Slides of the presentation at LKES17.

1. Systems thinking for
improving the Kanban
Cadences’ effectiveness

2. ““A bad system will beat a good person
every time” - W. Edwards Deming

10. What’s Systems Thinking?

11. What’s Systems Thinking?
Systems thinking is a way of seeing and talking
about reality that help us better understand
and work with systems to influence the quality
of our lives.

12. Systems Thinking is
A perspective.

13. Systems Thinking is
A language.

14. Systems Thinking is
A set of tools.

15. What’s a System?

16. What’s a System?
A system is any group of interacting,
interrelated, or interdependent parts that form
a complex and unified whole that has a specific
purpose.

17. Systems
Have purpose.

18. Systems
All parts must be present for a
system to carry out its purpose
optimally.

19. Systems
The order in which the parts are
arranged affects the
performance of a system.

20. Systems
Systems attempt to maintain
stability through feedback.

21. The essence of Systems Thinking lies in a shift
of mind:
- Seeing interrelationships rather than cause
and effect chains
- Seeing process of change rather than
snapshots

22. Feedback loops

25. Reinforcing Loops

26. Reinforcing Loops

27. Balancing Loops

28. Balancing Loops

29. Feedback Loops in real life

30. Feedback Loops in real life

31. Easy

32. Easy?

33. Feedback Loops in real life

34. Which behaviour over time
do you think it will produce?

35. Feedback Loops in real life

36. And this? Which behaviour
over time will produce?

37. Feedback Loops in real life

38. An organization is a system

39. An organization is a system
Complex adaptive system

40. ““Is a voluntary association of purposeful
members who manifest a choice of both
ends and means”
Jamshid Gharajedaghui

41. Systems
Type of System Model Parts Whole Example
Mechanistic No choice No choice Machines
Animate No choice Choice Persons
Social Choice Choice Corporations
Ecological Choice No Choice Nature

42. Kanban and Systems

43. Kanban cadences

44. Kanban cadences

45. Service Delivery Review

46. Delivering according to
customer expectations.

47. SDR Template

48. SDR Template

55. Blockers Clustering

58. Operational Review

59. Operational Review
“System of Systems”

61. Operational Review
Inputs:
Trends
Aggregate of blockers
Kanban Services

63. Operational Review
Trends
Derivative of Throughput

64. Operational Review
Trends
Derivative of Throughput
Derivative of Customer Lead Time

65. Operational Review
Trends
Derivative of Throughput
Derivative of Customer Lead Time
Derivative of Flow Efficiency

66. Operational Review
Trends
Derivative of Throughput
Derivative of Customer Lead Time
Derivative of Flow Efficiency
Derivative of Predictability

67. The Iceberg

72. Operational Review
Trends - Delays
“How long it takes
for a change in A to
cause a change in
B?

73. Operational Review
Trends - Delays
Reality changes Consciousness|>>|

74. Operational Review
Trends - Delays
Reality changes
Consciousness
Consciousness
Decision
|>>|
|>>|

75. Operational Review
Trends - Delays
Reality changes
Consciousness
Decision
Consciousness
Decision
Implementation
|>>|
|>>|
|>>|

76. Operational Review
Trends - Delays
Reality changes
Consciousness
Decision
Implementation
Consciousness
Decision
Implementation
Reality Changes
|>>|
|>>|
|>>|
|>>|

77. Operational Review
Trends - Delays

78. Operational Review
What’s missing?
Any relevant topic not supported by trends.

79. Operational Review
Who
Senior and Mid-level managers.
Senior individual contributors representing
each kanban system.
Head of PMO, business owners, customer
representatives.

80. Managers
Managers are
Decision Makers

81. Managers
Managers are
Decision Makers
System Designers

82. Operational Review
How exec can help?

83. Operational Review
Decisions Making
Record every decision of importance, whether
to do something or not

84. Operational Review
Decisions Making
The expected effects of the decisions and by
when they are expected

85. Operational Review
Decisions Making
The assumptions on which the expectations are
based

86. Operational Review
Decisions Making
The inputs to the decision (information,
knowledge, and understanding)

87. Operational Review
Decisions Making
How the decision was made and by whom

88. Operational Review
Decisions Making
Monitor the decisions to detect any deviation
of fact from expectations and assumptions

89. Decisions Making
The choice of a corrective action is itself a
decision and should be treated in the same way
as the original decision
Operational Review

91. Conclusion
Leverage points
Revisiting paradigms
Setting different goals
Setting different rules

92. Conclusion
Seeking patterns
Avoid local optimization

93. Conclusion
Shift of mindset
Build Systems awareness
inside the organization

94. Conclusion

95. Thanks!
Jaume Jornet
@jaumejornet
Pablo Domingo
@pavleras

96. 12 leverage points
Donella Meadows

97. 12 Leverage points
1. The power to transcend paradigms.

98. 12 Leverage points
2. The mindset or paradigm out of
which the system — its goals, structure,
rules, delays, parameters — arises.

99. 12 Leverage points
3. The goals of the system.

100. 12 Leverage points
4. The power to add, change, evolve, or
self-organize system structure.

101. 12 Leverage points
5. The rules of the system (such as
incentives, punishments, constraints).

102. 12 Leverage points
6. The structure of information flows
(who does and does not have access to
information).

103. 12 Leverage points
7. The gain around driving positive
feedback loops.

104. 12 Leverage points
8. The strength of negative feedback
loops, relative to the impacts they are
trying to correct against.

105. 12 Leverage points
9. The lengths of delays, relative to the
rate of system change.

106. 12 Leverage points
10. The structure of material stocks
and flows (such as transport networks,
population age structures).

107. 12 Leverage points
11. The sizes of buffers and other
stabilizing stocks, relative to their
flows.

108. 12 Leverage points
12. Constants, parameters, numbers
(such as subsidies, taxes, standards).