1. Define value before you redesign work
LEAN begins with a simple question: what does the customer actually value? Value is typically defined as something the customer wants and is willing to pay for. The goal is to protect and cultivate that work while trimming activities that consume time without improving the customer outcome.
A faster process is not automatically a better process. Your redesign must increase the proportion of meaningful customer value while preserving controls that are truly necessary.
2. VA, BNVA, and NVA
VA — Value Add
Work that directly creates value for the customer. A useful test is that it transforms the product, service, information, or experience; is done right the first time; and is something the customer wants and is willing to pay for.
BNVA — Business NVA
Work that does not directly create customer value but is required for the business to operate, manage risk, or comply with a legitimate requirement. LEAN seeks to simplify and minimize it.
NVA — Non-Value Add
Work that creates no customer value and is not genuinely required. Waiting, unnecessary handoffs, duplicate approvals, rework, and redundant meetings are common examples.
- It transforms people, information, materials, or the customer experience.
- It is done right the first time.
- The customer wants it and is willing to pay for it.
3. Why this process is worth fixing at SingTech
agreed that senior leaders encourage employees to take initiative and suggest improvements.
agreed that SingTech challenges the status quo and seeks continuous improvement.
agreed they have enough authority to make the decisions needed to do their jobs.
employee Net Promoter Score in the U.S. branch overview.
4. The process: Customer Escalation & Improvement Request
Scenario
A U.S. customer has repeatedly complained about slow order-status updates. A SingTech customer-service specialist identifies a recurring internal handoff problem and proposes a small process change that could improve response speed.
The current process requires multiple reviews, meetings, reformatting, and cross-unit approval before the improvement can be tested.
Your LEAN redesign challenge
- Protect or expand work that directly improves the customer outcome.
- Question every approval, handoff, wait, duplicate entry, and meeting.
- Keep BNVA only where it is genuinely required — and make it lighter.
- Eliminate as much NVA as possible without creating unacceptable risk.
- Your future state should be defensible, not merely faster.
Current-State Process Map
Follow the process from left to right across each row. The color of each card shows its current-state LEAN classification.
↗ Open DashboardBuild the Future State
Drag a current-state card from the left into any future-state slot. The activity name, current time, and classification populate automatically. You can then amend the activity, reestimate the time, recategorize it, and explain your redesign. To combine activities, drop more than one card into the same slot. To remove unnecessary work, drag the source card to the trash area below the map.