2003, old drawing)
client(s) signed up
measuring
improvement
“Dude, where’s
my revenue?”

18. Example #2 (Lean Startup circa 2003)KnowledgeAmount
Time
establishing
baseline
measuring improvement
client
validation
engineering/DevOps
advertising campaign managers
creative director and staff
sales

19. Example #3 (Courseware)KnowledgeAmount
Time
fact finding
instructional design
drafting
beta-testing
publishing

20. With Understanding...
Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3
KnowledgeAmount
Time

21. ...to a Virtual Kanban System
DoneOption
Pool
Activity 1Input
Queue
Output
Buffer
∞???
Activity 2 Activity 3
?

22. Discussion: Dominant Activities
• Consider one work item type delivered by your
organization (business unit, department, team)
• Think of its delivery process
• Can you identify the dominant activities for
discovery of new knowledge or information in
this process?

23. How Do We Get There?
Observations
Thinking
Recipes

24. Recipes
Start With Examples

25. Start With Examples
Don’t discuss abstract
processes
Find several examples of
recently delivered work items
of each type

26. Assumption: Work Item Types
Service
Delivery
What?
To Whom?
Why?
fitness criteria
expectations
arrival
patterns
Work Item Type 1
Work Item Type 2
Work Item Type 3
Work Item Type 4

27. Repeat for Every Work Item Type
DoneBacklog Activity 1Input
Queue
Output
Buffer
∞???
Activity 2 Activity 3
?
Work Item Type 1
All Other Work Item Types

28. Invite Everyone

29. Invite Everyone
Think of the people
who will come to the morning stand-ups
in front of the Kanban board

30. This is a Complex, Social Activity
People activate each other’s
memories
People activate each other’s
memories

31. People activate each other’s
memories
This is a Complex, Social Activity
Facilitator:
to help people recall the knowledge gained
(not to retrace procedures and meetings)
One sticky note at a time

32. Watch Them Appear
• Turning points
• Dominant Activities
• Explicit Policies
Explicit Policies:
• Definitions of Done
• Definitions of Ready
• Selection/Prioritization Policies
• Input/Delivery Cadences
• etc.

33. Timing
2-2½ hours: common
1½ hours: rare
3 hours: never

34. Observations
We involved only a few people
to map out the process...
...and these people now dominate
conversations during stand-ups

35. X
Ongoing
DoneBacklog DevelopmentTo Do Testing Deploy-
ment
Done Ongoing Done
3
2 1
2
Story
A
Story
B
Story
C
D1
Blk
D3 D2
C
PB PZ
MN
B
DA
A
WZ
JG
G
Reduce Board Churn
This new work item
doesn’t quite fit the process
we’ve mapped out for it...

36. Complex systems: path-dependent
Dev, vertical line, test.
Sigh... Silos again?
I prefer not to judge.
This may actually be cool.

37. The Eternal Kanban Question?
X
Ongoing
DoneBacklog DevelopmentTo Do Testing Deploy-
ment
Done Ongoing Done
3
2 1
2
Story
A
Story
B
Story
C
D1
Blk
D3 D2
C
PB PZ
MN
B
DA
A
WZ
JG
G The tester found a bug.
Do we move the ticket back?

38. The Minimum Viable Process Fits Here
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brain_01.jpg (CC-BY 2.0)

39. One step is missing:
Visualize the workflow
(for each work item type
identified by demand analysis)

40. System
Model
Creating
the Model
You’re here
Thinking
A model of a system
affects the system.
How weird is that?

41. System Improvement
Model/Map
Provoke improvement,
not inertia

42. Retrospective coherence
Complex Domain Heuristics
Fine-grained objects
Disintermediation
Dave Snowden

43. Conclusions

44. Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3
KnowledgeAmount
Time

45. DoneOption
Pool
Activity 1Input
Queue
Output
Buffer
∞???
Activity 2 Activity 3
?

46. Things on the Left, Things on the Right
• Knowledge discovery
• Dominant activities
• Collaboration
• Models affect systems
• “Linearized” flow
• Process fits brain
• Improvement
• Need an acronym
• Assembly
• Functional silos
• Handoffs
• Models reflect systems
• Backflows
• SharePoint
• Inertia
• VSM

47. Influencers
Alisson Vale Frode Odegard Claudio Perrone Mike Burrows
Dave SnowdenMichael Kennedy David J Anderson

48. References
• Conference videos:
• Michael Kennedy’s Lean Kanban Benelux 2011 talk:
http://vimeo.com/30656892
• Michael Kennery’s Lean Systems and Software 2012 talk:
http://vimeo.com/42785298
• Dave Snowden: Think Anew, Act Anew: http://vimeo.com/106435764
• Blog posts and articles:
• David J. Anderson: Understanding the Process of Knowledge Discovery
(2011): http://djaa.com/understanding-process-knowledge-discovery
• Alexei Zheglov: #BeyondVSM: Understanding and Mapping Your
Process of Knowledge Discovery (2014): http://connected-
knowledge.com/2014/09/17/beyondvsm-toc/
• Alexei Zheglov: Kanban and Lean Startup, Making the Most of Both
(2012): http://www.agileconnection.com/article/kanban-and-lean-startup-
making-most-both
• Books:
• Michael Kennedy: Product Development for the Lean Enterprise (2003)
• Donald Reinertsen: Managing the Design Factory (1997)

49. Go Ahead, Try it!
Create your own recipes
Make your own observations
I’d love to hear your stories
alex@LeanAtoZ.com
Skype: alexei.zheglov
@az1
Blog: connected-knowledge.com

50. Knowledge,
information...
The End
How’d we call
this thing
in our language?