Content by Jim Benson
Five Risks in How We Think About RiskYou can’t assess it perfectly, but you can assess it honestly
Wed, 04/29/2015 - 15:41
Risk mitigation, risk assessment, risk management: We insure ourselves against risk, put buffers in our estimates to compensate for risk, and we make decisions based on risk. Or do we?
We think risk is a thing. It’s rarely a thing. Risk is part of… Our Five Estimate PathologiesEstimates are wrong enough to be lottery-worthy when they’re right
Tue, 04/21/2015 - 11:46
Business runs on estimates. “How long do you think that might take?” we naively ask. Then when someone tells us how long they think something might take, we write that down and hold them to it.
Merriam-Webster’s says the very word “estimate” means… Nine Questions You Can’t Answer if You Don’t Visualize Your WorkOur brains love visuals
Wed, 04/15/2015 - 16:13
There are many techniques to visualize your work. Obviously, our most popular is Personal Kanban. The way the human brain is constructed, we’re very sensitive to the content of visual information, and we quickly assimilate it. Just walking down the… The Seven Deadly WIPSWhat destroys your ability to finish?
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 10:59
Modern business drowns in overhead it can’t even see. I’ve seen companies spend hours denying an expense request on a $20 book. I’ve seen teams spin for weeks planning projects that change dramatically in the first week due to a simple… Lean Coffee Through the Deming LensKeep your meetings structured, but lose the agenda
Thu, 03/05/2015 - 11:41
This is a geeking out on the intersection of W. Edwards Deming and our Lean Coffee format. It is brief and assumes some prior knowledge of the System of Profound Knowledge and Deming’s 14 Points for Management. If you don’t know these yet, please… Complete the Meaningful TasksQuality and value are hard to determine without a definition
Wed, 01/14/2015 - 14:51
Our work should provide value to someone or something, otherwise why do it? When we build our personal kanbans, we’re building a board that drives us toward completing our work. But is that work worth doing?
Webster’s defines value as a noun as… On Distributed TeamsNotes from Kaizen Camp, Bangalore
Thu, 12/18/2014 - 15:10
I am in the world’s epicenter of offshoring, Bangalore, India. We just spent several days running a Kaizen Camp and keynoting SolutionIQ’s sold-out Lean India Summit.
Not surprising, the Kaizen Camp surfaced many issues around offshoring or the… Take the Real WIP TestFind out if you have hidden work in progress
Thu, 10/16/2014 - 15:05
If you’re already using Personal Kanban or another kanban system, you are likely at least thinking about limiting your work in progress (WIP). You’re probably finding that challenging.
We know that the more work we take on, the more our brains’… Estimation Requires Attention How to determine if your team is providing predictable value
Mon, 09/15/2014 - 16:51
Last month I was conducting a series of Boardwalks with a large company in Australia. The people in the company had an amazing array of kanban and other visual controls guiding their software development. Most important to me, they had achieved a… We Are All Role ModelsIf we build our systems to avoid overwork, we are improving other systems as well
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 15:51
At some point, maybe at many points, it strikes me that we are all role models. We all influence each other. We are a network of emotions and actions.
When we do something, positive or negative. Kind, indifferent, or cruel. Self-centered or…
