Peer to Peer Magazine

P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 43 end of the project, the team should take time to reflect on the process to uncover waste or bottlenecks that should be fixed for the next time. • Value-stream mapping is a tool for analyzing the current state of a process and re-designing a future, better, state. Process mapping is an essential component of Lean. A Kaizen event is an appropriate time to draw your current process map and to brainstorm on steps to improve it. • DMAIC (an acronym for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) is an improvement cycle used for improving, optimizing and stabilizing business processes and designs. The DMAIC improvement cycle is the core tool used to drive Six Sigma projects. However, DMAIC is not exclusive to Six Sigma and can be used as one of the Lean tools. It is important to remember, however, that Lean is not only a set of tools; it is a culture. When a Lean culture exists, improvement will be sustained. How do you start? By training your teams on the concept and value of Lean. Then select a process you want to improve, it could be anything: conflict checks, time entries, invoicing, preparing for an initial 26(f) conference, responding to discovery requests, document review, or any process that has become a pain point. Lean applies anywhere where waste exists. If you are introducing Lean to the organization, it is important that you select the right project to start. It should be narrow in scope but, when improved, it should impact key performance metrics such as resources, costs, and client satisfaction. The next step is to prepare and run a well-executed Kaizen event and start the path to continuous process improvement. Lawyers are familiar with the relentless pursuit of perfection, we only need to improve the way we map that pursuit. of a process, then a six-sigma process has a process mean (average) that is six standard deviations from the nearest specification limit. This provides enough buffer between the process natural variation and the specification limits. 3 Six Sigma relies heavily on statistical data analysis and design work to reduce variation. Lean and Six Sigma are an ideal combination. However, lawyers have a negative, and sometimes valid, reaction to reducing their work to a process with little or no variation. We will posit that introducing a combination of Lean and Six Sigma to start innovating traditional legal processes may be too much to tackle in the first-instance. Rather, a focus on Lean first will produce significant and measurable improvements to your practice. Best of all, it can be implemented with a few adjustments. 4 Lean achieves its goals by using simple tools such as Kaizen 5 events, Kanban 6 systems, value stream mapping, and DMAIC cycles. 7 • In a Kaizen event, a cross-functional team gets together for a set amount of time, usually 3 or 5 days, consecutive or not, to solve a problem or improve a process. The cycle of the activity can be defined as: "Plan ⇾ Do ⇾ Check ⇾ Act." This is also known as a Deming cycle or PDCA. • Kanbans are visual to-do-lists for the team. Every Kanban board must contain several columns that represent the work stages. Cards represent the tasks that every member needs to complete. The team creates three columns: 'To Do,' 'Doing,' 'Done.' With some exceptions, the goal is to finish a task before starting another one. The reason for this is that one of the main goals in Kanban is to constrain the amount of work in progress (WIP). Incidentally, this will have a positive impact on time-keeping by attorneys. At the The Business Case for Lean in Law Law firms must adjust to remain competitive in a market where technolo, alternative legal service providers (ALSPs), the Big Four, and sophisticated in-house legal operations departments, are all eating into law firm profits. The competition is doing this by listening to the voice of the customer and delivering results. Clients will continue to demand innovation through technolo and business approaches. They want quality services delivered faster and at a lower price point. Lean is a tried and tested business methodolo that addresses precisely those demands. It increases efficiency by reducing waste in any process. Since wasted time, resources, and money are endemic of so many legal processes, it follows that embracing a Lean management style at the law firm level will help firms stay competitive. To give the business case additional context, let's look at the past and the current state of affairs. It is important to remember, however, that Lean is not only a set of tools; it is a culture. When a Lean culture exists, improvement will be sustained.

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