Lean & mean innovation machine • 5
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 more types of waste that may have an impact on team productivity (and ultimately quality of work) in upstream innovation projects.
Wastes 7–9 in upstream innovation projects
W7. The cost of extraneous cognitive load. The team (or team member) is suffering from unneeded expenditure of mental energy.
W8. The cost of psychological distress. The team (or team member) is burdened with unhelpful stress, which may lead to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.
W9. The cost of non-utilized talent and knowledge loss. The team is suffering from underutilization and/or loss of knowledge, skills, and experience.
Reasons why W7–9 may occur in upstream projects
Lack of empathy/support/empowerment. No sense of appreciation or recognition at work. No/limited control over process, workload, or deadlines. No/limited empathy between team members and/or between team and project stakeholders. No safe space for team members to be vulnerable, take risks, and trust each other. No appreciation or recognition for cultural differences in the team (based on ability, age, gender, ethnicity, expertise, etc.). No joint responsibility for the physical, mental, emotional, and social health of team members. No/limited leadership accountability and support for healthy workplaces, lifestyles, and behaviours. Inadequate/ineffectual workplace or team training for topics such as self-organization, hybrid work, emotional & cultural intelligence, continuous feedback & adaptation, and emotional & mental health. Team feedback to leadership, project owners, project sponsors, etc., often ignored or downplayed.
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, scope bloat, etc.). Unclear/shifting/non-existent quality standards and acceptance criteria for project at hand. Scope and feature creep. 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. Inability to find purpose and meaning in the work. No sense of belonging and pride due to poor team cohesion/spirit/morale. Unnecessary multitasking due to constant project or task switching. 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. Lack of learning/growth mindset within team. No buffer time (in projects or between projects) to recharge and refocus. Team/individual concerns around career progression and job security. Personal issues (e.g., health issues, family matters, financial concerns).
Lack of alignment and synchronisation. High team turnover or churn. 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.). Limited knowledge transfer between team members, teams, and organizational silos. Inadequate systems for systematic feedback and/or knowledge management.
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; Gallo, 2023; Fernandez, 2016)
References
Bau, R. (2020). Nine types of waste in software development [unpublished]. Assignment in PROJ_PMI 403-0. School of Professional Studies, Northwestern University.
Design Partners. (2022). Exploring the problem space: Unleashing the human potential in teams [unpublished]. Project work for DELL about the future of collaboration.
Fernandez, R. (2016, January). Help Your Team Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout. Harvard Business Review.
Gallo, A. (2023, February). What Is Psychological Safety? Harvard Business Review.
Sedano, T., Ralph, P., & Péraire, C. (2017). Software development waste [Conference paper]. ICSE 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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