The first principle of the Certified Lean Project Manager® – eliminating waste

Instead of prescribing exactly how you should manage a project, lean project management defines principles that you can interpret and implement to fit your needs. You can transform the way your project teams operate by introducing these principles into your workplace. To apply lean project management, you should start by adopting a lean mindset first and apply lean principles. This is easy to accept because lean project management is based largely on common sense.

The first principle – eliminating waste

In lean project management, “waste” is any activity that doesn’t add value for a customer. A feature has a value if a customer is willing to pay for it. As a rule of thumb, you should notice that 50% or more business activities are considered waste. Only a small fraction of business activities typically add value for customers. The development process can be simplified and the value, which will be generated by removing waste, will increase in relation to development costs and time. The most common cause of waste is a lack of information. Sometimes, an employee may lack the knowledge he needs to do his job efficiently and effectively. Waste will be the result. This is because the employee wastes time and effort searching for information or he may just be waiting for something. Apart from information deficits, overproducing or using poor processes, and work practices are additional reasons for waste.

Overproducing:
Overproduction is one of the biggest forms of waste as a result of producing more products than you can sell will waste resources. If we develop product features that a customer doesn’t require, we waste development time and effort.

Using poor processes and work practices:
Poor processes and work practices waste time, money, and labor. Employees can also become frustrated and make mistakes. This could threaten their safety and result in lower quality products.

Although waste may be more obvious in a manufacturing context, in the service industry it causes:

• failure to deliver what the customer needs
• delays that result in waiting
• unnecessary movement of people, paper, and information
• unnecessary processes or procedures that slow service delivery
• overproduction, with a service provided faster or in larger volumes than the customer requires

Establish systemic methods for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing process. Enroll in the Certified Lean Project Manager®