DTU ProjectLab - User contributions [en-gb]

Talk:Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:50:51Z

Sorth90: /* Reaction to Feedback */

Mette: I like the idea and the topic you have chosen. As you write Lean contains many tools, so you could maybe consider if you should focus on only one tool in case of not getting your hands too full. It would still be possible to look at the questions you have presented by only looking at one tool.

==Review1 given by S152093==
* Good article overall. I learned something from it, and it was very informative. A few typos here and there, but there is a full week to correct that :-) In my eyes it gives a very good overview, which is really good. Alternatively you could have chosen a specific area to go in depth with. A few specific comments:
* In “the Lean Structure” I think it would be a little easier to get an overview if the titles were included in the bullets, instead of only in the picture. The picture is really good though, as it gives a quick overview.
* In the next section the titles would be nice as well, but then in the section about how lean can be used as a tool it is included, and that is nice.
* If possible, link to other articles under Gantt chart, QCD-triangle etc.
* When the different parts of the Lean philosophy is described, it would be very useful for me to have the different steps compared to the “traditional” PM methods. You do it at the end of the article, but it would create an easier understanding for me, if there were some concrete examples on where it differs.
* You mention that other PM methods could be more useful in the conclusion. It would be really nice with an example of that, either here or somewhere else in the article.
* Maybe a little more talk about the limitations?
* The figures are good, but the aren't referred to, and that makes them unnecessary as it is right now. In my eyes, they need to be referred to and included in the text, if they are there.
* The three sections, “The Lean Stucture”, “What is Lean as a project management tool?”, and “How can Lean be use as a project management tool?” are a little repetitive to me. Maybe to write it into less sections, or a little more defined outline of the sections would make it a little more clear to me.
* The bibliography is missing the part from the structure “Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic”.

== Review of S141926, Reviewer 2 ==
I think it is a good and well written article about Lean, providing a good understanding of the tool in a clear and structured way.

=== General formal aspects ===
* I would suggest to review grammatical aspects, I could find some inaccuracies like subject-verb disagreement
* Good structure. Clear and well-structured article, with good introduction/history, overview of the tool and then more specific aspects of the use of it as management tool.
* The article engages the reader thanks to the fact that is easily readable, I think the use of the bullet points and subcategories help a lot to that with a logical and easy to follow work flow.
* Good reference notation and format. In case the figures attached are taken from some source I would add its reference to the caption.
* When mentioning methods/concepts that have a Wikipedia article it might be a good idea to link them.

=== Review of the content ===
* Nice illustrations that make more understandable the process and the article more attractive to the reader.
* The length of the article seems appropriate and covers all the requirements of the method-article under my point of view. There is a good continuity throughout the article and under my point of view not unnecessary long sentences.
* Sometimes it is a bit difficult to differentiate between statements from literature and own opinion
* Clear and well defined processes to use Lean as a management tool.
* It provides interesting recommendations to avoid counterproductive issues if one is to use the tool.
* It provides a good understanding of the tool and how to use it.
* Under my point of view the Discussion part is a little poor. I think it could be a good idea to mention and describe the main benefits of using this tool compared to other methods.
* Also, I think it would improve the article and also meet the course requirements to describe more specifically the limitations and the problems that might arise if using this tool inappropriately.

==Reviewer: Faker, review3==

;Clarity of writing. Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors? Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?
: There are a lot of both grammatical and spelling error.
: Unacademic language. pulling "it" and "is" together in "it's" is better suited for speech than academic writing.
: There are not necessarily a lot of fill words, but the text can come across as a bit lenghty. It seems possible to explain the topic in a more concise manner.

;Clarity of the argument: Is there a logical flow to the article? Does one part build upon the other? Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?
: The order of chapters seem to work well.

;Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?
: I feel like the history chapter is irrelevant to the assignment as described in the course handbook.
: I feel like the topic of the article is spread too thin. Some of the tool explanations could be done by just linking to other articles that describe the specific tool in more detail.

;Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work? Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?
: The article is well cited. Some passages are dominated by authors opinion, but it is not excessive and it does not hurt the point of the article.

;Is the article properly linked within the Wiki to other relevant articles and category summaries?
: There are no links within the Wiki.

==Reaction to Feedback==
'''Rasmus Sorth-Olsen, s117422'''

'''User: Sorth90'''

I’m glad to have received the constructive feedback.

All the three judges/students feedback are generally positive.

I have later tried to correct some grammatical errors in the article.

One of the feedbacks said that the section “History” seemed a bit unnecessary. However, in my opinion this section is necessary, in order to do the introduction of the topic. Instead I have referenced some other articles in this section. This way the section is still an important introduction for the reader, which gives a better understanding of the rest of the article.
I have furthermore referenced the following wiki articles:
* [[The A3 report]]
* [[Kaizen Event]]
* [[The Gantt Chart]]

I would have used more references, but since the wiki article could only contain 3-10 references, I have only used the most important ones, which have had the most importance to the articles content.

I have made the figures myself and this is why there are no references on them.

Talk:Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:50:22Z

Sorth90: /* Reaction to Feedback */

Mette: I like the idea and the topic you have chosen. As you write Lean contains many tools, so you could maybe consider if you should focus on only one tool in case of not getting your hands too full. It would still be possible to look at the questions you have presented by only looking at one tool.

==Review1 given by S152093==
* Good article overall. I learned something from it, and it was very informative. A few typos here and there, but there is a full week to correct that :-) In my eyes it gives a very good overview, which is really good. Alternatively you could have chosen a specific area to go in depth with. A few specific comments:
* In “the Lean Structure” I think it would be a little easier to get an overview if the titles were included in the bullets, instead of only in the picture. The picture is really good though, as it gives a quick overview.
* In the next section the titles would be nice as well, but then in the section about how lean can be used as a tool it is included, and that is nice.
* If possible, link to other articles under Gantt chart, QCD-triangle etc.
* When the different parts of the Lean philosophy is described, it would be very useful for me to have the different steps compared to the “traditional” PM methods. You do it at the end of the article, but it would create an easier understanding for me, if there were some concrete examples on where it differs.
* You mention that other PM methods could be more useful in the conclusion. It would be really nice with an example of that, either here or somewhere else in the article.
* Maybe a little more talk about the limitations?
* The figures are good, but the aren't referred to, and that makes them unnecessary as it is right now. In my eyes, they need to be referred to and included in the text, if they are there.
* The three sections, “The Lean Stucture”, “What is Lean as a project management tool?”, and “How can Lean be use as a project management tool?” are a little repetitive to me. Maybe to write it into less sections, or a little more defined outline of the sections would make it a little more clear to me.
* The bibliography is missing the part from the structure “Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic”.

== Review of S141926, Reviewer 2 ==
I think it is a good and well written article about Lean, providing a good understanding of the tool in a clear and structured way.

=== General formal aspects ===
* I would suggest to review grammatical aspects, I could find some inaccuracies like subject-verb disagreement
* Good structure. Clear and well-structured article, with good introduction/history, overview of the tool and then more specific aspects of the use of it as management tool.
* The article engages the reader thanks to the fact that is easily readable, I think the use of the bullet points and subcategories help a lot to that with a logical and easy to follow work flow.
* Good reference notation and format. In case the figures attached are taken from some source I would add its reference to the caption.
* When mentioning methods/concepts that have a Wikipedia article it might be a good idea to link them.

=== Review of the content ===
* Nice illustrations that make more understandable the process and the article more attractive to the reader.
* The length of the article seems appropriate and covers all the requirements of the method-article under my point of view. There is a good continuity throughout the article and under my point of view not unnecessary long sentences.
* Sometimes it is a bit difficult to differentiate between statements from literature and own opinion
* Clear and well defined processes to use Lean as a management tool.
* It provides interesting recommendations to avoid counterproductive issues if one is to use the tool.
* It provides a good understanding of the tool and how to use it.
* Under my point of view the Discussion part is a little poor. I think it could be a good idea to mention and describe the main benefits of using this tool compared to other methods.
* Also, I think it would improve the article and also meet the course requirements to describe more specifically the limitations and the problems that might arise if using this tool inappropriately.

==Reviewer: Faker, review3==

;Clarity of writing. Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors? Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?
: There are a lot of both grammatical and spelling error.
: Unacademic language. pulling "it" and "is" together in "it's" is better suited for speech than academic writing.
: There are not necessarily a lot of fill words, but the text can come across as a bit lenghty. It seems possible to explain the topic in a more concise manner.

;Clarity of the argument: Is there a logical flow to the article? Does one part build upon the other? Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?
: The order of chapters seem to work well.

;Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?
: I feel like the history chapter is irrelevant to the assignment as described in the course handbook.
: I feel like the topic of the article is spread too thin. Some of the tool explanations could be done by just linking to other articles that describe the specific tool in more detail.

;Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work? Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?
: The article is well cited. Some passages are dominated by authors opinion, but it is not excessive and it does not hurt the point of the article.

;Is the article properly linked within the Wiki to other relevant articles and category summaries?
: There are no links within the Wiki.

==Reaction to Feedback==
'''Rasmus Sorth-Olsen, s117422'''
'''User: Sorth90'''

I’m glad to have received the constructive feedback.

All the three judges/students feedback are generally positive.

I have later tried to correct some grammatical errors in the article.

One of the feedbacks said that the section “History” seemed a bit unnecessary. However, in my opinion this section is necessary, in order to do the introduction of the topic. Instead I have referenced some other articles in this section. This way the section is still an important introduction for the reader, which gives a better understanding of the rest of the article.
I have furthermore referenced the following wiki articles:
* [[The A3 report]]
* [[Kaizen Event]]
* [[The Gantt Chart]]

I would have used more references, but since the wiki article could only contain 3-10 references, I have only used the most important ones, which have had the most importance to the articles content.

I have made the figures myself and this is why there are no references on them.

Talk:Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:42:17Z

Sorth90: /* Reaction to Feedback */

Mette: I like the idea and the topic you have chosen. As you write Lean contains many tools, so you could maybe consider if you should focus on only one tool in case of not getting your hands too full. It would still be possible to look at the questions you have presented by only looking at one tool.

==Review1 given by S152093==
* Good article overall. I learned something from it, and it was very informative. A few typos here and there, but there is a full week to correct that :-) In my eyes it gives a very good overview, which is really good. Alternatively you could have chosen a specific area to go in depth with. A few specific comments:
* In “the Lean Structure” I think it would be a little easier to get an overview if the titles were included in the bullets, instead of only in the picture. The picture is really good though, as it gives a quick overview.
* In the next section the titles would be nice as well, but then in the section about how lean can be used as a tool it is included, and that is nice.
* If possible, link to other articles under Gantt chart, QCD-triangle etc.
* When the different parts of the Lean philosophy is described, it would be very useful for me to have the different steps compared to the “traditional” PM methods. You do it at the end of the article, but it would create an easier understanding for me, if there were some concrete examples on where it differs.
* You mention that other PM methods could be more useful in the conclusion. It would be really nice with an example of that, either here or somewhere else in the article.
* Maybe a little more talk about the limitations?
* The figures are good, but the aren't referred to, and that makes them unnecessary as it is right now. In my eyes, they need to be referred to and included in the text, if they are there.
* The three sections, “The Lean Stucture”, “What is Lean as a project management tool?”, and “How can Lean be use as a project management tool?” are a little repetitive to me. Maybe to write it into less sections, or a little more defined outline of the sections would make it a little more clear to me.
* The bibliography is missing the part from the structure “Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic”.

== Review of S141926, Reviewer 2 ==
I think it is a good and well written article about Lean, providing a good understanding of the tool in a clear and structured way.

=== General formal aspects ===
* I would suggest to review grammatical aspects, I could find some inaccuracies like subject-verb disagreement
* Good structure. Clear and well-structured article, with good introduction/history, overview of the tool and then more specific aspects of the use of it as management tool.
* The article engages the reader thanks to the fact that is easily readable, I think the use of the bullet points and subcategories help a lot to that with a logical and easy to follow work flow.
* Good reference notation and format. In case the figures attached are taken from some source I would add its reference to the caption.
* When mentioning methods/concepts that have a Wikipedia article it might be a good idea to link them.

=== Review of the content ===
* Nice illustrations that make more understandable the process and the article more attractive to the reader.
* The length of the article seems appropriate and covers all the requirements of the method-article under my point of view. There is a good continuity throughout the article and under my point of view not unnecessary long sentences.
* Sometimes it is a bit difficult to differentiate between statements from literature and own opinion
* Clear and well defined processes to use Lean as a management tool.
* It provides interesting recommendations to avoid counterproductive issues if one is to use the tool.
* It provides a good understanding of the tool and how to use it.
* Under my point of view the Discussion part is a little poor. I think it could be a good idea to mention and describe the main benefits of using this tool compared to other methods.
* Also, I think it would improve the article and also meet the course requirements to describe more specifically the limitations and the problems that might arise if using this tool inappropriately.

==Reviewer: Faker, review3==

;Clarity of writing. Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors? Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?
: There are a lot of both grammatical and spelling error.
: Unacademic language. pulling "it" and "is" together in "it's" is better suited for speech than academic writing.
: There are not necessarily a lot of fill words, but the text can come across as a bit lenghty. It seems possible to explain the topic in a more concise manner.

;Clarity of the argument: Is there a logical flow to the article? Does one part build upon the other? Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?
: The order of chapters seem to work well.

;Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?
: I feel like the history chapter is irrelevant to the assignment as described in the course handbook.
: I feel like the topic of the article is spread too thin. Some of the tool explanations could be done by just linking to other articles that describe the specific tool in more detail.

;Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work? Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?
: The article is well cited. Some passages are dominated by authors opinion, but it is not excessive and it does not hurt the point of the article.

;Is the article properly linked within the Wiki to other relevant articles and category summaries?
: There are no links within the Wiki.

==Reaction to Feedback==

I’m glad to have received the constructive feedback.

All the three judges/students feedback are generally positive.

I have later tried to correct some grammatical errors in the article.

One of the feedbacks said that the section “History” seemed a bit unnecessary. However, in my opinion this section is necessary, in order to do the introduction of the topic. Instead I have referenced some other articles in this section. This way the section is still an important introduction for the reader, which gives a better understanding of the rest of the article.
I have furthermore referenced the following wiki articles:
* [[The A3 report]]
* [[Kaizen Event]]
* [[The Gantt Chart]]

I would have used more references, but since the wiki article could only contain 3-10 references, I have only used the most important ones, which have had the most importance to the articles content.

I have made the figures myself and this is why there are no references on them.

Talk:Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:40:56Z

Sorth90:

Mette: I like the idea and the topic you have chosen. As you write Lean contains many tools, so you could maybe consider if you should focus on only one tool in case of not getting your hands too full. It would still be possible to look at the questions you have presented by only looking at one tool.

==Review1 given by S152093==
* Good article overall. I learned something from it, and it was very informative. A few typos here and there, but there is a full week to correct that :-) In my eyes it gives a very good overview, which is really good. Alternatively you could have chosen a specific area to go in depth with. A few specific comments:
* In “the Lean Structure” I think it would be a little easier to get an overview if the titles were included in the bullets, instead of only in the picture. The picture is really good though, as it gives a quick overview.
* In the next section the titles would be nice as well, but then in the section about how lean can be used as a tool it is included, and that is nice.
* If possible, link to other articles under Gantt chart, QCD-triangle etc.
* When the different parts of the Lean philosophy is described, it would be very useful for me to have the different steps compared to the “traditional” PM methods. You do it at the end of the article, but it would create an easier understanding for me, if there were some concrete examples on where it differs.
* You mention that other PM methods could be more useful in the conclusion. It would be really nice with an example of that, either here or somewhere else in the article.
* Maybe a little more talk about the limitations?
* The figures are good, but the aren't referred to, and that makes them unnecessary as it is right now. In my eyes, they need to be referred to and included in the text, if they are there.
* The three sections, “The Lean Stucture”, “What is Lean as a project management tool?”, and “How can Lean be use as a project management tool?” are a little repetitive to me. Maybe to write it into less sections, or a little more defined outline of the sections would make it a little more clear to me.
* The bibliography is missing the part from the structure “Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic”.

== Review of S141926, Reviewer 2 ==
I think it is a good and well written article about Lean, providing a good understanding of the tool in a clear and structured way.

=== General formal aspects ===
* I would suggest to review grammatical aspects, I could find some inaccuracies like subject-verb disagreement
* Good structure. Clear and well-structured article, with good introduction/history, overview of the tool and then more specific aspects of the use of it as management tool.
* The article engages the reader thanks to the fact that is easily readable, I think the use of the bullet points and subcategories help a lot to that with a logical and easy to follow work flow.
* Good reference notation and format. In case the figures attached are taken from some source I would add its reference to the caption.
* When mentioning methods/concepts that have a Wikipedia article it might be a good idea to link them.

=== Review of the content ===
* Nice illustrations that make more understandable the process and the article more attractive to the reader.
* The length of the article seems appropriate and covers all the requirements of the method-article under my point of view. There is a good continuity throughout the article and under my point of view not unnecessary long sentences.
* Sometimes it is a bit difficult to differentiate between statements from literature and own opinion
* Clear and well defined processes to use Lean as a management tool.
* It provides interesting recommendations to avoid counterproductive issues if one is to use the tool.
* It provides a good understanding of the tool and how to use it.
* Under my point of view the Discussion part is a little poor. I think it could be a good idea to mention and describe the main benefits of using this tool compared to other methods.
* Also, I think it would improve the article and also meet the course requirements to describe more specifically the limitations and the problems that might arise if using this tool inappropriately.

==Reviewer: Faker, review3==

;Clarity of writing. Is the writing free of grammatical and spelling errors? Is the language precise without unnecessary fill words?
: There are a lot of both grammatical and spelling error.
: Unacademic language. pulling "it" and "is" together in "it's" is better suited for speech than academic writing.
: There are not necessarily a lot of fill words, but the text can come across as a bit lenghty. It seems possible to explain the topic in a more concise manner.

;Clarity of the argument: Is there a logical flow to the article? Does one part build upon the other? Is the article consistent in its argument and free of contradictions?
: The order of chapters seem to work well.

;Is the article of high practical and / or academic relevance?
: I feel like the history chapter is irrelevant to the assignment as described in the course handbook.
: I feel like the topic of the article is spread too thin. Some of the tool explanations could be done by just linking to other articles that describe the specific tool in more detail.

;Does the article properly cite and acknowledge previous work? Is it based on empirical data instead of opinion?
: The article is well cited. Some passages are dominated by authors opinion, but it is not excessive and it does not hurt the point of the article.

;Is the article properly linked within the Wiki to other relevant articles and category summaries?
: There are no links within the Wiki.

==Reaction to Feedback==

I’m glad to have received the constructive feedback.

All the three judges/students feedback are generally positive.

I have later tried to correct some grammatical errors in the article.

One of the feedbacks said that the section “History” seemed a bit unnecessary. However, in my opinion this section is necessary, in order to do the introduction of the topic. Instead I have referenced some other articles in this section. This way the section is still an important introduction for the reader, which gives a better understanding of the rest of the article.
I have furthermore referenced the following wiki articles:
* The A3 report
* Kaizen Event
* The Gantt Chart

I would have used more references, but since the wiki article could only contain 3-10 references, I have only used the most important ones, which have had the most importance to the articles content.

I have made the figures myself and this is why there are no references on them.

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:28:40Z

Sorth90: /* The Lean structure */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-in-Time_Manufacturing Just In Time] (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban Kanban].

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muda_(Japanese_term) “Muda”] in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen Kaizen]. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA PDCA-cycle].
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator Key Performance Indicators] (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:25:48Z

Sorth90: /* The Lean structure */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-in-Time_Manufacturing Just In Time] (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban Kanban].

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muda_(Japanese_term) “Muda”] in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA PDCA-cycle].
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator Key Performance Indicators] (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:22:41Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-in-Time_Manufacturing Just In Time] (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban Kanban].

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA PDCA-cycle].
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator Key Performance Indicators] (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:17:49Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban Kanban].

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA PDCA-cycle].
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator Key Performance Indicators] (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:15:58Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban Kanban].

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA PDCA-cycle].
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:11:51Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban Kanban].

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:10:12Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba Gemba], [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:09:32Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemba GEMBA], [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:08:05Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-Minute_Exchange_of_Die SMED], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], GEMBA, [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:06:58Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], SMED, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology) 5S], GEMBA, [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T07:00:06Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], SMED, 5S, GEMBA, [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 2:''' The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 3:''' The PDCA-cycle, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-26T06:58:41Z

Sorth90: /* The Lean structure */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], SMED, 5S, GEMBA, [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|'''Figure 1:''' The five Lean principles, Source: Sorth-Olsen, Rasmus (user: Sorth90)]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-23T18:33:56Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], SMED, 5S, GEMBA, [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are [[The Gantt Chart]] and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-23T18:30:58Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are [[The A3 report]], SMED, 5S, GEMBA, [[Kaizen Event]] and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Talk:Location Based Scheduling

2015-09-22T19:34:26Z

Sorth90:

Mette: I like your idea. Remember to keep the structure for a "method article". You write about the benefits of using LBS instead of CPM, so maybe you could discuss why and where LBC is a better tool.

Review 2, s150621

• The overall impression is that the article is clear and straight forward, with many good figures and tables

• All together very good language

• The table with types of activity linkage is very good, with both description and a figure

• Very good with links to other articles, like for example WBS

• The figures are very nice, but a suggestion is to add the sources

• The abstract is very good, with both a short example and a comparison. A suggestion is to move the first two sentences in the second paragraph over to the abstract, so that you describe some of the content of the article in the abstract rather than in the introduction to the method.

==Review of Sorth90 (Rasmus Sorth-Olsen s117422), Reviewer 3==
* The article has the necessary references and sources that support its content
* Most studens at DTU would benefit from reading the article in connection with upcoming projects
* It was must educational to read the article "Location Based Schedulin"
* The article in written in a clear way.
* The article shows that you know and have familiarized yourself with the subject before writing the article.
* The article covers some good models.

Abstract:
* From the abstract, the article seems interesting.
* Good description of Location Based Schedulin.
* Quick and precise.

About Location Based Scheduling:
* Well, that section is divided into bullet points. This makes it easier to read.
* It would be good with an example. "time / place-diagram" and "Flow-line diagram".
* Really good. The section is supported by the figure.
* Figure 2 is too small. You can not read what it says.

Flow-Line Method:
* Well, that section is divided into bullet points. This makes it easier to read.
* Give the sections numbers. In this way, we know that the following sections are subsections.

Flow-Line Diagram:
* Really good. The section is supported by Figure 3.
* Figure 3 is too small. You can not read what it says.

Identifying the locations:
* Really good. The section is supported by Figure 4.
* Figure 4 is too small. You can not read what it says.

Optimization using flow-line diagram:
* Very short description. The section to be deepened.

Location-Based activity-linkages:
* Well, that section is divided into bullet points. This makes it easier to read.
* Types of activity-linkages. The table is really good. The figures are a little small, but you understand the principles.

Control of resources and linkages:

LBS/Flow Line Diagram compared with CPM/Gantt Chart:
* Figure 16 is unmanageable.

Current State of Art:
* Well section.
* What's the competitors enter the LBS?

Kritisk Reflects:
* Well, that section is supported by sources.

Talk:Organisational resilience with mindfulness

2015-09-22T19:32:56Z

Sorth90:

Josef: Hello, thank you for an interesting proposal. I really like the idea. Please make sure to go back to the original literature (e.g. Weick, see our whitepaper), and also follow the "Method" structure we propose. Also please make sure that you do not end up writing about "organizational resilience" in general, but making projects more resilient.

Review 1, s150621

• Interesting topic

• Nice that you give a description of the content of the article in the abstract

• The table with the 5 principles is clear and straight forward, good with examples for each principle

• The abstract should be before the contents

• Some of the sentences could be written easier, or described better, as for example this sentence: “Thorough management is crucial in resilient organisations (check ref, Geraldi et al, 2009) and mindfulness encompass the risk of the human mind.”

• In the article you refer to many books, which is very good. The reference should consistently be done in wiki style, with footnotes. One example is the sentence; “Weick and Sutcliffe(2001) describe mindfulness as “a rich awareness of discrimatory detail”.”, where you don´t use the footnote reference style

• It is nice that the article includes figures, but remember text for describing the figures, and to add the source of the figure

• The application paragraph ends with a question, which I suggest rather to put into the discussion. Some alternatives for the answer of the question would also be nice to add to the discussion.

• Can see that you are not finished yet, but so far it looks interesting, and I look forward to read the rest when you are finished

==Review of Sorth90 (Rasmus Sorth-Olsen s117422), Reviewer 2==
* The feedback was given on Tuesday 22-09-2015 at 5 PM.
* The article is not finalized.
* Several sections are not written.
* It would have been an advantage if the article had described what “Organisational resilience with mindfulness” is and how the tools are applied and why. It would have made it easier for the reader to get an overview and at the same time find the information the reader is looking for.

Abstract:
* From the abstract, the article seems interesting.
* Who is seeking sociotechnical?

Big idea:
* Good language.
* Good use of sources.
* What section tell the reader?

5 Principles:
* References.
* Lacking a description of the figure.
* Good shape. The figure is not complete.

Application:
* Using an example. Thus the reader understand better the section.
* More in-depth description of Butler & Gray.
* Do you have a reference for the figure?

* The rest of the article is missing, to be written.

Talk:Critical chain project management (CCPM)

2015-09-22T19:30:27Z

Sorth90:

Anna: Good choice of topic, remember to be focused on the tool aspect and be very very concrete with the explanation so that your article can help other students understand and use this method.
Remember to follow the structure and include application and limitations.

==Review of Sorth90 (Rasmus Sorth-Olsen s117422), Reviewer 1==
To give the most constructive feedback on the article "Critical chain project management" I have used the sandwich model. (http://www.rightattitudes.com/2008/02/20/sandwich-feedback-technique/)

Praise:
* You have used the skills you have acquired during your eduction.
* The article shows that you know and have familiarized yourself with the subject before writing the article.
* The article in written in a clear way.
* Good language.

Criticism:
* The article covers some good models. However, it would have been obvious to have more models in the paragraphs, where the article only contains text - for example the paragraph "Methodological basis" and “The Critical Path Method”.
* 3-10 sources. This article contains 13th.
* Some of the sections could be divided into bullet points.

Praise:
* The article has the necessary references and sources that support its content.
* Most studens at DTU would benefit from reading the article in connection with upcoming projects.
* It was must educational to read the article "Critical chain project management ".

Abstract:
* Good description of Critical chain project management (CCPM).
* Quick and precise.

History/background:
* Long description of Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Good description of his theory.
* It is good that there is a description of the books.
* The section is supported by the sources.

Methodological basis:
* ”The main goal using Critical Chain Project Management is to speed up the project with up to 30 %, increase the predictability above 90 % and increase the productivity.” Are the goals exactly 30% and 90%?
* Well built.
* Well, the section ends with a conclusion.

Core principles:
* The visual image supports the text. It is easy to understand section.
* The process, all students in the course could use.

The Critical Path Method:
* I need a figure of "network diagram".
* Quick and precise.

Creating a CCPM schedule:
* Well, the text is supported by the figure.
* The section is supported by the sources.

CCPM in Japan:
* Is it primarily in Japan that uses CCPM?
* The case must be supported by a source.

Advantages and disadvantages:
* Well, the article concludes with this discussion.
* Is it only bodies that use CCPM?
* Is not there some negative feedback about CCPM?

== Review of S141926, Reviewer 3 ==
I think it is a good and well written article about Critical Chain Project Management, providing a good understanding of the method in a clear and well-structured way.

=== General formal aspects ===
* I think the article is well structured, giving a good understanding of the methodological basis by providing information about the main aspects. Maybe the use of some bullet points would make this part more clear, under my point of view.
* The article engages the reader thanks to the fact that is easily readable, I think the use of the bullet points and subcategories help a lot to that with a logical and easy to follow work flow.
* Good reference notation and format.
* When mentioning methods/concepts that have a Wikipedia article it might be a good idea to link them.
* Grammatically correct with good punctuation and use of technical vocabulary. However, I could read some informal contractions that under my point of view should be avoided in this sort of writing.

=== Review of the content ===

* The article covers successfully the course requirements for a method article. Good description, application and limitations by giving a number of reliable references well notated throughout the whole article.
* Under my point of view, the history part is too long and maybe irrelevant here. I think there is too much personal information about Eliyahu M. Goldratt that might not be much relevant for the purpose of the article. Personally, I would not add his portrait :)
* The core principles are very well defined, using technical and precise language. Without too long and unnecessary sentences. If I had to suggest something it would be adding text formatting before starting the description of each factor (like bold titles).
* Nice and useful illustrations that make more understandable the process and the article more attractive to the reader
* The length of the article seems appropriate and covers all the requirements of the method-article under my point of view. There is a good continuity throughout the article and under my point of view not unnecessary long sentences.
* Clear and well defined procedure to create a CCPM schedule, with examples to make it understandable to the reader.
* It provides a good understanding of the tool and real life examples (Japan section)
* Sometimes it is a bit difficult to differentiate between statements from literature and own opinion
* Good summary of advantages and disadvantages with . However, I would add some more limitations and/or how to overcome them. I would also suggest to add some bullet points or bold format to differentiate the sub-parts.

==Review made by s152093, reviewer 2==
*A really good article. I learned a lot from it, and the specific comments I have to the article are details.
*The language is clear, and there is a natural flow of the language. Good references. It does say in the description of the project though that we have to “Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic”. This I can’t see anywhere.
*There are a few typos here and there.
*A little too long History section for my taste.
*Good introduction to the methodological basis, so that all the important tools and concepts are ready to be used for the explanation.
*The drawing in “Core principles” could be included in the explanation to make it even more clear.
*The example in “Creating a CCPM schedule” is good, but it is confusing that one example is described in text and another is shown in figure. It would be nice to have nice two aligned.
*Nice example with Japan, that really shows the strength of the method.
*Where it makes sense, it would be nice with some links to other Wiki-articles.
*It is a little hard to tell your opinion apart from statements from literature, even with the various references that you have.
*Are there really not any limitations to the theory? You point out that a critical path is needed for the CCPM to be made, and that the success is measured compared to previous very unstructured projects, and therefore its success is a little skewed. But isn’t there any more limitations to it than that?
*So as mentioned, all in all a very good article, and the comments I have made are almost all of them details :-)

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:52:51Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:52:16Z

Sorth90:

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:49:46Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines.

When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

File:The PDCA-cycle.png

2015-09-20T17:48:15Z

Sorth90:

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:48:03Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:The PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: The PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png

2015-09-20T17:47:28Z

Sorth90:

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:46:50Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle1.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png

2015-09-20T17:45:21Z

Sorth90: Sorth90 uploaded a new version of "File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png"

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:44:40Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:44:19Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

HER

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png

2015-09-20T17:40:53Z

Sorth90: Sorth90 uploaded a new version of "File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png"

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:30:34Z

Sorth90:

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:29:47Z

Sorth90:

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:28:51Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:28:22Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:27:46Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator''] Key Performance Indicators. Visit 14.09.2015 </ref> (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:27:04Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA''] PDCA. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator''] Key Performance Indicators. Visit 14.09.2015 </ref> (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T17:26:21Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA''] PDCA. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator''] Key Performance Indicators. Visit 14.09.2015 </ref> (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:58:43Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA''] PDCA. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator''] Key Performance Indicators. Visit 14.09.2015 </ref> (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:57:12Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA''] PDCA. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output<ref>Medina, Ángel: Agile Kaizen: ''Managing Continuous Improvement Far Beyond Retrospectives'': Springer, 2014. </ref>. A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:56:00Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA''] PDCA. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:54:51Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata”<ref>Rother, Mike: ''Toyota Kata'': 1. edition. Mc Graw Hill, 2010. </ref> Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:53:19Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle<ref>[''http://www.velaction.com/qdc-quality-delivery-cost/''] The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle. Visit 20.09.2015 </ref>. A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:51:56Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart''] Gantt-chart. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle . A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:49:48Z

Sorth90: /* How can Lean be use as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks”<ref>Womack, Jim: ''Gemba Walks'': 1. edition. John Shook, 2011. </ref>. Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle . A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:48:35Z

Sorth90: /* What is Lean as a project management tool? */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager”<ref>Ballé, Michael and Ballé, Freddy: ''The Lean Manager'': 1. edition. Jeffrey K. Liker, 2011. </ref>. Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks” . Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle . A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:47:06Z

Sorth90: /* The Lean structure */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality<ref>[''http://logisticssupplychainmanagement.blogspot.dk/2008/09/scm-goals-seven-rights.html''] The 7 r’s of logistics. Visit 13.09.2015 </ref>. The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager” . Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks” . Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle . A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:45:12Z

Sorth90: /* The Lean structure */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below<ref>[''http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm''] Principles of Lean. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref>.

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality . The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager” . Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks” . Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle . A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
<references />

Lean as a project management tool

2015-09-20T16:43:38Z

Sorth90: /* History */

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

=History=
The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno<ref>[''https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno''] Taiichi Ohno. Visit 06.09.2015 </ref> invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS)<ref>Ohno, Taiichi: ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production'': Kindle Edition. Norman Bodek. </ref>. TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World”<ref>Kraficit, John, Womack, James P., Jones, Daniel T., and Roos, Daniel: ''The Machine, That Changed The World'': First Edition. Copyrighted Material. </ref>. An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

=The Lean structure=

[[File:The five Lean principles.png|frame|200px|text-bottom|right|Figure 1: The five Lean principles]]

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below .

# This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality . The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
# When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
# Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
# The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
# The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

=What is Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager” . Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:
* Customers First
* Everybody, Every Day
* Go and See
* Managing Means Improving
* Clear Direction
* Teamwork
* Mutual Trust
* Creating Value

Like mentioned in the five Lean principles, Michael and Freddy Ballé describe the importance of focusing in the customer’s desire and like in the five Lean principles, this customer could be an internal customer within the same company. By taking the next person into an account, when handling over a product, the flow throughout the whole process gets streamlined and you’ll create a much better overall result.

All project members have to be involved and participate actively on a daily basis, doing the project, in order to achieve the best possible project output.

As a project leader, it is important to get out of the office. You should always be in contact with the workers and always observe the production process, as a project manager. The people with the knowledge to improve the process are the people who are actually working with the process.

It is important to make sure everybody involved in project actually wants do the project, but it is more important to make sure the management is on board. When first the management pushes forward the project, all employees will slowly adapt to the changes.

The project manager needs to manage the project with clear outlined instructions before, doing and after the project, to secure a common goal amongst the employees.

Teamwork is the key when it comes to doing a project. All people involved in the project needs to work together as a team and aim for a common goal as a unit.

It is important to secure a mutual trust between the project group and the project manager, but also amongst the project group members. This is because people tent to keep information to themselves if they do not trust the people around them.

Michael and Freddy Ballé’s book “The Lean Manager”, also supports the five Lean principles theory, by describing how a manager should always focus on adding value to the project.

=How can Lean be use as a project management tool?=
As explained in the previous section, the key factor to success, when doing a project, is having a visible project manager doing the start-up phase, the execution phase and the closing phase. This means that the project manager has to participate actively in the project and not just do planning and other managerial tasks in his office. The visible project management style is called Gemba in the Lean philosophy and has been outlined by Jim Womack in the book “Gemba Walks” . Jim Womack’s book contains many customized Gemba tools which makes it easy to choose a specific Lean tool for any given problem. Jim Womack describe the project managers use of project frames, respect for people, PDCA, A3, “the work of management” and Lean management, just to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to set-up a fixed template, when using Lean, but the project manager will always have to follow the five processes below:
# Start project
# Plan project
# Execute project
# Controlling project
# Close project

It is essential to specify how to go from one process to the next. A project manager can usually use these five steps, even though projects can vary in many different ways.

The five processes will now be outlined:

;1. Start project

The project manager will always try to estimate weather the project would be profitable or not, before starting the project.

;2. Plan project

[[File:The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 2: The Quality, Cost and Delivery triangle]]

Second step in the process is project planning. The main purpose of project planning is to make sure all stakeholder will be pleased. Common tools used in this step are the Gantt-chart and the Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) triangle . A detailed project plan, with all the information about the necessary resources, will make it easy for the company to structure all its projects. The project planning can also guide the project manager throughout the project and make sure he meets the decided milestones and deadlines. When the project planner composes the project plan, he needs to include the following parts:
* Estimate the number of project resources
* Define the quality, cost and delivery
* Forecast and order raw materials according to the expected delivery
* Predict project star-up date and deadline
* Make sure that you will be visible as a project leader during the project
* Make sure to initiate all necessary start-up activities at the right time
* Decide appropriate milestones for the project

;3. Execute project

The third step in the process is executing the project and especially the managerial part in this state of the project. Doing the execution phase, the project manager needs to monitor the project development, make sure the project expectations are being met, keep track of the task priorities and keep track of how much time is spend on each task. These responsibilities are a very essential part of the project management, because they make sure the project follows the project plan. When doing a project you will meet many obstacles, which will force you to take directive actions. However, if you then diverge too much from the original project plan, you will never reach the project goal and the whole project will then be a waste of time and resources. This step is where being a visible project manager pays off.

[[File:PDCA-cycle.png|frame|100px|text-bottom|right|Figure 3: PDCA-cycle]]

In his book “Toyota Kata” Mike Rother describes how to lead, manage and develop your people doing the execution of a project. The term Kata originates from the Lean term Kaizen. The definitions of Kaizen is continuously improvement. Kata varies from this definition, by not just focusing on doing the improvements, but also on how to do the improvement the right way. The project manager has to lead and develop the employees to do the project task themselves as the project goes on, when doing a Kata project. The project lead needs to focus on facilitating the Kata meetings and make the employees do the work tasks. This way the employees will participate and take ownership in the project. The employees will then slowly assume the responsibility and take actions themselves if problems with the project or the equipment should occur. It can sometimes be difficult to see how the project can reach its goal doing the initiation of the project. However, many Lean tools can assist the project manager in reaching the project goal along the way. One of these tools is the PDCA-cycle.
* Plan
* Do
* Check
* Act

The project as a whole will contain several subtasks, which all have to go through the PDCA-cycle process. The participants will first develop a plan on how to do the subtask and then execute it. When the subtask has been executed the participants needs to follow-up on the result. If the result is not satisfying, they will take corrective actions on the matter medially. If the result still is not good enough, they will go through the process again and so on.

Lean as a project management tool deals with visualization, by making the project goal and status visible to all. A whiteboard can be used for this purpose. The whiteboard has to be accessible to all and if possible, be located in the middle of the project area. If the project is attached to a specific machine, it will be sound to locate it here. This way everybody can see the information about the project. This can be a significant factor to some of the participants in the project. This way their work are being presented to all the other employees, which can motivate some people.

;4. Controlling project

Doing- and after the execution of the project processes, the projects are being monitored. This is to ensure the continuously improvement culture of Kaizen. Like in the Kata projects, whiteboards can be used to structure and implement improvements. Use of this tool has shown great improvement. The users have experienced a 4 times higher productivity and a 12 times better quality of the output . A project manager using the Kaizen principles can improve the project output in the short run. In the long run, the project leader can use the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to monitor the project status. The KPI’s is an efficient tool that tells the user weather the task has been accomplished, indicated by green, or have not been accomplished, indicated by red. This way the project manager, the stakeholder and the employees can all see what still needs to be done.

;5. Close project

In the final part of the project, it is necessary to make sure all employees are informed about how to take over the project responsibility tasks when the project has been closed down as a project. The project leader needs to make sure all parts of the project has been documented, before the project gets closed. Sharing knowledge is an essential factor in Lean as a project management tool. This way, the work in similar future project, will be easier. Experience needs to be shared to avoid storing all knowhow in the head of the project leader. Otherwise, all knowhow will be lost if the project leader decides to quite.

=Why use Lean as a project management tool?=
Lean are used as a project management tool to continuously improve the project and to achieve highly successful results in both the short and the long run. This makes it attractive for modern project managers to use. The philosophy also ensures a streamlined uniformity across the company, because all the projects are being performed the same way. The resources will be differentiated amongst the projects, but the framework is still the same. The philosophy will also make it easy for the project manager to start-up a new project. The project leader will then have several tools to execute and close the project.

=Discussion=
Projects are becoming more and more complex nowadays. However, all accessible resources are often constrained or lowered, which makes it hard to achieve the project goals. The Lean philosophy is then used for systematization of the project processes and manage the employees. This article stress the importance of Lean as a managerial philosophy in companies with numerous employees spread across several projects. However, Lean is not necessarily suitable for all projects. In some cases, more traditional project management styles are to be preferred. Here is a traditional style often more simple and efficient, if the project magnitude is low and only small obstacles occur.

= References =
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