3 Things You Can Do with Lean Data

by Dan Connery | May 16, 2015

If you can measure it, you can manage it.

If you’re practicing lean construction, you know you’ll get the most from it when you generate the following three key metrics:

1. Planned percent complete: Empower people with consistent workflows.
Accurate PPC metrics make it easy to weigh the number of tasks completed against the number of committed tasks. The data help you make sure your project stays on course and team members are being employed to best effect.

2. Variances: Make waste a one-time thing.
Find out what factors prevented an assignment from coming to fruition as promised. Staying on top of your variances helps you identify recurring issues before they swerve the project off course. This is the spirit of continuous improvement.

3. Constraints: Bolster your project’s value.
Keeping your project info accurate and in-depth is the first step to navigating constraints. Anticipate constraints so you’re ready for what’s to come.

The key to obtaining this data is transfer information from sticky notes to spreadsheets. If your spreadsheets aren’t unapologetically up-to-date, the results unravel.

If you are using a spreadsheet to manage data, visibility into the spreadsheet is often limited to the one person responsible for keeping everything up-to-date. And, when you get busy (and when are you not busy?), it’s easy for data entry go by the wayside.

Recognizing the value of up-to-date spreadsheets, some companies invest in extra staff to assist. Another way to have accurate data in hand is to invest in software that automatically translates movements of cards on a screen to the data needed for PPC, variance, and constraint metrics.

The advantage of software is that algorithms don’t forget, they don’t fat-finger the data entry, and they don’t get too busy to update a spreadsheet.

Newforma® LeanPlanner visual planning software, powered by LeanKit, automatically logs data as you move cards from “to do” to “doing” to “done.” No more data entry. No more delays. And pristine, current metrics!

Lean data help you keep projects on track, on time, and on budget. If you’re challenged to maintain your spreadsheets, email answers@newforma.com to ask about LeanPlanner software.