During the last month I have been writing about different elements of planning for 2009. By now, you will have covered the following topics during the planning process:
- Vision
- Alignment
- Setting Priorities
- The Deming Model: Plan, Do, Check, Act
This week I’d like to discuss why you should consider using the “A3 Planning” process and what it will do for your 2009 plan.
The process called A3 Planning was developed internally by Toyota over the last 30 years, A3 simply refers to the size of a sheet of paper roughly 11” x 17”. The goal of A3 Planning is to put all relevant facts regarding a plan on one piece of paper and be able to tell the story about the plan as quickly and succinctly as possible. I’ve done this on a small letter size 8.5” x 11” paper for smaller projects or broken the sections up into two letter size documents that when combined produce a full size 11" x 17" A3 size document.
What does an A3 plan look like? First you should know that there are several types of A3 Plans: Problem-Solving, Proposal, Status & Strategy. For annual planning let’s start with a Strategy A3
Note: This is the basis for a template that on one page reads from top left to bottom right. Section One is the left side and Section Two is the right side of a one page A3 Plan
First Section / Page One: PLAN
- Focus & Theme: Define True North for this plan
- Background: Performance, Gaps & Targets
- Current Condition: Reflection on Last Year's Activities
- Goals:
- Analysis: Rationale for This Year's Priorities
Second Section / Page Two: DO, CHECK, ACT
- Plan Details: Activities, Responsibilities & Resources
- Target Results & Timelines:
- Follow-up & Unresolved Issues
- Date & Signatures
What are the key points and basic elements of developing an A3 plan?
- The A3 plan is heavy on the Planning part of the PDCA model, as evidenced by the first section devoted to planning, Do, Check and Act are captured in the second section
- A3 plans are developed by teams not by individuals
- They foster and improve communication up and down and across an organization
- The “Catch Ball” process ensures that plans are not developed in a vacuum and have the support of all people affected by the plan, formalized by having everyone sign the plan
- The A3 plan can serve very well to monitor progress of the plan as it unfolds and can be used to capture any changes in the plan
- Toyota uses the A3 planning process to develop people into problem-solvers and as a mentoring tool
The Seven Elements of A3 Thinking - from Understanding A3 Thinking by Durward Sobek II & Art Smalley:
- Logical thinking process
- Objectivity
- Results & process
- Synthesis, distillation & visualization
- Alignment
- Coherence within and consistency across
- Systems viewpoint
So why should you use A3 Planning? Consider the following answers:
- Your plan will be easily explained at any level in your company
- There will be a stronger emphasis on analysis and developing a plan rather than on the seat of the pants approach that many of us have experienced in the past
- Actions, Metrics and Lessons Learned become a part of the plan and allow you to make any changes very quickly
- An A3 plan is very flexible in format and intention, you can use them for analyzing problems, taking action, monitoring progress, making a proposal or for developing a strategy
- The emphasis is on Performing, Improving & Learning rather than on rigidly using templates, tools or specific procedures blindly
- Alignment throughout your company will improve
Charlie Alter owns Bentbrook Advisors LLC based in Sylvania, Ohio. He specializes in Growth Strategy, Innovation and Coaching and can be reached at calter@me.com.
