Phase 2: Fix the Flow

Introduction to Phase 2

Phase 1 gave you an honest Current State, a Value verdict on every step, and a Future State worth reaching. Phase 2 is where the focus shifts to making the improvements real: finding the Root Causes of what blocks the Future State, developing effective solutions, and testing them.

The work follows the A3 problem-solving tradition: identify Root Causes, develop solutions, and make incremental improvements aimed at eliminating Waste and increasing efficiency, all documented so the reasoning survives the project.

The shape of this phase: plan the improvements, determine Root Causes of Gaps and Barriers, propose solution approaches, then select and test the best ones. Each step has a tool, and this module walks through all of them.

Plan the Improvements

Based on what Phase 1 revealed, create a plan for improvement. This might include identifying specific problems of the process to focus on, or breaking into sub-teams that collect more data to better understand the Current State, or deep-diving into specific findings from the Gemba.

Whether the improvement effort is a Kaizen Burst conducted in under a week or a multi-week project conducted 60 minutes at a time, develop the plan as a team:

• Assign roles: who facilitates, who gathers data, who owns each thread.
• Define the deliverables: what "done" looks like for each piece of work.
• Establish firm due dates: real dates, not "soon."

Doing this together does more than organize the work: it sets a good precedent for Phase 3, where disciplined follow-through decides whether the improvements survive.

Gaps, Barriers, and Root Causes

Analyze what the Gemba and Current State Mapping uncovered, using two precise words:

• A Gap is anything missing that prevents reaching the Future State: a skill nobody has, information that does not exist, equipment that is not there.
• A Barrier is anything blocking the path: a policy, a bottleneck, a dependency, an approval chain.

For each Gap and Barrier, document an analysis of its Root Cause, using the tools from Module 5: the 5 Whys and fishbone/Ishikawa diagrams. Remember the 5 Whys pro tip: when a branch dead-ends, backtrack and explore a different one until the answer explains the whole problem.

The discipline matters because solutions aimed at symptoms come back. Solutions aimed at Root Causes stay fixed, and Phase 3 exists to prove it.

The Risk/Frequency Grid

When deciding which issues to focus on next, facilitate a Risk/Frequency Grid exercise. Draw two axes starting at the bottom-left corner: Risk on X (Low to High) and Frequency on Y (Low to High), making four quadrants. Have the team discuss where each Gap or Barrier belongs:

1. High-High (top right): detrimental to the process when it occurs, and happens with high frequency. Address these first.
2. High-Low (bottom right): detrimental when it occurs, but happens infrequently.
3. Low-High (top left): a minor disturbance that happens with high frequency.
4. Low-Low (bottom left): a minor disturbance that happens infrequently.

Place each Gap or Barrier on the grid as a team. The conversation about where things belong is as valuable as the final placement.

A Note on Consensus

Grid exercises, Value dots, and solution selection all run on team consensus, so it is worth defining the word precisely, as the book does:

Consensus does not mean everyone agrees unanimously. Consensus is an agreement from everyone to support the group's decision regardless of their personal choice.

That distinction keeps teams moving. You do not need every member to believe the chosen solution is the best one; you need every member to commit to giving it a fair, wholehearted test. Disagreement is welcome during the discussion, and support is expected after the decision.

Facilitators: say this out loud at the start of the exercise. It lowers the stakes of disagreeing, which raises the honesty of the discussion, which improves the decision you eventually reach.

Propose Solution Approaches

Now generate solutions for the Gaps and Barriers, and do it in a specific way: brainstorm individually first.

The book is blunt about why: group brainstorming stifles creativity. Some people feel judged when they speak, ideas get scoffed at in the moment, and others decide they have nothing important to say. Have everyone brainstorm alone for each Gap and Barrier, then return to the team with their list of ideas.

The 7 Ways method

A great tool for sparking new ideas: for each Gap or Barrier, come up with at least seven unique ways to solve it. The first two or three come easily; the magic happens in ways five through seven, where the obvious answers are exhausted and invention begins.

Encourage team members to bring all ideas, even ones that verge into the Magic State. The wild, impossible ideas are still valuable, because they might spark a possible idea in someone else. Judgment comes later; generation comes first.

Select and Test the Best Solutions

Some Gaps and Barriers will attract a single solution; others will have scores of possibilities. Work as a team to find the best ones to test, gaining consensus on where to start. The list is not discarded: the team can always come back to it if something does not work out during testing.

Then put on the lab coat, because you are about to experiment. Test solutions in a rapid, controlled way: small tests of change.

• Plan carefully; avoid tests that would cause major disruptions to workflow or any safety concerns.
• Expect little or no funding for testing, and be creative within that constraint.
• The goal is a good approximation of the benefit of each candidate solution, enough to choose the best one with confidence.

The book's own example, from its personal quick guide: before committing to a privacy solution beside a planned jacuzzi, place different shrubbery next to the location to find the right height (returning the ones that do not work), or test whether a trellis with a creeping vine screens better. Small, cheap, reversible, informative. That is the spirit.

The Impact/Effort Grid

To categorize solutions across all Gaps and Barriers, use an Impact/Effort Grid: Impact on the X axis (low to high), Effort on the Y axis (low to high). Place each solution in a quadrant, then choose in this general order of preference:

1. High Impact / Low Effort: low-hanging fruit and quick wins. Take these first.
2. High Impact / High Effort: the high impact may make these worthwhile. Most substantial solutions land here.
3. Low Impact / Low Effort: consider after the High Impact work, or reserve them for the next improvement team.
4. Low Impact / High Effort: thankless tasks. Still, some must be incorporated to make the system work (technical requirements).

With solutions brainstormed, tested, and evaluated, it is time to put them into action. That is Phase 3.

Try It Yourself

Reflect

Think of a recurring problem in your work or home life. Is what blocks the fix a Gap (something missing) or a Barrier (something in the way)? What would its 5 Whys look like?

Activity

Take one Gap or Barrier from your own life and run the 7 Ways method: write at least seven unique solutions, letting the last few get weird. Then place all seven on a quick Impact/Effort sketch. Which one is your low-hanging fruit, and what is the smallest test of change that would prove it works?