#80-Lean Principle: Respect People

Respecting the people in your organization has many implications regarding the way the environment is created, and the way the work within is conducted.  This episode outlines how this respect is reflected in both manufacturing and in automating a business process.

Transcript

Lean Principle: Respect People 

The efficiency that Lean promises certainly comes from the elimination of waste, delays, and the emphasis on the flow of value moving quickly through the system. However, underlying all of this is the essential concept of respecting the people who are doing the work. 

How does this respect manifest itself? Manufacturing is a physical process whereas developing business automation is an intellectual activity. Because of this difference, the concept of respecting people plays out in different ways. 

As I mentioned earlier when I outlined the notion of the Andon cord, that anyone on the manufacturing line can stop the process when a defect or other flaw is reported, indicates a high level of respect. Stopping a production line can be extremely costly, and in allowing any worker to apply their judgment in taking that action indicates that they can be trusted to make good decisions. 

But since manufacturing is, as I said, physical, this also means attending to the physical well-being of those who work in the environment. Safe working conditions, proper safety training, providing essential safety equipment, and investments in continuous Improvement all reflect this trust. 

Creating the software that will automate a business process is a purely intellectual process. So, the respect that lean stipulates is reflected more as intellectual respect. It means that the developers have the charter to be able to question the clarity of their requirements, the quality of their architecture and design, and to be able to decide when legacy code requires refactoring in order to prevent waste. Also, developers should be able to influence decisions about their process, the role and frequency of testing, and the availability of key stakeholders to validate their work frequently.  As giving the workers on a production line the ability to stop production, which can be enormously expensive, requires that they be respected, similarly investing in the elements of devops that will allow developers to function properly represents the willingness to trust them that the investment this will require will be worth it.

Furthermore, this respect should flow horizontally as well. Developers should rely on the wisdom that testers bring to the process. The database administrators should be willing to communicate and collaborate with the development team. User experience experts should be consulted early in the process to ensure that the product is usable. Those who will deploy and maintain the software should be included early in the decision-making process, to ensure that the work that is done will not impede their core responsibilities.

Finally, in both manufacturing and in automation, the concept of respect flowing vertically and horizontally everywhere in the organization means that the career path of each individual within it is sustainable and humane.

It is, quite simply, the right thing to do. 

Next week I will examine the final of these seven lean principles, “Optimize the Whole.”