Obeya (from Japanese Ōbeya 大部屋 "large room") is a team spirit improvement tool at an administrative level, originating from a long history of learning & improving. It is considered a component of lean manufacturing. Obeya objectives are rapid decision-making, reduction in rework and reconsiderations, and reduction in unnecessary discussions. The Obeya Association enumerates 11 Obeya Principles that define Obeya and guide its improvement. The earliest notion of concept is believed to be the Analects of Confucius nearly 2500 years ago (China, 206 BC–220 AD). The use of Obeya rooms has been proven by many companies to be successful.
Description The Obeya can be understood as a team spirit improvement tool at an administrative level. It originated from a long history of learning & improving. Often associated in product development, an Obeya room can also be a place for software development, a command center, managing new business strategy, workflow and project management. This tool forces people to work together without distractions and creates a great atmosphere to generate new ideas. Conceptually akin to a traditional "war room", an Obeya will contain visually engaging charts and graphs depicting such information as program timing, milestones and progress-to-date and countermeasures to existing technical or scheduling issues. It is considered a component of lean manufacturing and in particular the Toyota Production System. A variety of different analogies have been drawn between an Obeya and other real life systems and structures. One such example is the bridge of a ship, where many different crewmates come together to support the operation of a complex entity by allowing all roles to be connected and understood. Obeya has been described as "the brain of the system". During the product and process development, all individuals involved in managerial planning meet in a "great room" to speed up communication and decision-making. This is intended to increase efficiency and bring a better flow to the project, as well as an understanding of one's role within the cycle of the process.
Objectives The objectives behind an Obeya are rapid decision-making, reduction in rework and reconsiderations, and reduction in unnecessary discussions. Moreover, it is a method where multiple information sources are combined for optimal decision making, involving multiple parties simultaneously. This makes it an excellent governing model for organizations that work Agile, Lean, or plan to do so. The Obeya model is an inclusive organizational model as opposed to the hierarchical organizational models. So, an Obeya makes it possible to "design" for collaboration. In an Obeya strategy meets execution and (quite literally) the people involved in these subjects respectfully engage in conversation with each other. Obeya's objectives involve helping to answer the following questions:
Are we connected? Is everyone working on the same things? Are we meeting delivery/deadlines? Do our decisions reach everyone? Are we looking at the right information? What problems do we want to solve? Are the right people involved?
The 11 Obeya Principles Set up by the Obeya Association, the 11 Obeya Principles define Obeya and guide its improvement – regardless of what methodology or approach you choose for your Obeya setup. Developed, used, tried and tested by the founders of the Obeya Association; Dolf Reijnders and Bart Bongers, as well as other Obeya practitioners worldwide; the 11 Obeya Principles serve as guiding star for all that is Obeya related.
About the Obeya Principles There are common traits and characteristics that are shared by most Obeya that are represented in the 11 Obeya Principles. The Obeya Principles collect and synthesise these characteristics and aid best practice sharing. They are meant to guide Obeya use and development. The Obeya Principles provide a common language and a conceptual foundation of Obeya. An Obeya means to work across 4 quadrants: Mindset, Alignment, Workspace and Content. The 11 Principles further define how to approach work in an Obeya in every quadrant. The relative order of the separate Principles are regardless of their relevance. The combination of the principles with the roles Obeya Builders and Obeya Hosts provide a solid framework to approach Obeya. It provides grip in your Obeya setup without loss of flexibility. Mindset
1. People come together in the Obeya to respectfully see, learn & act on vital information 2. People are committed to engage in continuous improvement, resolving obstacles along the way Alignment
3. In the Obeya, we communicate a strong sense of purpose 4. Purpose is recognizably tied to our organizational strategy through meaningful objectives 5. The Obeya connects strategy to execution with visible orientation on customer experience 6. The Obeya meetings have a rhythm in sync with the operational heartbeat of the organization Workspace
7. The Obeya visuals provide a logical and practical information and conversation flow 8. The Obeya reflects a good understanding of the flow of work from start to delivery 9. The Obeya is an attractive and available area, in proximity to the workfloor Content
10. In the Obeya, we use analytics-driven-evidence to make business decisions. 11. Data owners ensure information is easy to consume, readily available, up to date, and visually attractive
History
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