Implementing Obeya: choose the starting point that suits you
Obeya is a way of steering together: goals, work and problems are in one place, and there you steer together in a fixed rhythm. There is no single right place to start. You can start with management, with a department or domain, with a team that wants to, or with a programme. Every starting point has advantages and points to watch. We help you choose.
Four starting points
If you want to implement Obeya, you can start in different places. Every starting point can work well; it depends on your situation.
| Starting point | What it gives you | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| With management | The vision and direction are there straight away. A problem from below has a board to go to from the start. | It asks for time and involvement from the management team. The vision session helps with that. |
| With a single department or domain and its teams | It stays manageable, and the boards connect to each other straight away. | Keep the rest of the organisation informed, so others know what is happening and where they can join in. |
| With a team that wants to | Visible results quickly. That often convinces others, including the management team. | Agree beforehand where problems go that the team cannot solve itself, and talk it through when the team and the management above clash. |
| With a programme or project | Work that affects several departments is in one place. Everyone sees where it stands. | Make clear how the programme's board relates to the departments' boards. |
Starting with a team that wants to
A team that wants to start often shows quickly what Obeya brings. You agree two things beforehand.
- Where problems go. What the team cannot solve itself has to go somewhere. For example: the manager takes it to the existing management team meeting, or looks at the team's board together with the team.
- What you do when it clashes. A team that works differently sometimes clashes with the way it is managed from above. That is normal. Talk it through together, then it becomes a conversation and not a conflict.
From there the network of boards grows
From the starting point, boards are added: below, alongside or above. That happens at the pace of your organisation. The management team does not have to be fully on board on day one.
A department or team below a board, or a Kanban board for the everyday work. The work stays linked to the goal above.
The board of a team you often wait for. You link cards across the boards and send work to their inbox.
A board for the department or the management team. What a team cannot solve itself can go there, and the decision comes back.
How the boards work together is explained on From strategy to execution and Meeting structure. An example in a municipality is on Obeya for local government.
Step-by-step plan: the steps that always come back
We look together at where you stand and choose the starting point that suits you.
Where it fits, management creates the vision and direction in a vision session. If a team starts, the team chooses its own vision, in line with the organisation's course.
Every board is built by the people who work on it, with their own goals, metrics and agreements for the meeting. From the start they work in the software.
Every board gets its own Navigators. They learn to prepare the meeting, lead the conversation and follow up agreements.
The first real meeting at the board. The Navigator puts the items on the agenda, and decisions and actions land on the cards.
What helps: management steers along
The network of boards gets stronger when management takes part in the rhythm of the boards. That does not have to happen on day one; it can grow. This helps:
- Red is a request for help. A red card is welcome. It shows where help is needed, not who is to blame.
- Difficult problems first. The meeting starts with what is stuck, not with what is going well. This is one of the golden rules from the training.
- Help or a decision. A problem that comes up gets help or a decision, not a request for a report.
- Reporting back. The decision goes back to the board the question came from.
- Steering in the meeting at the board. Not through reports, but together, on what the board shows.
- Going to see. Managers now and then join the meeting of a board below. They look at what is going on and ask how they can help, not to check up. In lean this is called going to the workplace, or gemba.
The free trial: getting to know the software
In the free trial you get your own trial environment for 30 days, without installing anything. It is meant for getting to know the software: setting up a board, making cards and trying out a meeting. How you implement Obeya, we choose together in a meeting. Want to look around first? Walk through the product tour.
Frequently asked questions about implementing Obeya
Where do you start when implementing Obeya?
That depends on your situation. You can start with management, with a single department or domain and its teams, with a team that wants to or with a programme. In a meeting we choose together what fits.
Can we start if the management team is not taking part yet?
Yes. Then agree beforehand where problems go that the team cannot solve itself, for example to the existing management team meeting. Visible results often convince management too.
What if the team and the management above clash?
That is normal when a team starts working differently. Talk it through together and agree where problems go and how the answer comes back. Then it becomes a conversation and not a conflict.
Does the whole organisation have to take part at the same time?
No. You start where it fits, and the network of boards grows along: below, alongside or above, at your own pace.
How do you prevent Obeya from becoming a reporting board for the management team?
The management team does not steer on what teams report, but discusses what is stuck in the meeting at the board. A team sets a card to red to ask for help, not to account for itself. And every board belongs to the team that works on it.
How do you make an Obeya board?
The people who work on the board make it themselves, in the training Basic Obeya. The board starts with Why we do it, in line with the organisation's course. Then come Where we are heading, the goals, the metrics and the steps per month. Read more on What is Obeya.
Curious where you could best start?
In a meeting we choose together the starting point that suits you.