Value Stream Mapping

Create Lean value stream maps to visualize flow, identify waste, and design improvement opportunities. Based on Lean manufacturing principles adapted for knowledge work.

What is a Value Stream?

A value stream is the sequence of activities required to deliver value to a customer, from request to delivery. Value stream mapping (VSM) visualizes this flow to identify:

• Value-adding activities - Steps that directly create customer value

• Waste (Muda) - Steps that consume resources without adding value

• Flow problems - Bottlenecks, delays, and inefficiencies

The 8 Wastes (TIMWOODS)

Waste Description Examples in Knowledge Work

Transportation Moving work between locations Handoffs between teams, tool switching

Inventory Unfinished work waiting Backlog, WIP, queued requests

Motion Unnecessary movement Context switching, searching for info

Waiting Idle time Approvals, blocked work, dependencies

Overproduction Making more than needed Unused features, premature optimization

Overprocessing Doing more than required Gold plating, excessive documentation

Defects Errors requiring rework Bugs, miscommunication, rework

Skills Underutilized talent Manual work that could be automated

Workflow

Phase 1: Define Scope

Step 1: Identify the Value Stream

Question Answer

What value are we delivering? [Customer outcome]

Who is the customer? [Internal/External customer]

Where does the stream start? [Trigger/Request]

Where does it end? [Value delivered]

Step 2: Set Boundaries

Value Stream Definition

Name: Customer Order Fulfillment Trigger: Customer places order End State: Customer receives product Scope: Order entry → Shipping (excludes manufacturing) Customer: External retail customer

Phase 2: Current State Map

Step 1: Walk the Process

Observe actual work (gemba walk):

• Follow a real work item through the process

• Document what actually happens, not what should happen

• Note handoffs, delays, and workarounds

Step 2: Document Process Steps

For each step, capture:

Metric Definition How to Measure

Process Time (PT) Active work time Time actually working

Lead Time (LT) Total elapsed time Clock time start to finish

Wait Time (WT) Time waiting LT - PT

% Complete & Accurate (%C&A) First-time quality % not requiring rework

Step 3: Create Current State Map

Current State Value Stream

Total Process Time: 70 minutes Total Lead Time: 44 hours Flow Efficiency: 2.7% (PT / LT)

Phase 3: Analyze Waste

Step 1: Calculate Flow Efficiency

Flow Efficiency = Process Time / Lead Time × 100%

Example: 70 min / 2640 min = 2.7%

Interpretation:

• < 5%: Significant waste (typical for unoptimized processes)

• 5-15%: Moderate efficiency

• 15-25%: Good efficiency

25%: Excellent (rare for knowledge work)

Step 2: Identify Waste by Type

Waste Analysis

Waiting (45% of lead time)

• Credit check batch processing: 8 hours → could be real-time
• Carrier pickup schedule: 24 hours → could be on-demand

Inventory (150 orders WIP)

• Orders queue at each step
• No pull system in place

Defects (15% rework at order entry)

• Manual data entry errors
• Missing required fields

Overprocessing

• Full credit check for returning customers
• Duplicate data entry across systems

Step 3: Identify Bottlenecks

The constraint (bottleneck) limits the entire system:

Bottleneck Analysis

Primary Bottleneck: Credit Check

• Highest queue (30 orders)
• Batch processing creates 8-hour wait
• Blocks downstream flow

Secondary Bottleneck: Pick & Pack

• Manual process
• Variable cycle time

Phase 4: Future State Design

Step 1: Apply Lean Principles

Principle Current Problem Future State Solution

Flow Batch processing Continuous flow, single-piece

Pull Push based on forecast Pull based on demand

Perfection Accept defects, fix later Build quality in

Step 2: Design Improvements

Future State Design

Eliminate Waiting

• Real-time credit API vs. batch
• On-demand carrier pickup

Reduce Inventory

• WIP limits at each step
• Pull signals between steps

Improve Quality

• Validation at order entry
• Auto-populate from CRM

Automate Motion Waste

• Single system vs. multiple tools
• API integrations

Step 3: Create Future State Map

Future State Value Stream

Target Process Time: 47 minutes (33% reduction) Target Lead Time: 6.7 hours (85% reduction) Target Flow Efficiency: 11.7% (4x improvement)

Phase 5: Implementation Roadmap

Step 1: Prioritize Improvements

Improvement Impact Effort Priority

Real-time credit API High (8h → 5m) Medium 1

Order entry validation Medium (15% → 2% errors) Low 2

On-demand carrier High (24h → 4h) High 3

Automated inventory Medium Medium 4

Step 2: Define Kaizen Events

Focused improvement workshops:

Kaizen Event: Credit Check Automation

Scope: Eliminate credit check batch processing Target: 8 hours → 5 minutes lead time Team: Finance, IT, Process Owner Duration: 1 week intensive Deliverables:

• API integration specification
• Process redesign
• Training materials

Output Formats

Narrative Summary

Value Stream Analysis Summary

Value Stream: [Name] Date: [ISO date] Analyst: value-stream-analyst

Current State Metrics

• Process Time: X minutes
• Lead Time: Y hours
• Flow Efficiency: Z%
• Primary Bottleneck: [Step]

Top Waste Categories

1. Waiting (X% of LT): [Description]
2. Inventory (X orders WIP): [Description]
3. [Other waste]: [Description]

Future State Targets

• Lead Time Reduction: X%
• Flow Efficiency Target: Y%
• Quality Target: Z% first-time right

Recommended Actions

1. [High priority improvement]
2. [Medium priority improvement]
3. [Lower priority improvement]

Structured Data (YAML)

value_stream: name: "Customer Order Fulfillment" version: "1.0" date: "{ISO-8601-date}" analyst: "value-stream-analyst"

boundaries: trigger: "Customer places order" end_state: "Customer receives product" customer: "External retail customer"

current_state: total_process_time_minutes: 70 total_lead_time_hours: 44 flow_efficiency_percent: 2.7 wip_total: 240

steps:
  - name: "Order Entry"
    owner: "Sales"
    process_time_minutes: 15
    lead_time_hours: 2
    complete_accurate_percent: 85
    inventory: 50
    waste_types:
      - type: defects
        description: "Manual entry errors"
      - type: motion
        description: "Multiple system entry"

  - name: "Credit Check"
    owner: "Finance"
    process_time_minutes: 10
    lead_time_hours: 8
    complete_accurate_percent: 95
    inventory: 30
    is_bottleneck: true
    waste_types:
      - type: waiting
        description: "Batch processing"

waste_analysis: - type: waiting percent_of_lead_time: 45 root_causes: - "Batch processing" - "Scheduled pickups"

- type: inventory
  total_wip: 240
  root_causes:
    - "No WIP limits"
    - "Push system"

future_state: target_process_time_minutes: 47 target_lead_time_hours: 6.7 target_flow_efficiency_percent: 11.7

improvements:
  - name: "Real-time credit API"
    waste_eliminated: waiting
    impact: high
    effort: medium
    lead_time_reduction_hours: 7.9

roadmap: - phase: 1 improvements: ["Real-time credit API", "Order validation"] duration_weeks: 4

- phase: 2
  improvements: ["On-demand carrier", "Inventory automation"]
  duration_weeks: 8

Mermaid Diagrams

Current State Flow:

flowchart LR subgraph Current State A[Order Entry<br/>PT: 15m | LT: 2h<br/>WIP: 50] --> B[Credit Check<br/>PT: 10m | LT: 8h<br/>WIP: 30] B --> C[Inventory<br/>PT: 5m | LT: 4h<br/>WIP: 20] C --> D[Pick & Pack<br/>PT: 30m | LT: 6h<br/>WIP: 40] D --> E[Ship<br/>PT: 10m | LT: 24h<br/>WIP: 100] end

style B fill:#ff9999

Future State Flow:

flowchart LR subgraph Future State A[Order Entry<br/>PT: 10m | LT: 30m<br/>WIP: 10] --> B[Credit<br/>API: 1m<br/>WIP: 0] B --> C[Inventory<br/>Auto: 1m<br/>WIP: 0] C --> D[Pick & Pack<br/>PT: 25m | LT: 2h<br/>WIP: 15] D --> E[Ship<br/>PT: 10m | LT: 4h<br/>WIP: 20] end

style B fill:#99ff99
style C fill:#99ff99

When to Use

Scenario Use Value Stream Mapping?

Process improvement Yes - identify waste

New system design Yes - design for flow

Cost reduction Yes - find inefficiencies

Lead time complaints Yes - find bottlenecks

Quality problems Partial - with root cause analysis

Greenfield project Maybe - limited current state

Integration

Upstream (Discovery)

• process-modeling - Understand current process

• capability-mapping - Link to business capabilities

• stakeholder-analysis - Identify process owners

Downstream

• Requirements - Improvement requirements

• Systems design - Automation opportunities

• Project planning - Kaizen event planning

Related Skills

• journey-mapping

• Customer experience perspective

• capability-mapping

• Capability view of value delivery

• root-cause-analysis

• Investigate bottleneck causes

• prioritization

• Prioritize improvement initiatives

• process-modeling

• Detailed BPMN process diagrams

• estimation

• Estimate improvement effort

• benchmarking

• Current vs target comparison

User-Facing Interface

When invoked directly by the user, this skill operates as follows.

Arguments

• <process-description> : Description of the value stream or process to analyze

• --mode : Analysis mode (default: guided )

• full : Comprehensive analysis with current/future state maps (~12K tokens)

• quick : Rapid waste identification (~4K tokens)

• guided : Interactive value stream mapping (variable)

• --output : Output format (default: both )

• current : Current state map only

• future : Future state map only

• both : Both current and future state

• --dir : Output directory (default: docs/analysis/ )

Execution Workflow

• Parse Arguments - Extract process description, mode, and output format. If no description provided, ask the user what value stream to analyze (what value is delivered, what triggers the process, what marks completion).

• Execute Based on Mode:

• Full: Spawn the value-stream-analyst agent for end-to-end analysis with Process Time, Lead Time, %C&A metrics, TIMWOODS waste analysis, bottleneck identification (Theory of Constraints), and future state design with Kaizen event proposals.

• Quick: Rapid identification of major steps, rough lead times, obvious waste (waiting, handoffs, rework), approximate flow efficiency, and 3-5 quick wins.

• Guided: Interactive mapping walking through scope definition, step-by-step process documentation (PT, LT, %C&A, owner), metric calculation, waste identification by TIMWOODS category, bottleneck identification, and future state design.

• Generate Output - Produce current state map, flow diagram (Mermaid flowchart), waste analysis, future state map with improvement targets, and prioritized improvement roadmap with Kaizen event proposals.

• Save Results - Save to docs/analysis/value-stream-[name].md (or custom --dir ).

• Suggest Follow-Ups - Recommend stakeholder-analysis for change management, journey-mapping for customer experience impact, and capability-mapping for process-capability alignment.

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-12-26): Initial release