Making Work Visible: Exposing and Optimising Flow

Overview
Making Work Visible explains why much of the work in knowledge-based organisations remains invisible and how this hampers productivity. It provides concrete techniques for visualising work, limiting work-in-progress, and optimising flow using lean and Kanban principles.

Key Takeaways

• Identify and surface hidden work to create shared awareness.
• Use visual management boards to track work items and reduce bottlenecks.
• Apply limiting WIP and flow metrics to improve delivery speed and quality.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement through feedback loops.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers and technical leads seeking better team visibility.
• Product owners and Scrum Masters implementing Kanban.
• CTOs and VP-Engineering looking to increase organisational throughput.
• Software developers interested in personal productivity and flow.

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Kanban
• Lean Thinking
• Flow Metrics (cycle time, lead time, throughput)