ABSTRACT
Lean is all about continuous improvement of the organization’s value stream. Office value streams can be improved one small step at a time; however, often the value stream requires a complete overhaul. Transformation at the value stream level requires looking at the complete end-to-end process steps, observing the wastes in and between those steps, and looking for large-scale improvements in that value stream. Once the lens of Lean is moved from the manufacturing areas to the office, the ability to see value streams or detect flow of information becomes very difficult. On the office side of the concrete wall, the work steps are hidden from view. Every organization contains a number of value streams that are central to its existence. There are most likely a few critical value streams that are central to how an organization functions, and in a large organization there are many smaller streams between departments.