A3 Dojo: Share and Discuss A3s with Other Lean Thinkers

Message: I always call the countermeasures experiments, as this is what they are.

You don't know that the countermeasure is going to work.

We've had problems where managers were unwilling so sign off work, as the countermeasures were presented as being without doubt the answer to the problem.

They need to be presented as experiments, and you need choices, so that if the experiment fails, you have other options. This is the gaining agreement part.

You need to create a culture, where you are not frightened to experiment, and also not blamed for failure. You should also be able to learn from failure. Most of the time, you will be unable to prove that the experiment will make a difference, so you need this culture to get things moving.

Message: Thank you so much for sharing this guide. I am working on my 1st A3 and this will be very helpful. I will send any feedback as well.

Message: Michael,

Thanks for the reply and thoughts. Its good to think about your suggestion of using 'countermeasure' and 'experiment' interchangeably. With the right presentation, I agree experiment is a great descriptor. 'Countermeasure' is very often used in most readings and teachings on lean, so we've chosen that word in lieu of 'solution'.

Good luck on your work to change cultures and develop people.

~Kyle

Message: Crystal,

I hope the guide is useful to you. Please be sure to offer any constructive criticism. Our last change was color-coding the sections to relate to the PDCA circle (suggested by our CEO) and I thought it a great change.


Blessings,
Kyle

Message: HI Kyle,
Your visual of the PDCA is very nice. It's helfpul to have something for your organization to use as a guide for their thinking.

My only feedback would be that some problems that we tackle tend to be larger in nature, it has been my experience that if you dont have some level of "breaking down" the problem into smaller pieces, the larger more nebulous problems can be too much for one A3.

For example with a larger problem you may have 10 or more root causes. This situation can be challenging with trying to address and measure that many issues within one A3. If the problem / gap is broken down into smaller pieces, it allows and more narrowly focused root cause and countermeasure implementation on the right side.

You can easily add a breakdown phase to your PDCA within your Problem Situation when you are clarifying the problem/current situation. This would be my only feedback based on my experience working at Toyota and with other companies that the larger issues are solved more effective this way. Thanks Tracey

Message: Very interesting. I hadn't thought of this before. My first A3 had too many root cause issues on it that I wanted to address. My using a "Fish Bone Diagram" to break down my issue into many root causes, I'll be able to identify many roots and develop several A3s. Thank you all for the discussion.

Message: Tracey,

Thanks for the feedback. Your point about spawning other A3s is right in line with what we've experienced as well. It might be good to add some examples of Action Items assignments (many of which could be the creation of daughter A3s). Currently, this is what guides our quality department on their issue work--the 'Mother A3' lists the top three main issue categories and then each category gets its own A3.

You've got me thinking about a good way to show this possible outcome in our guide...

Great work on this forum!

~Kyle

Message: Thanks Kyle. I shall print off a copy and study and feedback comments. John Shook's "Managing to Learn" is an excellent book. A very worthwhile purchase for me. I have learned so much from it already to guide my own (early) attempts at A3 thinking.
Good luck! Bill (Shrewsbury, United Kingdom)