Walking the shop or office floor with a paper and pencil to collect data and observe actual conditions is how value-stream mapping (VSM) is done. But for a long time, members of the Lean Community have been sharing these hand-drawn maps by creating their own electronic templates from scratch in various software programs. eVSM makes the process of turning hand-drawn maps into electronic ones easier and faster.

As a companion – not a substitute – to paper-and-pencil mapping, the software allows lean practitioners to easily create, modify, and disseminate electronic value-stream maps.

The new Lexicon, first published in January 2003, is 125 pages, containing 61 illustrations and 193 key terms from A3 Report to Yokoten. The Lexicon already covers such key lean enterprise terms as jidoka, kanban, kaizen, lean consumption, lean production, lean enterprise, pull production, standardized work, takt time, Toyota Production System, and value-stream mapping. It also has a simple, one-page guide to pronouncing Japanese terms. This is an electronic download version.

At the request of some of our readers we have posted the most commonly used mapping icons so that they can be downloaded for Excel spreadsheets. Please note, however, that the Institute does not advocate using computer software to map your value streams. Effective Value Stream Mapping can only be done by personal observation on the work floor with pencil and paper.