Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value Stream Mapping is ProBeya's digital tool for visualizing and analyzing end-to-end process flows. Teams create node-and-edge graphs representing process steps, inventories, and information flows, then calculate lean metrics like lead time, processing time, VA ratio, and takt time to identify waste and improvement opportunities.
VSM is the diagnostic lens of Lean — you cannot improve what you cannot see. ProBeya makes the map collaborative, calculable, and exportable.
Overview
Traditional value stream maps are drawn on brown paper with sticky notes. While effective for workshops, paper maps are difficult to maintain, share, and analyze quantitatively. ProBeya's VSM module provides a digital canvas with structured graph data, automated metric calculation, and current-vs-future-state comparison.
Getting Started
- Navigate to the VSM section or open a board's VSM panel.
- Click New Map and select the map type: Current State or Future State.
- Add process nodes, inventory nodes, and supplier/customer endpoints to the canvas.
- Connect nodes with material flow and information flow edges.
- Enter metrics per node (cycle time, lead time, changeover time, yield).
- Run Calculate Metrics to compute aggregate lean indicators.
- Optionally pair a current-state map with its future-state counterpart for side-by-side comparison.
How It Works
Map Types and Lifecycle
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Current State | Documents the process as it exists today |
| Future State | Describes the target process after improvements |
Maps follow a lifecycle of Draft, Active, and Archived. Draft maps are being built; active maps represent the current baseline or target; archived maps are historical records.
Graph Data Model
Each VSM stores its content as a JSONB graph with two arrays:
- Nodes — process steps, inventories, suppliers, customers, each with optional metrics (cycle time, lead time, changeover time, yield, uptime)
- Edges — connections between nodes representing material flows, information flows, or electronic flows
Automated Metric Calculation
The calculateMetrics procedure computes key lean indicators from the graph data:
| Metric | Formula |
|---|---|
| Processing Time | Sum of cycle times for process nodes |
| Lead Time | Sum of all node cycle/lead times (including inventory wait) |
| VA Ratio | (Processing Time / Lead Time) x 100% |
| Takt Time | Available Time / Customer Demand |
| Bottleneck Count | Process nodes where cycle time > takt time |
Calculated metrics are stored in the metrics JSONB column for quick retrieval without recomputation.
Current vs. Future State Pairing
The pairMaps procedure creates a bidirectional link between a current-state and future-state VSM. This enables the side-by-side comparison view with delta metrics, showing exactly how much lead time, processing time, and VA ratio are expected to improve.
Pairing is validated: the first map must be current_state type and the second must be future_state type.
Export
Maps can be exported in PDF, PNG, or SVG format via the export procedure, which returns structured data suitable for client-side rendering. The export can optionally include the paired comparison map for presentation-ready output.
Configuration
VSMs can be associated with a board or exist independently at the organization level. Listing supports filtering by board, status, and type with pagination (default 50, max 200).
Permissions
| Action | Required Role |
|---|---|
| Create a VSM | Any board member or org member |
| Edit map data | Map creator or board manager |
| Calculate metrics | Any board member |
| Pair maps | Board manager or admin |
| Export maps | Any board member |
| Delete a map | Board admin |
All mutations are logged to the audit trail.
Tips & Best Practices
Always start with a current-state map based on observation (go to the Gemba). Resist the temptation to jump to the future state before understanding reality.
Provide available time and customer demand inputs when calculating metrics. Any process node with a cycle time exceeding the takt time is a bottleneck constraining throughput.
VSMs should be living documents. When process changes are implemented, update the current-state map and archive the old version for historical comparison.
Related Features
- Gemba Walks — observe the actual process before mapping it
- Kaizen Ideas — improvement ideas often arise from VSM analysis
- PDCA Cycles — structure the implementation of VSM-identified improvements
- KPI Boards — track process metrics identified through VSM analysis