Muda – the 8 types of waste

One component of Lean is the elimination of waste. In Japanese, this is called Muda. Originally, seven types were defined; the eighth was added later:

• Overproduction – Producing more than needed, or producing too early. The worst form because it causes all other types of waste.
• Waiting – Idle time because something is missing. A part, a decision, an answer, a machine.
• Transportation – Unnecessary movement of products or material. Every movement that creates no value is waste.
• Overprocessing – Doing more than the customer needs. Features nobody wants. Quality nobody pays for.
• Inventory – Storing more than necessary. Every inventory costs money and hides problems.
• Motion – Unnecessary movement of people. Searching, walking, reaching for something that is not where it should be.
• Defects – Rework, incorrect results. Anything that is not right the first time.
• Unused potential – The eighth type, added later. Not using employees' knowledge, creativity and ideas. Not part of the original Toyota Production System, but widely recognized today.

Now apply these points to your software/data/AI teams:

• Are there more tools, projects, backlog items, meetings, ideas, drafts and decisions than are actually needed?
• How often does someone have to wait for someone else?
• How much coordination between teams and leaders is necessary before something can be delivered?
• How many software features or data dashboards do you have that nobody uses?
• How much data has been collected that nobody uses?
• How many unnecessary process steps must be completed?
• How much rework is the norm?
• How many skills and how much potential do your employees have that you know nothing about?

A half-hearted implementation of Scrum, or working more by gut feeling than through a systematic, methodical approach, does not prevent these types of waste.

To reduce this waste, it is necessary to engage more deeply with Lean philosophy and actively work on streamlining processes and optimizing ways of working.

I see an enormous need for organizations to catch up here! This knowledge is decades old, and yet it has still not been applied everywhere.

If you now integrate AI into the company, you multiply the waste many times over.

Therefore, there is no way around transforming your organization. Knowing the 8 types of Muda is a first step.