Diagnosis Model Proposal for Improvement

Opportunity in Project Management:

An Approach from the Perspective of Lean
Waste

Marcelo Silva Pereira , Marcelo Albuquerque de Oliveira ,

and Fabiana David de Oliveira Gomes

Abstract Building an approach that improves the organization’s process efficiency

aligned with results, services, and product deliveries of ongoing projects is a
growing need, especially in the post-pandemic period. Therefore, exercising the
search for improvement opportunities in the processes involving the development
teams, which are currently working remotely, is a challenge that requires ever-
greater engagement from stakeholders. The proposal of a model that provides greater
interaction between teams (remote, hybrid, or face-to-face) was the object of the
study of this research. As an alternative to approaches that help the model to identify
opportunities for process improvements, a study group from a technology company
resorted to Lean waste practices in areas of knowledge in project management. At
the first moment, the development team defines the value stream within its processes
and starts to interact via the digital board to define problems that affect its final
deliveries. After identifying the problem, the team tries to associate the problem
(s) with lean waste and later with the impacts of the problems in the areas of project
management knowledge. The development team seeks to quantify the effect of the
problems and propose an action plan to reduce the impacts of the problems identified
initially. As a result of this research, the model seeks to enhance the identification of
opportunities for improvement by the project development teams and put an end to
improving the efficiency of the organization’s actions by carrying out the action plan
defined by the team itself.

Keywords Lean Waste · Lean Project · Improvement Process

M. S. Pereira (✉) · F. D. de Oliveira Gomes

Eldorado Research Institute, Manaus, Brazil
e-mail: marcelo.pereira@eldorado.org.br
M. A. de Oliveira
Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 107
J. C. Gonçalves dos Reis et al. (eds.), Industrial Engineering and Operations
Management, Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics 431,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47058-5_10
108 M. S. Pereira et al.

1 Introduction

The search for better results led to the development of methodologies and techniques
that were applied to production environments to promote, basically, cost reduction,
increased efficiency, productivity gains, elimination of waste, and the satisfaction of
all employees chain (productive-consumer), which, in Ohno’s view [1], relates all
production elements that only increase costs without adding value. Indeed, to
improve performance, strategies based on the lean concept were widely used to
combat waste and gained notoriety over the decades, especially from seminal works
in this area, such as [2], who coined and extended the term lean manufacturing
worldwide. With the application of lean solutions in various areas of knowledge, a
new paradigm emerges from the identification of such losses and how to eliminate
them, as activities are now carried out remotely. Despite the importance and effec-
tiveness of the lean solutions employed, the period related to the Covid-19 epidemic
allowed organizations to identify new opportunities for identifying and mapping
losses due to the realization of remote activities such as those related to
overproduction, waiting time, transport, processing (excess), inventory, movement,
and manufacturing of defective products. Furthermore, it made it possible to identify
opportunities in different social sectors affected by the impact of production activ-
ities [3–5].
The need to be efficient is an ongoing demand from organizations that have
become more evident during the pandemic. In a short time, organizations needed to
adapt to a new context, adopting/creating digital methods and tools that support their
activities [6]. Such adequacy was directly responsible for several organizational and
commercial transformations, such as the adoption of employee training platforms
and safer financial transaction systems, highlighting in this context the project teams
that needed to exercise resilience and develop new skills, starting to work remotely
[7, 8]. The home office development teams had gains such as flexible working and
saving time with commuting [9]. On the other hand, the dynamics between the teams
began to suffer impacts after a certain time, causing difficulty in communication and
consequently compromising the delivery of activities [10–12].
In order to articulate efficiency gains in activities and processes developed by an
organization, aligned with an approach that encourages teams to analyze the internal
procedures carried out in their activities, this research focused on the design of a
model of diagnoses and opportunities for improvement aimed at product develop-
ment processes, where the development team, as the main agent of change and the
greatest beneficiary of process improvements, navigates through the activities car-
ried out in search of results that add value to their deliveries, reducing waste in the
stages of the different processes.
Diagnosis Model Proposal for Improvement Opportunity in Project Management. . . 109

2 Theoretical Background

2.1 Lean Approach

[13] point out that the essence of lean thinking is based on five basic principles,
which are: specify value; align the actions that create value in the best sequence –
identify the value stream; carry out these activities without interruption every time
someone requests them; carrying them out more and more efficiently – pull produc-
tion; and perfection. Different authors point out that the key points of lean
manufacturing involve certain requirements, which must be followed for the success
of performance improvement actions [1, 13–16]. Being more specific, the authors
refer to: Immediate total quality: which consists of going in search of “zero defects”,
and detection and solution of problems at their origin [17]; Minimization of waste:
which consists of eliminating all activities that do not have added value and safety
nets, in addition to optimizing the use of scarce resources, such as capital, people and
space [18]; Continuous improvement: which consists of reducing costs, improving
quality, increasing productivity, and sharing information [19]; “Pull” processes: in
which the products are withdrawn by the end customer, and not pushed to the end of
the production chain [20]; Flexibility: which consists of quickly producing different
batches of a wide variety of products, without compromising efficiency due to
smaller production volumes [21]; Relationship: Construction and maintenance of a
long-term relationship with suppliers, making agreements to share risk, costs, and
information [22].

2.2 Waste Management in the Lean Approach

The basis of the lean thinking concept is the elimination of waste within companies,
and its application is achieved and supported by tools and methodologies that allow
its implementation and maintenance, as [15] sustains.
Associated with the precepts advocated by the lean philosophy, until then more
widely used in industrial processes, the concepts were extended to the supply chain,
as well as to public and private services, sowing the idea of what would be called
lean thinking business management philosophy, as attested by the works of different
authors, with their assumptions and central characteristics [23–25], as follow:
Organization based on teams involving flexible people, with diverse background,
autonomy, and responsibility in their jobs [26]; Structures for solving problems that
occur in the work areas, through the development of a culture of continuous
improvement [27]; Lean operations, seeking to identify problems for subsequent
adoption of measures that lead to their correction [28]; Leadership policies in people
management (human resources) based on values, commitment, team spirit, feelings
of belonging, sharing and dignity [29, 30]; Proximity and respectful relationships
110 M. S. Pereira et al.

with suppliers [31]; Promote cross-functional development teams [32]; Management

and customer relationship based on proximity and harmony [33].
Considering the proposals for tools and methodologies that aim at the continuous
improvement of an organization [15, 34], summarize those that can be applied in the
identification of seedlings and their elimination, emphasizing that most of the
solutions were born in the industry, finding there the biggest application.

2.3 Lean Management Applied in Other Areas of Knowledge

According to [16] the expansion of lean concepts in new territories has led
researchers and users to develop new methodologies and solutions that meet the
needs of these sectors in the quest to eliminate waste and improve efficiency. The
work developed by [14] proved the effectiveness and feasibility of applying lean
tools and methodologies beyond the industrial area, by resorting to their use to
combat waste in companies classified as being from the second economic sector,
namely the furniture sector, butchery, bakery and small warehouses that manufacture
clothes, obtaining significant results in reducing waste, improving layout, managing
waste, increasing productivity, reducing costs, among other benefits.
In this context, the lean thinking and lean manufacturing approaches had devel-
opments in different segments of knowledge, among other denominations, for
instance: Lean Office, aimed at improving administrative processes [35, 36]; Lean
Maintenance, aimed at improving asset maintenance processes (machines, devices
and equipment) [37–39]; Lean Healthcare, aimed at improving health processes and
hospitals [24, 40]; Lean Construction, aimed at improving processes in civil con-
struction activities [41–43]; Lean Education, aimed at improving educational pro-
cesses [25, 44]; Lean Six Sigma, aimed at improving production processes, working
to reduce process variability [45–47]; Lean Startup, aimed at creating and managing
startups, product and business development, as well as reducing the product devel-
opment cycle [48–50]; Lean Supply Chain, aimed at improving purchasing and
logistics processes related to an organization’s supply chain [33, 51, 52]; Lean
Service, aimed at improving the processes of service providers, such as in sectors
such as health, insurance, finance and technical assistance [17, 35, 53]; Lean Project
Management, aimed at improving project management processes, such as lean
construction, lean manufacturing and lean thinking in project management [54–57].
For a successful lean journey, it is not enough just to apply existing solutions
without the involvement and commitment of people at all organizational levels.
Without this, the results will not be permanent, but only occasional [1, 2, 15, 58].
Diagnosis Model Proposal for Improvement Opportunity in Project Management. . . 111

3 Methodology

In this section, the set of techniques, procedures and approaches that will guide the
related activities of this research are presented, so that the solution to the proposed
problem can be found, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, related topics are presented: nature
of the research, way of approaching the problem, classification according to the
objectives; classification according to procedures; research universe and sample;
procedures for data collection, procedures for data analysis, and research stages.
The nature of the research can be classified as applied, as it aims to develop
practical knowledge through the construction and application of a model for diag-
nosing opportunities for improvements in project development processes at an
institute of technology. The way of approaching the problem is classified as quali-
tative, because through an exploratory character it seeks to understand the organi-
zational processes and events existing in it, evaluating waste and impacts in areas of
knowledge of project management. The objective of the research is classified as
exploratory-descriptive, because in addition to developing the theoretical depth on
the topic addressed (exploratory), it describes the object studied by establishing the
relationships between the variables (descriptive), where in this research they are
characterized by the waste ratio × area of knowledge in project management.
The procedures that classify this research start from the bibliographical research,
then the documental research and finally the action research. Bibliographic, due to
the consultation of books and academic works, highlighting authors and institutions
references in the subject with the objective of enriching the research. The documen-
tary procedure was characterized by studies previously carried out by the organiza-
tion and previously achieved results, in addition to reports from participants in
previous initiatives. Finally, action research allows the researcher to actively engage

Fig. 1 Methodological path

112 M. S. Pereira et al.

with groups of people or processes studied, participating in collaboration in solving

the proposed problem.
As for the universe and sample of the research, the study was carried out through
a study group of organizational efficiency in project management with about 20 par-
ticipants from different areas of technology projects (project management, battery
development, kernel development of mobile devices, and computer vision algo-
rithms). The procedures for collecting data in this research consider the application
of the diagnostic model in each proof of concept throughout the activities of the
study group. Each proof of concept identified process problems associated with
waste and impacts on project management knowledge areas, indicators that needed
to be improved could be defined through an action plan to be carried out over
8 months in each of the group’s participants. Procedures for Data Analysis: The
data from each proof of concept where the model was used, were analyzed in a
cyclical and exploratory way on a weekly basis, in order to assess the proposed
action plan for the problems identified along with the expected improvement results.

4 Results and Discussion

4.1 Evaluation of Internal Procedures by Project Teams

In order to articulate efficiency gains in the activities and processes developed by an

organization aligned with an approach that encourages teams to analyze the internal
procedures carried out in their activities, this research worked on the design of a
model of diagnoses and improvement opportunities focused on processes of product
development, where the development team, as the main agent of change and the
greatest beneficiary of process improvements, navigates through the activities car-
ried out below in search of results that add value to their deliveries:
(1) The development team’s first exercise when using the model of diagnoses and
opportunities for improvement aimed at product development processes is to define
and understand the value stream of its daily activities, that is, where it starts, the
journey that needs to be traversed until reaching the concept of done. (2) After
identifying the value stream or the chain of activities that need to be carried out to
complete the process deliverables, the team describes the problem(s) it faces during
the development of the activities; (3) Once the problems are identified, they are
evaluated along with a series of unwanted events that characterize waste. Waste in
projects is the guide to associate problems encountered during value streams with
undesirable events; (4) Once the events/waste within the value stream of a process
have been identified, their impacts are linked to the project management knowledge
areas, it being important to point out how the problems negatively influence the
deliveries within each knowledge area; (5) It is important that problems, after being
identified and associated within a knowledge area, are quantified (indicators).
Whether by number of occurrences, hours or days of waiting, number of changes,
unmapped failures found, among others. In the end, it is important to have a
Diagnosis Model Proposal for Improvement Opportunity in Project Management. . . 113

diagnosis of the current state of the process flow and a value that one wants to reach,
which allows gains in value in the processes; (6) The last item of the model describes
possible actions to be taken by the development team that guide them to achieve new
indicators already showing performance gains in the deliveries made. The values
may be below, reaching or exceeding the expectations initially defined. However, at
first, the ideal is to obtain some degree of optimization. The model shows potential in
the face of the need to integrate distributed (remote) teams into a single initiative to
improve and understand what needs to be done and what can be improved, in
addition to allowing the integration of all in the search for added value within the
processes performed.

4.2 Case Study: Test Coverage of New Features by

the Camera Test Team

The camera test team used a model to identify opportunities for improvement within
their delivery stream. As shown in Fig. 2, the team defined its value stream, starting
with a test request for the camera application and ending with all the tests executed,
covering all the application’s functionalities. It is expected all tests to be functional,
that is, ensuring that the camera application is ready to go to the end user. However,
some problems were identified during the value stream of this team, as follows:
Problem 1 – Lack of information about the new features applied to the app to start
the testing cycle; and Problem 2 – Have the Test Cases updated.
Through the analysis of problem 1 by the camera test team, it was noticed that the
problem generated unwanted events of waiting for information, unnecessary move-
ment of information, over processing of information, in addition to defect/rework by
the test team. It was also possible to observe that the effects of problem 1 are related
to the knowledge areas of project management. Problem 1 impacts the test team, the
scope of the test to be carried out, generates risks for the app to be delivered,
compromises the quality of the application, exposes communication problems
between the parties and finally compromises the test execution time. The effects
can be visualized in Fig. 3 through the distribution of post-it in yellow by the

Fig. 2 Value flow definition by the camera test team

114 M. S. Pereira et al.

Fig. 3 Visualization of the improvement opportunities diagnostic model board for the camera team

intersection of areas of knowledge in project management and waste events. Still in

Fig. 3, it is possible to visualize a contextualization of problem 1, described in more
detail in the post-it notes in orange and, finally, the proposed action plan to be
executed by the camera test team (described in the post-it notes in color blue).
Finally, Fig. 4 shows how the camera test team reads the test coverage currently
performed with the lack of information on new features integrated into the applica-
tion (80% coverage of tested features – red post it) and adds that new reading/
indicator that want to achieve after applying the proposed action plan (80% coverage
of tested features – green post it).

5 Conclusion

Organizations, in search of process optimization and efficiencies in their delivery of

value to customers, tend more and more to look to their internal processes in search
of improvements. Building an approach that was transversal to all areas of the
Diagnosis Model Proposal for Improvement Opportunity in Project Management. . . 115

Information Overproduction
Information Waiting
knowledge areas Produce a lot of information, before it
Artifacts or documents
is necessary, which does not add value

Lack of knowledge
of camera
Team / Group features prevents
test coverage
from reaching
100%
Problem 1
Lack of information
about the new
features applied to
the app to start the
testing cycle. Current
Indicator
80% feature test
coverage
Meeting with camera
Scope dev team to get the
features release plan Indicator to
and technical details achive
about the new features 100% feature test
integrated coverage

Fig. 4 Metrics view depicted in the template frame to address the camera team issue

organization (whether project areas or support areas) was a stimulus for the study
group.
Articulating knowledge of the lean philosophy and its waste with the areas of
project management knowledge within processes that are strongly paralyzed by the
particularities of each participating area was challenging, since identifying problems
(regardless of their procedural or technological nature) and designing action plans
aligned with metrics to show the improvements achieved, was the main guide for the
results of this study.
The proposed model provides a series of critical views on the part of those
involved in the processes/projects studied, contributing to greater integration
between the development teams and other project stakeholders, in addition to
proposing the same direction in the search for improvement for those involved.
For this reason, it fulfills the role proposed here by this research.
It is worth noting that there are opportunities to articulate other approaches within
the same context of the proposed model, such as analysis of constraints aligned with
the cause-and-effect analysis, but at the moment, providing development teams
(regardless of the business area in which they are inserted) an approach in which
together they can observe their opportunities for improvement, helps them to seek
for their increasing efficiency in improving the delivery of value in their results.
116 M. S. Pereira et al.

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