Method guide · Progress through phases
Rapid Value Stream Mapping
Use when a team needs a shared picture of actual work, waiting and dependencies, especially across remote work.
- People
- 4–15
- Base procedure time
- 120 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Make a decision.
English guide
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How this method works
Arrange the flow of work chronologically on sticky notes to make the locations of delays visible. Use when the work flow, waiting and dependencies are described only through each owner’s impressions, and remote colleagues who cannot easily meet in person cannot share where work is held up. Arrange actual activities chronologically. Quantify only work times and waiting times that can be verified from records; keep unverified estimates based on impressions separate. The output is a flow diagram showing actual work, waiting times and the bottleneck to verify in this session. Determine causes and implement countermeasures elsewhere. Do not use this on its own where there are no measurable time records, or where causes will be determined solely in this session.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Narrow the flow0–14 minutes from the start (14 minutes)
Action: Narrow. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Arrange activities14–38 minutes from the start (24 minutes)
Action: Arrange. Participation: Everyone.
Individual record
- Record times38–67 minutes from the start (29 minutes)
Action: Record. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Overlay friction67–102 minutes from the start (35 minutes)
Action: Overlay. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Select the bottleneck to verify102–120 minutes from the start (18 minutes)
Action: Select. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 14 minutes, narrow the scope to one flow close to the outcome you want to improve, and agree its start and end points together.
- For 24 minutes, work backwards from the point at which the customer receives the output, arranging each actual activity on one sticky note containing a verb.
- For 29 minutes, record the modal work time and waiting time for activities with existing records. Calculate the waiting-time ratio only for activities for which both times have been verified.
- For 35 minutes, overlay marks showing the accuracy of handovers of responsibility, tools and output quality, and places where the work is especially draining.
- For 18 minutes, select one bottleneck that can be verified from records and agree to check the others next time.
If something changes
If
After 3 minutes of scope discussion, 2 or more proposals for start and end points remain.
Then
Narrow the scope to only the immediately preceding segment, and show the outside areas only as boundaries.
If
More than half of the activities have no numerical values available during time recording.
Then
Record only the shortest-to-longest range, explicitly mark the representative value as unverified, and exclude those activities from the waiting-time ratio calculation.
If
After 4 minutes, 2 or more candidate bottlenecks remain and no single one has been chosen for this session.
Then
Choose the one for which the most existing records can be checked; do not identify it as the cause.
Preparation
Materials
- One shared whiteboard or sheet of large-format paper, at least 200 cm wide
- Sticky notes for activities: about 15 per person, 75 × 75 mm
- Sticky notes in another colour for delays and friction: about 30 for the whole group
- Dark markers: one per person
Room and setup
- Set up one shared surface everyone can write on at once: a wall at least 200 cm wide or a large table
- One digital board with screen sharing if there are remote participants
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 4 people, the necessary role perspectives are missing and waiting or dependencies may be overlooked. For 4–15 people, everyone writes on one shared surface; do not split into small groups. With more than 10 people, split the flow into earlier and later segments. Have the people most familiar with each segment write first, then bring the whole group together. With 16 or more people, use separate sessions of no more than 15 people each.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Keep unverified impressions separate from record-based times. Use only activities with verified work and waiting times in the ratio. Do not determine causes or execute countermeasures in this session, or use it on its own without measurable time records.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Steve Pereira: Rapid Value Stream Mapping
https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/rapid-value-stream-mapping/
CC BY 4.0 adaptation; changes made
- CC BY 4.0
Current-page licence notice
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Credits on the checked source page
- Named contributors on the source page: Steve Pereira
- Contributors listed in the official practice source (repository handles): @stevepereira
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Rapid Value Stream Mapping.
Source lineage
CC BY-SA 4.0 — this site's adaptation and translation contributions · Legal code · Official source policy
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Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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