“We need to go faster!” – There are good reasons for an organization to increase the speed of its product delivery. Among them might be a desire for rapid feedback from customers as well as an ability for a rapid response to such feedback. We reframe the call to action of going faster and propose to go less slowly by addressing waiting times within value chains of an organization. The talk will discuss different ways to reduce waiting times from different perspectives, from tweaks at a single stage of a value chain to opportunities that arise when one considers an entire value chain. We illustrate how a reduction of waiting times can be measured and how such measurements can be used to help raise awareness for product delivery speed and to enable an organization to start having conversations with their customers about it.

1. Exploring slowness
Kanban Coaching Exchange | 19 January 2023 | Thomas Epping

2. 2
Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash

3. 3

4. Exploring slowness
Kanban Coaching Exchange | 19 January 2023 | Thomas Epping

5. Mon, 05 Apr 2021
Tue, 20 Apr 2021
Wed, 28 Apr 2021
5
What about <X>?
We haven’t got to that yet.
I need <X>.
Photo by Miikka Luotio on Unsplash

6. Mon, 05 Apr 2021
Tue, 20 Apr 2021
Wed, 28 Apr 2021
Thu, 20 May 2021
Fr, 28 May 2021
6
What about <X>?
We haven’t got to that yet.
I’ve been waiting for over six weeks now!
OK, it’s done.
I need <X>.
Photo by Miikka Luotio on Unsplash

7. Mon, 05 Apr 2021
Tue, 20 Apr 2021
Wed, 28 Apr 2021
Thu, 20 May 2021
Fr, 28 May 2021
Mon, 31 May 2021
7
What about <X>?
We haven’t got to that yet.
I’ve been waiting for over six weeks now!
OK, it’s done.
I need <X>.
Sorry, too late.
Photo by Miikka Luotio on Unsplash

8. “We need to go faster!”
Part I
Basics
8
Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

9. 9
Photo by almoond on Thinkstock

10. 10
To Do Doing Done
Photo by Leon on Unsplash

11. 11
To Do Doing Done
Blocked | Waiting
Photo by Leon on Unsplash

12. 12
To Do Doing Blocked | Waiting Done
touch time
wait time
lead time
Photo by Leon on Unsplash

13. Wait time
Lead time
Touch time
13
https:/
/kanbanbooks.com/

14. Wait time
Lead time
Touch time
Little’s Law
∅ lead time = ∅ WIP / ∅ delivery rate
14
https:/
/kanbanbooks.com/

15. Wait time
Lead time
Touch time
Little’s Law
∅ lead time = ∅ WIP / ∅ delivery rate
Flow efficiency (in percent)
E = touch time / (touch time + wait time)
15
https:/
/kanbanbooks.com/

16. Personal note #1
Generic boards tend to be appropriate for a very
inexperienced or a very experienced environment; they
hardly allow any statement about wait time, lead time, or
touch time.
16
Photo by tito pixel on Unsplash

17. 17
Photo by Leon on Unsplash
Product
backlog
In
analysis
Ready
for
refinement
Live
Ready
for
deployment
In
QA
Ready
for
QA
Ready
for
code
review
In
development
Ready
for
development
Selected
for
refinement
Validated
Waiting
for
approval

18. 18
What’s your board design
?
A glimpse into your world
To Do | Doing | Done
Waiting | Blocked
Touch time and wait
time (sophisticated)
Survey
A
C
B
D Something different,
or I don’t use a board
Photo by almoond on Thinkstock

19. 19

20. 20
State of Kanban Report
2021 2022

21. 21
Photo by Leon on Unsplash
Product
backlog
In
analysis
Ready
for
refinement
Live
Ready
for
deployment
In
QA
Ready
for
QA
Ready
for
code
review
In
development
Ready
for
development
Selected
for
refinement
Validated
Waiting
for
approval

22. Buffer Handover Supply Decision
22
Photo by Leon on Unsplash
Product
backlog
In
analysis
Ready
for
refinement
Live
Ready
for
deployment
In
QA
Ready
for
QA
Ready
for
code
review
In
development
Ready
for
development
Selected
for
refinement
Validated
Waiting
for
approval

23. 23
flow efficiency ≈ 22,5 %
flow efficiency ≈ 2,5 %
Photo by Leon on Unsplash

24. Personal note #2
Along a (complete) value chain, a single-digit flow efficiency
is the rule rather than the exception.
24
Photo by tito pixel on Unsplash

25. 25

26. “How can we possibly go faster?
We are already working overtime!”
Part II
Perspectives
26
Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

27. Less slowly
More
27
Photo by Luis Villasmil | Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash
Faster

28. 28
What does the term “faster”
mean in your organisation
?
A glimpse into your world
Reduce touch time
Work harder or longer
Reduce wait time
Survey
A
C
B
D Nothing, or something
different
Photo by almoond on Thinkstock

29. 29

30. Personal note #3
Reducing wait time is a more effective lever towards short
lead time than reducing touch time.
30
Photo by tito pixel on Unsplash

31. How can I reduce my lead time if I only care about myself?
How can we both reduce lead time for the two of us if we both care only about the two of us?
How can we all reduce lead time for all of us if we all care only about all of us?
31
Individual
ch ain
Va lue
Inter action
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

32. Individual
Interaction
Value chain
32
Photo by Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash

33. Individual
Work sloppily
Increase competence
Focus on necessities
Increase degree of automation
Interaction
Value chain
33
Photo by Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash

34. Individual
Work sloppily
Increase competence
Focus on necessities
Increase degree of automation
Interaction
Work thoroughly
Value chain
34
Photo by Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash

35. Individual
Work sloppily
Increase competence
Focus on necessities Focus on one thing at a time (limit)
Increase degree of automation Speed up hardware and infrastructure
Interaction
Work thoroughly
Value chain
35
Photo by Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash

36. Individual
Work sloppily
Increase competence
Focus on necessities Focus on one thing at a time (limit)
Increase degree of automation Speed up hardware and infrastructure
Interaction
Work thoroughly Work in pairs
Focus on one thing at a time (locally)
Coordinate collaboration
Value chain
36
Photo by Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash

37. Individual
Work sloppily
Increase competence
Focus on necessities Focus on one thing at a time (limit)
Increase degree of automation Speed up hardware and infrastructure
Interaction
Work thoroughly Work in pairs
Focus on one thing at a time (locally)
Coordinate collaboration
Value chain
Work as an ensemble
Focus on one thing at a time (globally)
Coordinate collaboration
37
Photo by Bill Jelen | Magda V on Unsplash

38. Personal note #4
A value chain focus opens up more effective actionable
options for reducing lead time than a focus on individuals.
38
Photo by tito pixel on Unsplash

39. 39
Which of these perspectives
gets the most attention in
your organisation
?
A glimpse into your world
Individual
Interaction
Value chain
Survey
A
C
B
D None of the above, or
another
Photo by almoond on Thinkstock

40. 40

41. Personal note #5
A focus on touch time tends to put an individual in the
spotlight, while a focus on wait time tends to put a value
chain in the spotlight.
41
Photo by tito pixel on Unsplash

42. 42

43. “This is all well and good, but what do we get out of it?”
Part III
Context
43
Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

44. “We need to go faster!”
44
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

45. “We need to go faster!”
“How fast are we going right now?”
45
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

46. 46
“We need to go faster!”
“How fast are we going right now?”
“What’s currently slowing us down?”
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

47. 47
“We need to go faster!”
“How fast are we going right now?”
“What’s currently slowing us down?”
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

48. 48
“We need to go faster!”
“How fast are we going right now?”
“What’s currently slowing us down?”
“How does our speed change over time?”
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

49. 49
“We need to go faster!”
“How fast are we going right now?”
“What’s currently slowing us down?”
“How does our speed change over time?”
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

50. Reducing wait time is a more effective lever towards short lead time than
reducing touch time.
A focus on touch time tends to put an individual in the spotlight, while a focus
on wait time tends to put a value chain in the spotlight.
Visualise touch time and wait time
Focus on (and address) wait time in a value chain
Measure speed within your value chain(s)
50
Photo by tito pixel on Unsplash

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