Lean & mean innovation machine • 4
In the world of software/product development, waste refers to any team activity that does not add value from the customer’s perspective. By continuously identifying and eliminating waste, agile teams can dramatically boost productivity and improve quality of work. What are the implications for x-functional teams working in the fuzzy front-end of service innovation?
In this blogpost, I will introduce three types of waste that may have an impact on team productivity in upstream innovation projects. Why does it take longer than expected for the team to deliver project-related activities, deliverables, assets, and solutions that meet tacit/explicit quality standards and acceptance criteria?
Wastes 4–6 in upstream innovation projects
W4. The cost of rework. The team is altering delivered work (deliverables, assets, and solutions for value creation, facilitation, and co-creation) that should have been done correctly but was not.
W5. The cost of idle/waiting time. The team (or team member) is waiting for input and/or spending time on low-priority/non-value-added steps, activities, or tasks.
W6. The cost of distractions. The team (or team member) is getting sidetracked by internal or external time-wasters.
Reasons why W4–6 may occur in upstream projects
Lack of clarity and direction. Unclear/shifting project scope, purpose, goals, plans, deadlines, backlogs, etc. Unclear/shifting project roles and responsibilities. Ill-defined or poorly designed processes, workflows, and rituals. Poor rightsizing, sequencing, and prioritization of steps and tasks (due to poorly designed workflows, mismanagement of backlogs, etc.). Unclear/shifting/non-existent quality standards and acceptance criteria for project at hand. Inappropriate choice/blend of project/innovation/delivery methodologies. Unnecessary, non-productive, and counterproductive meetings. Disorganized/cluttered digital and physical workspaces.
Lack of focus and engagement. Disengaged, unreliable, or AWOL team members and project stakeholders. No shared understanding of and commitment to project goals and vision. No sense of belonging and pride due to poor team cohesion/spirit/morale. Unnecessary multitasking due to constant project or task switching. Procrastination. Workday interruptions/diversions (due to social media, household members/pets, household chores, colleagues, pointless meetings/catch-ups, pointless administrative work, unnecessary travel/commuting, etc.). Inadequate/inappropriate team leadership style. Insufficient team capabilities and experience.
Lack of alignment and synchronisation. No common sense of purpose. No shared beliefs, attitudes, habits, and rituals. Incomplete, incorrect, misleading, inefficient, or absent communication (especially in handoffs, asynchronous work, and hybrid work environments). Team imbalances in terms of composition and dynamics (too big, too small, too fluid, too static, too uniform, too diverse, etc.). Conflicting/contrasting team personalities and workstyles. Ineffectual and inefficient decision-making processes (too authoritarian, too consensus-driven, too myopic, too slow, etc.). Unresolved/lingering team or interpersonal conflicts. Hard-to-manage dependencies on partners, functions, and other teams.
Lack of (timely) information and feedback. No culture of rapid prototyping and experimentation. No culture of continuous feedback, learning, and adaptation. No/slow/insufficient/unclear feedback from project owners, sponsors, and stakeholders. Unreliable or missing project-related information (project documentation, research findings, clarifications, feedback, test results, approvals, etc.).
Lack of (timely) access to resources. Hard-to-use, inflexible, unreliable, unavailable, or missing collaboration tools and enablers (think: spaces, furniture, equipment, applications, supporting services, rituals, etc.). Hard-to-find, hard-to-access, or hard-to-utilize resources pertinent to the project at hand (think: data, information, facilities, equipment, software, infrastructure, methods & tools, expertise, leadership, partnerships, etc.)
(Inspired by Sedano et al., 2017; Bau, 2020; Design Partners, 2022; Brower, 2023; Christiansen, 2023)
Wastes 7 to 9 will be covered in the next blogpost.
References
Bau, R. (2020). Nine types of waste in software development [unpublished]. Assignment in PROJ_PMI 403-0. School of Professional Studies, Northwestern University.
Brower, T. (2023, June). Distraction, diversion and discontent: The truth about remote work today. Forbes.
Christiansen, B. (2023, May). Defining idle time: How to calculate, interpret, and improve it. Limble.
Design Partners. (2022). Exploring the problem space: Unleashing the human potential in teams [unpublished]. Project work for DELL about the future of collaboration.
Sedano, T., Ralph, P., & Péraire, C. (2017). Software development waste [Conference paper]. ICSE 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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