My parents’ dining room table has a broken leg.  We need to solve the problem before Thanksgiving.  Here are the alternatives we initially see:  

1)      Use the table as is and hope that Thanksgiving dinner does not suddenly slide onto someone’s lap.
2)      Take the table into the basement, repair it there, and bring it back up to the dining room.
3)      Replace the table temporarily with a borrowed table.

We reject alternative 1) since we have invited guests and we don’t want to embarrass ourselves.

Ready, Set, Dominate: Implement Toyota's Set-Based Learning for Developing Products... and Nobody Can Catch You! (unless they do it first!) 

 

Toyota, similar to their production system, takes a process orientation to their design work. RSD shows the readers the importance of an integrated approach to knowledge management. The setting is a sequel to Product Development for the Lean Enterprise (Kennedy's top selling 2003 text). The cast of characters together unfold a future centering on visual knowledge, a practical method for making good decisions, thorough problem solving, efficient communication, and reuse of ideas to help people collaborate (really collaborate).

I usually do my best to avoid reality television but Sunday evening I happened to watch an episode of "Celebrity Apprentice". The two teams were charged with creating a viral web marketing video for "All" laundry detergent. Two executives from the manufacturer discussed their expectations for the project and the two teams proceeded to create the videos. If you have some time (you'll need 80+ minutes) I encourage you to view the episode by clicking on the link below:

http://www.nbc.com/the-celebrity-apprentice/video/episodes/#vid=1081352

One of the first things I learned in my lean journey is that implementing a lean approach is more about producing value rather than reducing waste. With that, I invite you to reflect on the episode by considering the following questions?

What were the customer's conditions of satisfaction?
Did the teams meet these conditions (i.e. did the team produce value)?
What was the role of the project manager? Would a different approach produced more value for the customer?
Did everyone on the respective project teams participate in determining how the team would reach its goal? Should everyone have participated?
How were product ideas generated?
How many product ideas did each team pursue? What is the value in developing multiple options?
How was innovation fostered?
Was there clear collaboration within the respective project teams?
How was learning able to be incorporated into the work?
Was there unplanned rework due to new information or conditions?

I have been reading Peter Elbow's "Writing with Power" at the recommendation of my colleague Matt Horvat. I am not very far into the book but I am already struck how the writing process described in this book so far mirrors a set-based design approach. The book's author breaks writing down into creative and critical processes. He posits that because we were trained to write to the approval of a teacher, most people have learned to create and critique their writing at the same time. Because of this we choose one path early in the process to express what we would like to express. Consequently we spend a lot of time trying to craft the writing to perfection without a clarity as to the end result. When we think of a new idea, we insert it into what we thought was finished text and often end up editing what we had wrote earlier in order to ensure the new idea blends.

The author recommends we start with freewriting, that is, we briefly consider the topic we are to write on and then just start writing. The idea is get thoughts onto the page. The thoughts and writing do not have to be good or polished. If we allow ourselves to explore different ideas on the topic without worrying about writing structure and the completeness of the thought, we can truly investigate ideas. When we finish freewriting, we can then look on the writing with a critical eye, choosing the ideas from the freewriting that best suit our point, maybe developing those ideas further through freewriting, and then editing the result to create a polished document. Perhaps the ideas not utilized help us when we take on another piece of writing.

Doesn't freewriting sound like set-based design (i.e. exploring many alternatives to a problem and selecting the best after thoughtful investigation of value)? Doesn't the way most of us write sound like point-based design (i.e. selecting a design concept early and shoehorning the concept to meet the problem through massive, wasteful coordination and loopbacks)?

Until late, I have been one of the many who critique while writing and I have usually spent much more time writing then I had intended or wanted. Coming to the realization that set-based design is beneficial for creative activities like writing, I see how widely one could apply the principles of set-based design.