Tame your Work Flow

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Tame your Work Flow

How Dr. Goldratt of "The Goal" would apply the Theory of Constraints to rethink knowledge-work management (First Edition)

About the Book

This book describes advanced applications of the TameFlow Approach - a pragmatic systems-thinking approach for creating breakthrough performance-innovation in knowledge-intensive digital-businesses. You will learn how to apply the Theory of Constraints to knowledge-work, and in particular to handle coordination, synchronization and prioritization in "PEST" environments, where you have multiple Projects or Products; multiple Events or deadlines; multiple Stakeholders; and multiple Teams.

Focus is on producing business outcomes and customer value with tangible bottom line results. The TameFlow Approach provides business agility to change direction at speed and at scale by dramatically improving organizational performance beyond that of mainstream Agile or "agile-like" methods and frameworks (Kanban, Scrum, SAFe, LeSS, Nexus, Scrum@Scale, Enterprise Scrum, etc.), and providing new means to tame the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) of modern knowledge-work.

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    • Management
    • Agile
    • Innovation Management
    • Leadership
    • Lean
    • Organizational Psychology
    • Product Management
    • Project Management
    • Quality Management
    • Startups
    • Teamwork

About the Author

Steve Tendon
Steve Tendon

I accelerate business performance in collaborative knowledge-work without compromising humanity, sustainability, or quality, through patterns, mental models and emerging technologies.

I am the author of "The Book of TameFlow: Theory of Constraints Applied to Knowledge-Work Management," among many others.

Reader Testimonials

Eli Schragenheim
Eli Schragenheim

CEO of Elyakim Management Systems, author of “Throughput Economics, Making Good Management Decisions.”

TameFlow offers a combined approach of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and the Kanban Method, and it challenges the mental models of the reader along the way. When this is directed at the constraint for the growth of the entire organization I rationally conclude that reading the book is a very beneficial start to deal with the source of the pain.

Daniel S. Vacanti
Daniel S. Vacanti

CEO AcionableAgile, author of “Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability, An Introduction”

Flow is unintuitive; much of what is talked about in the Lean-Agile circles concerning flow is simply wrong. These reasons are why this book is such a critical addition to the Kanban literature.

Al Shalloway
Al Shalloway

Director, Thought Leadership for Agile at Scale Programs, the Project Management Institute

Perhaps the best way to describe “Tame your Work Flow” is that I now know I did not understand Dr Eliyahu Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints prior to reading it. Yes, I had read “The Goal” 20+ years ago. But even with reading follow up articles I missed the amazing power of the Theory of Constraints.

Corey Ladas
Corey Ladas

Author of “Scrumban: Essays on Kanban Systems for Lean Software Development,” inventor of Scrumban, Personal Kanban.

I applaud the approach of grounding everything thoroughly in the underlying theory. This book has the potential to bootstrap a correct method.

Chris Matts
Chris Matts

Transformation Lead for Global Equity Derivatives at UBS, Co-author of “Commitment: Novel about Managing Project Risk”

Buy this book, you will get your investment back from the first chapter alone! The rest is a bonus.

Robert Newbold
Robert Newbold

CEO at ProChain Solutions, Inc.; former Director of Software Development, The Goldratt Institute; author.

This book contains information every manager needs to understand.

Bob Sproul
Bob Sproul

Owner, Focus and Leverage Consulting; Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt; TOC Jonah; author.

This is one of the best books I have ever had the privilege of reading and I mean that! Just when I thought that one chapter was the best in the book, the next chapter took its place. I will be re-reading this book again and again and will advise everyone that I know to purchase this gem.

Christophe Achouiantz
Christophe Achouiantz

Lean/Agile Transformation Agent and Coach at Crisp

An impressive effort! Steve and Daniel rigorously apply the Theory of Constraints to the problem of Flow Efficiency for knowledge work in a VUCA context. In search for the elusive constraint, they discover and explain in details new powerful patterns, like Full-Kitting or MOVES, that can profoundly improve any existing Kanban systems. Moreover, what makes this book unique is that they don’t stop at improving delivery systems, they also introduce Throughput Accounting.

Curtis Hibbs
Curtis Hibbs

Agile Transformation Coach and former Chief Agile Evangelist at Boeing; author.

If you have ever wondered why Agile transformations result in lackluster outcomes, this is the book for you. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this book should be REQUIRED READING FOR ALL AGILE COACHES! Even though I already knew Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, I don’t practice its tenets every day and don’t have its principles internalized as I should. This book provides one of the clearest presentations of the Theory of Constraints.

Daniel Couture
Daniel Couture

CIO at UNICEF and former CIO at Zoetis and former CIO at Pfizer for several Global Business Units

This book provides a different look at workflow management. After having lived through countless - as well as fruitless – Continuous Improvement transformations as a CIO, I can only recommend to all C-level executives to take a few hours to read this fantastic book and embrace the challenges that lie ahead with optimism.

Johanna Rothman
Johanna Rothman

Consultant and writer.

If you’re trying to create an agile culture, do yourself a favor and read “Tame your Work Flow.” From the explicit mental models to understanding how flow works in an organization, to the whole issue of accounting and money, this book helps you understand what you might - and might not - do to create your business agility culture.

Daniel Gagnon
Daniel Gagnon

Disciplined Agile Fellow and Organizational Agility Advisor

This book will leave Agilists of all stripes - as well as anyone with an interest in knowledge-work - with a sense that here at last is a higher order of thinking, one that goes beyond the usual how-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin type of casuistry and semantic diffusion to which agile seems to have mostly fallen prey. Read it to challenge yourself and perhaps take away some applicable ideas - there are many here.

Clarke “the bottleneck guy” Ching
Clarke “the bottleneck guy” Ching

Clarke “the bottleneck guy” Ching Author of Amazon best seller “The Bottleneck Rules” and “Rolling Rocks Downhill.”

Eli Goldratt would have been delighted with this book. Steve and Daniel have elegantly extended his work into the world of knowledge-work. It’s a must read.

Daniel Hernández
Daniel Hernández

Scrum Master at Kneat Solutions

“Tame your Work Flow” represents the first and only holistic attempt to gear knowledge-work organizations to high performance.

Hermanni Hyytiälä
Hermanni Hyytiälä

Principal Consultant at Gofore, keynote speaker, writer, thinker.

I think this book is what we really need after Agile, TOC and Kanban to improve the effectiveness of knowledge-work in our organisations.

Etienne Du Plooy
Etienne Du Plooy

Theory of Constraints Jonah, Author of “Throughput Accounting Techniques, Maximize the profit mix of your company.”

The TameFlow Approach is focused and directly impacts where improvement needed. My biggest takeaway from this book is how to stay focused in PEST environments with TameFlow’s Throughput Accounting measurements.

Emiliano Sutil
Emiliano Sutil

Project Manager, Scrum Master, Agile Coach, DevOps Expert at XERIDIA

This book - Tame your Work Flow - is one of those books that have the characteristics of what I consider as the original Agile Revolution: Question preconceived ideas, break with old paradigms, represents new challenges and mental models… in short, it is a true revolution. It has that spark!

John Coleman
John Coleman

Independent agility coach, trainer and strategist.

TameFlow is Kanban for grown-ups, for teams, for teams of teams, for organizations. It’s not just about optimizing flow; it’s about optimizing throughput in the pursuit of positive impact. “Tame your Work Flow” has got to be a top 10 read for any self-respecting 20’s knowledge-worker.

Kurt Häusler
Kurt Häusler

Kanban Coaching Professional, Enterprise Lean Kanban and Scaled Agile Consultant.

Steve and Daniel have written a great book about knowledge-work management here, packed with practical information drawn from the Theory of Constraints that seems especially useful to Kanban users. Like Reinertsen’s “Flow,” this book is densely packed without much padding. Highlights include the chapters on Throughput Accounting and the actionable patterns in the back of the book.

“Dr. Lisa” Lang
“Dr. Lisa” Lang

resident Science of Business, TOCICO Certified Expert, TOCICO Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, TOCICO Board of Directors, Author.

In “Tame your Work Flow” Steve and Daniel explain some of the traps of Cost Accounting and some of the benefits of the alternative, better solution – Throughput Accounting. This basic understanding will serve project managers well and “Tame your Work Flow” should be on every project managers reading list.

Marcus Hammarberg
Marcus Hammarberg

Author of “Kanban in Action”

This book is packed with experience, tested practices and ways of applying the principles for not only Agile, Lean and Kanban but maybe foremost, the Theory of Constraints. It is very nice to see this applied in a real-world setting and see how much great arguments and solid advice that can be deduced from the (relatively) simple principles and practices. Many good tools and visualizations are being shown and explained throughout the book.

Jerzy Stawicki
Jerzy Stawicki

Managing Partner JS Project, PhD Organization and Management, Management 3.0, Kanban/Agile, OKR, PM consultant & trainer.

This book strives to combine Kanban and the Theory of Constraints in one seamless approach. Can it be done? Yes! Steve and Daniel have done it. They focus on the best of these two worlds and link them together in a very practical way, especially for multi-project environments. The result? A fascinating book, clearly written, which you read almost as Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled detective novel.

Joseph Hurtado
Joseph Hurtado

Software Engineering Manager, Enterprise Agile Coach, Tech. Program Manager, SAFe SPC / Scrum CSM / Kanban Trainer.

“Tame your Work Flow” is an unusual book, it manages to push the borders of Kanban towards the world of business-wide improvements, inspired by Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints. Steve Tendon and Daniel Doiron deliver an enjoyable, innovative approach to improve any business area, or even whole companies. Unlike other pre-packaged approaches, theirs is a goal driven method, that is sure to improve any company. It’s an enjoyable, original, and enlightening book. A must read!

Mario Latreille
Mario Latreille

Founder and Managing Director Ludu Consulting Partners, Enterprise agility facilitator, mentor and coach, Fellow, Government Transformation Institute.

I’ve been looking for principles and concepts to further evolve my clients’ agility and throughput of value, without frameworks. “Tame your Work Flow” provides great insight and ideas for the next level(s). I’ll be using the material in this book for several years to come, as I imagine many others will. Real thought leadership is rare - thanks to Steve and Daniel for providing it.

Martin Nantel
Martin Nantel

Senior Business Analyst, Project Manager, Scrum Master, TameFlow CKP and LSSGB.

The book “Tame your Work Flow” is exactly that. The answer to your questions. It is the result of experience, professional maturity and the understanding of common problems encountered and how to mitigate them and innovate in a direction never explored before. The Theory of Constraints, Throughput Accounting, the Wait Time versus the Touch Time, the Drum Buffer Rope and many more approaches will take you to another level, a higher level, a level you have never reached before.

Matt Barcomb
Matt Barcomb

Founder & Principal Consultant, Intentionally Adaptive - Seasoned Product Leader who enjoys growing lean-agile organizations.

Honestly, this book surprised me. Why? Because I’ve been reading books about and consulting on Flow, Lean, Systems, Kanban, etc. for over 10 years so I didn’t expect to learn much. But how Steve and Daniel blend these concepts and present the interactions between them gave me food for thought on multiple occasions. That being said, it’s also a great read for someone just beginning their exploration into the ocean of these ideas. There’s truly something for everyone here.

Michael Küsters
Michael Küsters

CEO of Intelygence GmbH

Having been involved in Organizational Change Management and Agile Transitions for a long time, it’s utterly refreshing to see such a profound source of inspiration. The authors have connected critical bits and pieces with formerly missing links to go far beyond where typical “Agile Approaches” would take us. This book provides a clear way to break past the flawed assumptions and mental barriers inherent to many of today’s “Agile” framework implementations.

Matthew Croker
Matthew Croker

Agile Coach, founder of faceofscrum.org

The book has thrown open the doors of my imagination on the possible applications of the Theory of Constraints through the TameFlow Approach.

Russell Eirich
Russell Eirich

Senior Scrum Master/Coach (CSP), Scrum Management Office, Health Learning, Research & Practice, Wolters Kluwer.

I am loving this book. It is pretty big. But I have to admit, it is great and each and every page is highlight worthy.

Sanjeev Gupta
Sanjeev Gupta

Founder and CEO of Realization Technologis, TOCICO Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

This is a serious book, for organizations and managers serious about improving their software delivery or DevOps processes. Not an easy read, but so what!

Savio Nevile Spiteri
Savio Nevile Spiteri

Agile Coach

What really strikes me in TameFlow is how through the use of shared “Mental Models”, true organisational alignment is achieved - what the authors call “Unity of Purpose” - and organisations are able to learn how to focus on what really matters and achieve meaningful and lasting improvements through systematic and methodical approaches. Make no mistake - this is not an easy read, but one well worth your attention if you really intend to succeed in any change initiative you are about to embark on.

Stefan Willuda
Stefan Willuda

Lead Agile Coach at Idealo Internet GmbH

The book shows easily and clearly that constraints management can and should be applied to knowledge-work and how to pursue it step by step. The authors challenge well-established mental models on how organizations may be ‘managed’ and offers alternatives approaches that enable higher performance and customer satisfaction without strain or stress. This is not mainstream management literature, it’s new thinking for a complex world.

Stuart Burchill
Stuart Burchill

Enterprise Strategy & Transformation Consultant / Executive Advisory Services / Lean Agile Coach & Trainer, CTT, SAFe-SPC, CSP, CSM, PMP, BEng

Along comes TameFlow - an evidence-based, light-touch, laser-precision approach able to both diagnose and cure organizational illnesses. This light-weight sniper approach to finding constraints and eradicating them can be applied at every level of the organization, and can result in a win literally within hours of targeted application. The beauty is that these tools are also timeless, and will therefore retain their razor-sharp edge indefinitely.

Tom Cagley
Tom Cagley

President Tom Cagley & Associates; author; editor of the Software Process and Measurement Cast (SPaM Cast).

The only higher praise I have for a book than “it is useful” is “it is very useful.” Steve Tendon and Daniel Doiron provide the readers with an actionable path to improving flow. “Tame your Work Flow” is a book that is on my must own, must read and must carry when helping clients improve value delivery.

Vasco Duarte
Vasco Duarte

Managing Partner at Oikosofy, #NoEstimates author, Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast host.

This book goes into the nitty gritty of what Flow is and why it provides (when improved) massive Business Value! Simple techniques and practices like postponing commitment and limiting work in progress become obviously good ideas when you read this book! As a bonus you get loads of stories about how certain patterns contribute to improved flow! A must-read!

Minton Brooks
Minton Brooks

Enterprise flow consultant; Agile coach; credentialed in Kanban Method, XSCALE, Okaloa FlowLab, AgendaShift and the Scaled Agile Framework.

With “Tame Your Work Flow”, Tendon and Doiron raise the bar on Agile - the ability to change direction at speed. The Tameflow Approach brings accelerated and dramatic enterprise business improvements. It is not yet broadly used in the industry, but it deserves to be for the sake of making business more humane and the Agile market more sane!

Troy Magennis
Troy Magennis

President, Focused Objective LLC

Theory of Constraints can be boring. “Tame your Work Flow” by Steve and Daniel makes TOC practical and easy to understand - and (almost) fun. Filled with actual techniques to observe and improve the economics of delivery, this book is essential to making the right decisions about flow and improvement.

Wolfram Müller
Wolfram Müller

Founder of BlueDolphin

As a co-author of the first book of the TameFlow-series, I really had to have a close look at what Steve and Daniel were doing here! This is not a book – this is a firework of breakthrough ideas! I tried counting them, and found on average two worthy ideas per page. For every page of the whole one book. Amazing! So, for all managers in the world, this is a must read!

Table of Contents

  • About this Book
    • Free Bonuses!
    • What is this book about?
    • Is this book for you?
    • What you need to know before reading this book
    • Scope of applicability the TameFlow Approach
    • Relevance of this book
    • How this book is organized
      • Part 1 - Getting More for Nothing with Flow Efficiency
      • Part 2 - Acting on the Archimedean Lever that Boosts Performance: the Constraint
      • Part 3 - Making Accounting Make Money
      • Part 4 - Maximizing Business Value in Knowledge-Work
      • Part 5 - Preparing for High Performance Execution and Governance
      • Part 6 - Achieving High Performance Execution and Governance
      • Part 7 - Igniting High-Performance
    • Credits
    • Typographical Conventions
    • Disclaimers
      • Author Views
      • Quotations
    • Testimonials
    • Acknowledgements
    • Dedication
  • Forewords
    • Foreword by Eli Schragenheim
    • Foreword by Daniel S. Vacanti
  • Introduction
    • Introduction by Steve
    • Introduction by Daniel
  • Prologue
    • The Story of Herbie
    • Herbie and Your Work Flow
    • The Five Focusing Steps
      • Step 1: Identify the Constraint - “Herbieeeee!”
      • Step 2: Exploit the Constraint - “C’mon Herbie! Speed up!”
      • Step 3: Subordinate to the Constraint - “Everybody stays behind Herbie!”
      • Step 4: Elevate the Constraint - “Everybody carries a piece of Herbie’s gear!”
      • Step 5: Repeat!
      • The Unstated Step 0
      • The Extra Step 6
    • The Secret of all Steps
    • Daniel Gagnon says…
  • PART 1—Getting More for Nothing with Flow Efficiency
    • John Coleman says…
  • 1—The Power of Explicit Mental Models
    • What is this TameFlow, anyway?
    • What is Flow and Throughput?
    • Decision-Making through Explicit Mental Models
    • A Mental Model to Explain the Business Value of Flow
    • The Desire to Increase Performance
    • Increasing Performance through Effort Bears Many Downsides
    • The Rate of Demand is Important Too
    • The Difference Between Demand and Delivery is Even More Important
    • Why Companies are Always Overburdened
    • The Hideous Effects of Multitasking
    • The Business Value of Matching Delivery to Demand
    • Thinking about the Demand Line instead of the Delivery Line
    • The Quest for Stability and Predictability
    • Unintended Consequences of Good Intentions
    • Takeaways
    • Chris Matts says…
    • Troy Magennis says…
  • 2—Postpone Commitment and Limit Work in Process
    • Limiting Work in Process
    • Postpone Commitment - But We Cannot Wait!
    • Takeaways
    • Kurt Häusler says…
  • 3—Flow Efficiency, Little’s Law and Economic Impact
    • Touch Time and Wait Time
      • Controlling the Wait Time
      • Getting the Flow Efficiency Calculation Right
      • Wait Time and Options
    • The Perspective of the Work Item
      • Thinking about Touch Time and Wait Time in Practice
    • Work Faster or Deliver Sooner?
    • What is Flow Efficiency?
      • Flow Efficiency, Multitasking and Other Time Snatchers
      • Beware of Sprints - A Big Time Snatcher
    • What is Little’s Law?
      • Assumptions of Little’s Law
      • Stability and Mental Models
      • Little’s Law and the Theory of Constraints
      • Little’s Law and Flow Efficiency
    • Economic Impact
    • Takeaways
    • Marcus Hammarberg says…
  • 4—Utility of Flawed Mental Models
    • Flawed Mental Models are not Necessarily Bad
    • A Good Wrong Reason to Accept a Flawed Mental Model
      • Misunderstanding the Effect of Wait Time on Little’s Law
      • Alleged Economic Benefits for the Wrong Reasons
      • Why the Flawed Model has Utility
    • The Shortcomings of the Model
      • Reducing Wait Time does not Increase Throughput (Directly)
      • The Real Beneficial “Side Effect” of Improving on Wait Time
      • The Importance of Proper Metrics
    • Effects and Limits of “Deliver Sooner”
      • Reducing Wait Time vs Touch Time
      • Effect of Removing Multitasking
      • Overall Effect of Reducing Wait Time
      • When to Switch from Wait Time to Touch Time
    • Improving Flow Efficiency is a Low Hanging Fruit
    • Takeaways
    • Daniel Couture says…
  • PART 2—Acting on the Archimedean Lever that Boosts Performance: the Constraint
    • Al Shalloway says…
  • 5—Where to Focus Improvement Efforts
    • On Bottlenecks and Constraints
      • Bottlenecks are not Constraints
      • Constraints are not only Bottlenecks - There are Other Kinds of Constraints
    • Where to Improve, Where to Invest
    • Takeaways
    • Robert Newbold says…
    • Corey Ladas says…
  • PART 3—Making Accounting Make Money
    • Bob Sproull says…
    • Russell Eirich says…
  • 6—Introduction to Throughput Accounting and Culture
    • Kanban Models and Culture
    • Accounting Conflicts
    • Smart Money at the Constraint
    • Unanimity or Consensus Based decision-making?
    • Throughput Accounting Basics
    • Takeaways
    • Johanna Rothman says…
  • 7—Accounting F(r)iction
    • The Story of Daniel at TRUSTNEWS
    • Cost Control and Flow Accounting at TRUSTNEWS
    • Khenbish is Back!
    • Absence of Constraints Management
    • Expertise Mix between in house and consultants
    • The Throughput Accounting Report
    • Takeaways
    • “Dr. Lisa” Lang says…
    • Clarke Ching says…
  • 8—Show Me the Money
    • The Financial Throughput Report
    • The “GOAL” Line
    • Throughput Accounting - Pain Relief for the C-Levels
    • Takeaways
    • Savio Neville Spiteri says…
  • PART 4—Maximizing Business Value in Knowledge-Work
    • Stefan Willuda says…
  • 9—Constraints in the Work Flow and in the Work Process
    • VUCA and PEST
    • Constraint in the Work Flow and Constraint in the Work Process
      • Where is the Constraint?
    • The “Painting Gadgets” Example
      • From Work Flow to Work Process
    • Shape and Form of Demand
    • Relation to Special Cause Variation and Common Cause Variation
    • Takeaways
    • Mario Latreille says…
  • 10—Understanding PEST Environments
    • Overview of the TameFlow Simulation
    • Simulating a PEST Environment: Initial Setup
    • The Work Flow and Work Process for a Single Project and Four Teams
    • Round 1 - The Warm Up
    • Round 2 - First Estimation
    • Round 3 - Two Projects and Conflicts of Interests Immediately Emerge
      • Skipping the Line Becomes the Norm
      • Bonuses, Rewards and Budgets Create Conflicts of Interests
    • Round 4 - Ten Projects and Three Product Owners
    • Takeaways
    • Etienne Du Plooy says…
  • 11—Finding the Constraint in PEST Environments
    • Impact of the Shape and Form of Demand
    • Expose all (Virtual) Queues of Work Load without WIP Limit Distortions
    • Focus on the Constraint in the Work Flow First, then on the Constraint in the Work Process
    • Takeaways
    • Hermanni Hyytiälä says…
    • Sanjeev Gupta says…
  • 12—Drum-Buffer-Rope Scheduling
    • Reflections on Column WIP Limits
    • Introducing Drum-Buffer-Rope in the Work Flow
      • Drum-Buffer-Rope in Practice
    • Drum-Buffer-Rope Portfolio Kanban Boards
      • Location vs. Visualization of the Constraint in the Work Flow
      • The Minimum Number of Work Items in the Buffer
    • The Constraint in the Work Process of the Constraint in the Work Flow
    • Takeaways
    • Matthew Croker says…
  • 13—Portfolio Prioritization and Selection in PEST Environments
    • Prioritizing for Business Value
    • Quantifying the Work Load
    • Economic Prioritization and Selection via Throughput Rate
    • Cost of Delay and CD3
      • Further Notes on Cost of Delay and CD3
    • The Need for Estimation Practices
      • Estimation/Forecast of duration, not of due dates
      • T-Shirt Sizing
      • Probabilistic Forecasting with Flow Metrics
      • Advanced Application: Estimate the Flow Time on the Constraint alone
    • Takeaways
    • Emiliano Sutil says…
  • PART 5—Preparing for High Performance Execution and Governance
    • Wolfram Müller says…
  • 14—Flow Efficiency, DBR and TameFlow Kanban Boards
    • New Types of Kanban Boards
    • Flow Efficiency Board
      • Full-Kitting
      • Explicit Waiting for and In Process Columns
    • Managing Flowbacks
      • Flow Efficiency Inflation with Flowbacks and Conventional Kanban Boards
      • Flowbacks with Flow Efficiency Boards
      • How to Manage Flowbacks in TameFlow
      • Flow Efficiency Boards and Complex Work Flows
    • Drum-Buffer-Rope Board
      • Using Flow Efficiency Boards to Identify the Constraint in the Work Process
      • From Flow Efficiency Boards to DBR Boards
      • Buffer Zones and Buffer Signals
    • The TameFlow Throughput Management Board
    • Revisiting the Portfolio Board
    • Acclamation of Idleness
      • The Unresolvable Conflict between Idleness and Cost Accounting
      • Cultural Impact of the TameFlow Boards
      • Psychology of Wait States
    • Takeaways
    • Curtis Hibbs says…
  • 15—Outcomes, Values and Efforts in PEST Environments
    • The Virtue of Minimalism: the Minimal Outcome-Value Effort (MOVE)
    • What is a MOVE?
      • A Unit of Business Outcome
      • A Unit of Throughput Value
      • A Unit of Costing and Reporting
      • A Unit of Work and Delivery
    • A Small Target-Scope Work Package
    • The Balance of Two Opposing Forces
    • Unit of Commitment
    • Mechanism to Limit Work in Process
    • Risk Managed via Time and not Scope Adjustments
      • A Note on Agile
    • Managing Scope Variation
      • Target-Scope is not Fixed-Scope
    • A MOVE View of the Simulation
    • Takeaways
    • Martin Nantel says…
  • 16—Introduction to Execution Management Signals
    • The Logic of Critical-Chain Project Management (CCPM)
      • Point Estimates vs. Probability Distributions
    • Critical Chain Planning
    • The Critical Chain Plan
    • The Critical Chain Buffer
    • Buffer Zones
    • Buffer Consumption and Buffer Burn Rate
    • Execution Management Signals
    • Visual Execution Management and MOVEs
      • The MOVE Buffer
      • Visual Execution Management
    • From One Team and One MOVE to One Team and Many MOVEs
    • From One Team and Many MOVEs to Many Teams with Many MOVEs
    • Takeaways
    • Michael Küsters says…
  • 17—Introduction to Full-Kitting
    • Introduction to Full-Kitting
    • We don’t have time for this!
      • Capitalizing on Excess Capacity
      • Seizing a Zero-Cost Benefit
      • Improving the Work Process
    • We Cannot Do Big Up-Front Design in a VUCA World and be Agile
    • Dedicated Roles
    • The Nature of Full-Kitting
    • Simulating Full-Kitting on the Client-Side
    • Simulating Missing Information
    • Round 1 - Heads or Tails as Bearer of Information
    • Round 2 - Avoiding Flowbacks
    • Round 3 - Simulating Full-Kitting on the Team Side
    • Takeaways
    • Jerzy Stawicki says…
  • PART 6—Achieving High Performance Execution and Governance
    • Vasco Duarte Says…
  • 18—Full-Kitting as Ongoing Executive Activity
    • Failure Demand
    • The Full-Kitting Work Flow
    • The Backlog Column
    • The Full-Kit Column
    • The Prioritization Column
    • The Ranking Column
    • The Committed Column
    • The In Flow Column
    • Operational Full-Kitting
    • Takeaways
    • Daniel Hernández says…
  • 19—Execution Management in PEST Environments
    • Many Moving MOVEs
    • Virtual Integration Points
    • Planning with Respect to the Constraint
    • Monitoring the MOVE Buffers’ Consumptions
    • The Constraint Caused by Execution Issues
    • Full-Kitting with an Eye on the State of Execution
    • Takeaways
    • Christophe Achouiantz says…
  • 20—Operational Governance in PEST Environments
    • Constraints Everywhere!
    • Early Detection Signals
    • Focused Governance
    • The Meaning of Red
    • Overload Detection
      • Thinking is Still Required
    • Full-Kitting Revisited
    • Management by Exception - Limit Meetings
    • Management by Exception - Ad-hoc Meetings
    • Effective and Focused Standup Meetings with the TameFlow Approach
    • MOVE Reviews and Retrospectives
    • Informational Flow
    • Notes on Cadences
      • Specific Kanban Cadences
    • A Vocabulary for Thinking about Constraints
      • Constraint in the Work Flow
      • Constraint in the Work Process
      • Constraint in the Work Execution
    • Takeaways
    • Tom Cagley says…
  • PART 7—Igniting High Performance
    • Joseph Hurtado Says…
  • 21—Patterns to Get Started!
    • A Patterns Based Approach
    • Baby Steps toward Improvement
      • Pattern Network Traversal is not Stage-Gated Project Management
      • Actionable Use of Metrics
      • Iterative Process of Ongoing Improvement
    • Pattern 1 - Leave No One Behind
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 2 - One Slice at a Time
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effect
    • Pattern 3 - Set The Goal
      • The Goal
      • Critical Success factors
      • Necessary Conditions
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effect
    • Pattern 4 - Prime the Mindset
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effect
    • Pattern 5 - Measure The Ends and Have a Plot
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effect
    • Pattern 6 - Show the Work
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 7 - Show the Flow
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 8 - Show the Numbers
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 9 - Limit Work in Process
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 10 - Make MOVEs
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 11 - Forecast (or Estimate)
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 12 - Place and Use the Buffers
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 13 - Bake the Whole Cake
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 14 - Set Priorities and Sequences and Get to Full-Kitting
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 15 - Keep Feeding Herbie
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 16 - Catch the Signals
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 17 - Stand Up for a Cause
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 18 - Swarm the Block
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 19 - Bubble Baths
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effect
    • Pattern 20 - Keep Reason Logs
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 21 - Look Back at the Roots
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Pattern 22 - Become a Focused Company
      • Assignment
      • Expected Effects
    • Takeaways
    • Stuart Burchill says…
  • Epilogue - It is Never “Done!”
    • What Have we “Done?”
    • The Prevalence of Mental Models
    • Mindsets and Attitudes to Win in a VUCA World
    • Matt Barcomb says…
    • Minton Brooks says…
  • Bibliography
  • About the Authors
    • Steve Tendon
    • Daniel Doiron
  • Resources
    • Community
    • Professional Service, Executive Education and Training
    • Hyper-Productive Knowledge-Work Performance
    • The Essence of TameFlow
    • TameFlow Chronicles 2011-2015
    • TameFlow Patterns
    • Help with TameFlow
    • Free Bonuses!

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