What is the problem or issue you are trying to solve?.I often begin by trying to answer these questions from John Shook: Sharing conference learnings with peersīegin with a complex problem that involves a few people or more.Training (new and improvement of existing).Company-wide initiative planning and execution.Business strategy planning and execution.Process mapping and future state improvements, also for value stream mapping.Choosing by Advantages for sound decision-making.Set-based design alternative evaluations.Request for qualification (RFQ) response.Teams in design and construction are using A3s for the following processes: With other sections including root-cause analysis, countermeasures, and an action plan, the author has a unified place that helps visualize the whole process, gain alignment with others, and sustain improvement. Their single 11 x 17-inch sheet is typically organized into several sections to allow the problem solver (author) to grasp the issue fully, include relevant business background information, explore the current situation, and set goals. Visualize your project, take aligned action, and improve the outcome.ĭesign and construction teams are using A3s to problem-solve every day. In 2014, during a Lean Enterprise Academy workshop, Mark Davies, Senior Manager at Toyota Lean Management Centre UK, took session participants through Toyota's process for problem-solving that has been in use for decades and includes practitioners like John Shook and Isao Yoshino. Continuous Improvement (seeking perfection, kaizen mindset).
A3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEMPLATE DOWNLOAD
The following A3 template from the author is available as a free download using the book website link above. I recommend reading Managing to Learn: Using the A3 management process by John Shook. The A3 includes the background, problem statement, analysis, proposed actions, and the expected results. The Lean Construction Institute Online Glossary describes A3 as:Ī one-page report prepared on a single 11 x 17 sheet of paper that adheres to the discipline of PDCA thinking as applied to collaborative problem solving, strategy development, or reporting. Lean design and construction practitioners use PDCA and A3 Thinking to enter continuous improvement cycles and impact operational performance to improve project delivery. Act (adjust) to adopt the change, abandon it, or repeat the cycle.Plan a change or test aimed at improvement.The key is to assist the team in being successful.Since the popularization of quality circles in the 1960s, companies around the globe continue engaging front line employees to improve their work using variations of PDCA, a scientific method for problem-solving using four steps: The sixth step is to have a plan in place to follow-up with the team and assess the progress of the implementation of the recommendations. If you have a timeline that was created upload it into the A3. This is designed to be kept at a high level for now. The fifth step is to refer to what is needed to make the recommendations successful.
These recommendations can be listed, a process map can be added, or pictures uploaded to show the recommendations of the team. The fourth step is to review the teams’ recommendations for change. If it makes sense to show the data, upload a photo or chart. The key here is to tell the story of the data. The third step is to review what/ how the team document or researched for data. Some teams may want to display this by adding the process map into the A3. The second step is to review the team’s current state map or process and document the current challenges. You can have fun and add photos of your team members into the A3. The first step is to refer to the team’s project documentation and utilize this to document the background, Opportunity Statement, and goals. You do not always have the time to show all the information in all the team’s boards, so this A3 highlights the great accomplishment of the team. This A3 can be used to promote the Lean efforts at summits or seminars, leadership meetings, social media, newsletters and more. This template is designed to take that information and condense it down to one document. Often there are multiple boards that are utilised to document a team’s journey such as: The Lean A3 Template is a way to highlight a team’s journey through a Lean project.
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