Why Your A3 Needs the IK

© Mike Rother A3 + IK 1

Why Your A3 Isn't Working& What You Can Do About It

By Jeff Liker, Mark Rosenthal, Mike Rotherand Jenny Snow-Boscolo

February 2014


WHAT ARE A3 REPORTS?• Used at Toyota• One side of A3-sized sheet of paper (~11 x 17 inches)• A process of creating an unfolding story


A3 AT TOYOTADeveloping an A3 story forces you to filter and refine your thoughts to fit on one large sheet of paper, in such a way that your manager has their (major) questions answered by reading that sheet.

Only short A3 training is available at Toyota – maybe an hour or two. A3 report writing skill is learned from your Coach/manager and a lot of experience.

1) It’s not just a report. The document evolves along the way with the process of learning. That processis more important than the A3 itself.

2) It’s part of a method for teaching (coaching) systematic, scientific habits of thinking and working.

3) It’s also a method for building consensus.


FOUR TYPES OF A3 STORIES

PROPOSALSTORY

PROBLEMSOLVING

STORY

STATUSSTORY

INFOSTORY

PROPOSAL TYPE STORIES

REPORT TYPE STORIES


PROBLEM SITUATION

TARGET / GOAL

CAUSE ANALYSIS

COUNTERMEASURES

IMPLEMENTATION

FOLLOW-UP

THEME

AUTHOR: ________________________ DATE: ______________

EXAMPLE A3 PROBLEM SOLVING STORY FORMAT


WHAT'S THE PURPOSEOF THE A3 TOOL?

Many of us have heard the stories from Westerners who went to work at Toyota... At the start of their Toyota career they're given an assignment and have to create an A3 as they work on that assignment. As a result, of course, the A3 tool and format became central in their thinking about Toyota's approach.

However, the A3 format / tool itself is primarily a medium to facilitate communication between a Toyota Mentor and their Learner. The goal is not the A3 itself, but to teach the Learner a scientific pattern of thinking and acting as the Learner works on a real assignment or problem.

Here's a sobering point for users of the A3 outside of Toyota:The choreography of that thinking pattern lies more inside the Mentor's head than in the A3. Just using the A3 does little.


CHANGE TAKES MORE THAN THE A3 TOOL

A lesson learned in the Toyota Kata research is that A3 is a Toyota tool that's used there in the context of corrective coaching by an experienced mentor.

When A3 gets used in other organizations without this underlying component, the probability of A3 developing systematic, scientific thinking & acting is low.

The thinking and behavior patterns at Toyota are heldin their seasoned coaches, not in the A3 tool format

The A3 Tool

The desired pattern of thinking & actingis here

Experienced Mentor

At Toyota


RESEARCHERS WHO BENCHMARK TOYOTA TECHNIQUES CAN REACH

ERRONEOUS CONCLUSIONSThe A3 document and associated coaching is a Toyota technique that helps managers teach a scientific pattern of thinking in parts of the company. What's important from a tech-transfer point of view is the pattern of thinking (modeled by the Improvement Kata), which gets actualized in various ways throughout the Toyota organization.

A 3


WHAT SHOULD WE DO?We're not at Toyota and we don't have an

experienced Toyota mentor (manager) coaching us


PRACTICE THE IMPROVEMENT KATAAND COACHING KATA

A3 as it is used to train people at Toyota and the Improvement Kata / Coaching Kata (IK/CK) are aimed at the same purpose: Developing scientific thinking skills (clarity of objective, conducting experiments, striving based on facts and data).

The A3 alone is more of a summary of a problem-solving process. If used correctly, the Learner is going through it with coaching, and hence practice, at every step. At Toyota the coaching is not structured and it is not necessarily daily. There is no formal coaching protocol and no protocol for daily practice, though ideally that is what is desired. It is up to the Coach to determine the frequency and approach. This means the A3 requires a higher level of coaching skill.

The Improvement Kata & Coaching Kata make this process more explicit, teachable and transferrable. The purpose of the IK & CK is to systematize the practice – as in sports & music – that’s more implicit in Toyota's already-strong culture of improvement. Practicing the routines of the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata teaches foundational thinking that makes the A3 effective at Toyota.


Practice the structured routines of the

Improvement Kata pattern...

SCIENTIFIC THINKING ISA FOUNDATIONAL SKILL

And get better at...

• Handling deviations from a standard

• Using the A3

• Heijunka

• Respect for people

• And so on


BEGINNERS NEED PRACTICE ROUTINES!Both the Learner & Coach benefit from having practice routines for developing foundational skills and mindset


THE IMPROVEMENT KATA & COACHING KATA INCLUDE PRACTICE ROUTINESThe IK & CK model scientific thinking & acting, and have structured routines for practicing and teaching that pattern


THREE SUGGESTIONS FOR A3 USERS


1) ADD THE IK/CK PRACTICE ROUTINESINTO YOUR A3 ACTIVITY

The IK/CK routines are a way to practice and build skills, but there's no need to abandon the A3. If you're already using A3, you can practice the IK/CK routines within your A3.


SPECIFICALLYPLANNING

EXECUTING

IK/CK practice routines, as detailed in the online 'Improvement Kata Handbook'


EXAMPLEExample by Jenny Snow-Boscolo


2) USE THE A3 FORMAT AS A SUMMARY

Check and Act can reflect on the processof working toward the last Target Condition, in preparation for defining the next target condition

Conduct a reflection with key stakeholders:A3 to review one Target Condition effort

A3 can be used to summarize information from the Learner's Improvement Kata storyboard, as a major reflection or reporting activity once a target condition is reached.


The A3 is particularly useful for individuals trying to get cross-functional agreement and engagement, by having a crisp, clear story to circulate and get alignment and build consensus.

3) USE THE A3 FOR CONSENSUS BUILDING


WHETHER IMPROVEMENT KATAOR A3, YOU’LL NEED:

• A clearly patterned improvement/striving process.

• Broken into elements to practice each element.

• An experienced coach with a defined coaching pattern, to provide corrective feedback.

• Experiments to iterate toward the target condition.

• Involve those affected.

• Frequent reflection/adjustment, and a major reflection for closure.


CONCLUSION

The Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata are structured teaching tools to shift underlying thought patterns. The idea is that as proficiency is developed and the scientific skills and thought patterns take hold, the structure of the coaching dialogs can move in the general direction of Toyota's “This is just how we think and do things" culture. Getting the IK/CK patterns established is an early target condition.

The Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata are for organizations that don't think and act scientifically by default, but want to learn to do so. That means they are in deliberate practice mode, and the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata provide a structure for that practice.


FOR MORE DETAIL:Handbook available on the "Toyota Kata Website"

Improvement Kata Handbook

The online Improvement Kata Handbook is the resource for practicing and coaching the routines of the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata

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Why Your A3 Needs the IK