Kanban Family Job Chart

tim brown, design thinking, shmula, ideo, ethnography, anthropology, lean manufacturing, lean thinking, six sigma, metacool, diego rodriquezI’ve tried this a few times, but I think this time, with the help of the kids and my sweet wife, we’ve got it right for our family.

The Opportunity

We have a big family – we’ve adopted a bunch and we’re very thankful for our chance to be parents.  We’ve got great kids.

But, because we have a big family, things get messy, busy, and we need everybody’s help to make this household run smoothly.

When something needs to get done, it’s either done through talking, then eventually yelling (not really), but that isn’t good for parents or for children.  A core value we want to live is respect for the children.

Root Cause: since nobody really knows their job, or when to do it, it leads to confusion, argument, and lack of direction.

Countermeasure

Our family needs something that is visible, without equivocation, and shows the Person, Jobs, Day, and Status.  So, we created a Kanban Family Job Chart:

tim brown, design thinking, shmula, ideo, ethnography, anthropology, lean manufacturing, lean thinking, six sigma, metacool, diego rodriquez

Simply put, a Kanban is a sign or a card with instructions of what to, when, and how much.  At Toyota, Kanban cards are very low-tech: they literally are cards with laminate on them and instructions for material release or work instructions.

If you ever get to visit a Toyota facility, you will see clothes lines connecting processes to each other.  The clothes line is used to pass Kanban cards.  For example, if a downstream process needs more material, that process can pass a Kanban Material Release card to the upstream process via the clothes line concept.  Low-tech, but it works.

Kanban Family Job Chart

Our Kanban Family Job Chart has several elements that are important to discuss.

People (Who)

It is important to recognize the people on your team, by name and by face.  This makes things Human and, we all know, that a pillar in the Toyota Production System is Respect for People.  Even more so in a family.

tim brown, design thinking, shmula, ideo, ethnography, anthropology, lean manufacturing, lean thinking, six sigma, metacool, diego rodriquez

Jobs or Tasks (What)

The element of jobs and tasks are next.  For us, it was best to create various jobs on magnets, giving us the flexibility of moving jobs around as needed and when needed.

tim brown, design thinking, shmula, ideo, ethnography, anthropology, lean manufacturing, lean thinking, six sigma, metacool, diego rodriquez

Day of Week and Status (When)

Knowing when a job is done is critical for everyone in the family.  Because the impetus is on the person to indicate when something was done, it eliminates the micro-managing that often happens in families, work, and in every organization.  For a family, this eliminates nagging.  When a job is done, simply move the magnet from Red to Green.

tim brown, design thinking, shmula, ideo, ethnography, anthropology, lean manufacturing, lean thinking, six sigma, metacool, diego rodriquez

A Few Concepts at Play

Agile, Scrum, and many other folks are now using the concept of the Kanban in their respective worlds.  This is good.  What is important is practice over theory, as Taiichi Ohno said many years ago.

Visual Management:

Respect for People:

The Kanban Job Chart conveys information and instructions so that Mom and Dad don’t have to.  When Mom or Dad have to convey the information, it usually ends-up as nagging.  That approach is irritating, disrespectful, and polarizes people.  We want, instead, to teach self-reliance, demonstrate our trust in the kids, and help them grow in their own terms, but with our loving guidance.

We also have to make sure that the job is equal to the capability of the child – their mental capacity, hand size, strength, etc.

I Work Too:

Yes, while my face is not on the Job Chart, I have jobs – believe me – I have a lot of jobs.


Short URL: http://bit.ly/7DIkhj

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Comments

blog post: Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfhnqbv

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Great example of applying lean principles: @shmula’s kanban family job chart. http://is.gd/53uST (Do the kids really wash your car?)

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Awesome. I’ve attempted a similiar board but I like the size of your boxes. Mine are small and thus only fit a few jobs. Why limit them to 3? :) You can see my example in the background of this pic of my daughter and her recent science project. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fubeka/4134050492/ Definitely going to make the boxes bigger! Love your posts, always enjoy the read.

Incredibly creative @personalkanban, w/job magnets! See @shmula’s Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfhnqbv #productivity #pkflow

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @shmula: blog post: Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfhnqbv

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @timeback: Great example of applying lean principles: @shmula’s kanban family job chart. http://is.gd/53uST (Do the kids really wash …

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @timeback: Great example of applying lean principles: @shmula’s kanban family job chart. http://is.gd/53uST (Do the kids really wash …

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

I like: Kanban Family Job Chart http://bit.ly/79la9p

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @shmula: blog post: Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfhnqbv

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Toyota way utk rumah tangga. blog post: Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfhnqbv (via @shmula)

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Awesome! Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfjgk5g

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @lssacademy: Awesome! Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfjgk5g

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Kanban Family Job Chart: http://bit.ly/7DIkhj

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @lssacademy: Awesome! Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfjgk5g #lean

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Kanban to organize personal life. http://bit.ly/7DIkhj (via @Shmula)

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

RT @shmula Great Lean-at-home example — Kanban Family Job Chart: http://bit.ly/7DIkhj #yam

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

I think I have an opportunity. RT @shmula: Kanban Family Job Chart: http://bit.ly/7DIkhj

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

Very cool! RT @lssacademy: Awesome! Kanban Family Job Chart http://tinyurl.com/yfjgk5g

This comment was originally posted on Twitter

[...] Kanban Family Job Chart dal blog shmula di Pete Abilla, dove l’autore fornisce un bel esempio di applicazione di kanban nelle normali faccende domestiche… (traduzione automatica) [...]

WoW! How long have you had this “implemented”? I’ve seen similar boards on Nanny TV-series, but wonder how it works as time goes by. Also, how do you keep the youngest children from playing with the magnets? (Maybe this is saying more about me and my family – we only have two kids…)
I really like your blog! BR /Anna

Like the board! And the job list. Can’t wait to make my own… This is way better than a chore wheel, because they make tracking easy and transparent. :D

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