Overproduction: Creating too many features and functions that never get consumed to their maximum potential. This is one of the most impactful waste processes that creates surplus inventory, often forcing users to integrate all complicated feature functions within their operational workflows.
Overprocessing: Doing more work than requested. This work doesn’t refer to fixing underlying problem root causes responsible for repetitive IT incidents, but the excess troubleshooting efforts spent independently on individual requests, just in case. This scenario is common when the underlying problem is hidden or difficult to trace.
Defects: Delivering imperfect solutions that return user requests to rework on the same IT issues. The service requests never reach a “Done Done” state, give a false sense of pending request volumes and are often preventable.
Overengineering: Operating an over-complicated operational workflow can help organizations prepare for every incident scenario imaginable. In practice, this defeats the very purpose of developing a process in the first place: to simplify and expedite resolution from an end-user and business standpoint. The engineering decisions are often made on flawed metrics instead of business impact and user satisfaction.
Inventory: The never-ending backlog of open tickets is the direct consequence of inadequate processes, failure to identify underlying issues, broken governance and approval process, unfinished solutions, and suboptimal resource utilization (and distribution), among others.
Transportation: Information silos, delays in approval, outdated governance protocols and inability to manage knowledge causes a bottleneck in resolving IT incidents. Additionally, service requests move across solution categories and teams due to incorrect ticket descriptions and suboptimal resolution workflows. The end result is a prevalent lag in connecting tickets to the correct resolution team and in a state where all necessary information, approvals and resources are available to execute an immediate fix.
Waiting: This process refers to the duration where a ticket spends time simply waiting to be assigned and fixed. The primary cause for excessive waiting is the lack of HR and technology resources that can get a ticket request moving through the resolution pipeline as soon as it’s produced.
Motion: This issue refers to the physical toll on HR and the business while it attempts to resolve incidents. Overburdened IT Service Desk staff struggles to find the productivity and motivation to fix mundane IT issues that occur repetitively directly impact end-users.
