1. Toyota Kata – Introduction and Experiences
Teemu Toivonen

2. Introduction My name is Teemu Toivonen
I work as manager of application services at Aalto IT and have introduced Lean and Agile practices to the way we work
I have about two years of experience of Toyota Kata, and I don’t consider my self an expert. I’m a practitioner
I’m very interested in Lean Agile, Lean, Coaching and Systems Thinking
I enjoy discussing and debating these topics so please indulge me or over a beer;)

3. Goal for the event
You will have a basic understanding of the philosophy of Toyota Kata and how it works. This will be achieved by a combination of:
Short lectures
Discussion
Exercises
Engaging conversation is more important than quiet listening so when you have a question or comment please share it!

4. What is a Kata?
Kata is a routine or repeating pattern for doing something

5. Why are habits and routines important?
Can someone describe shortly the difference between driving a car:
The first time they drove
After several years of experience
Routines and habits are the bases for effective and efficient action!

6. “We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
- Aristoteles
Toyota Kata is about creating habits that create excellence.

7. The Philosophy Behind Toyota Kata
Improvement
The second law of thermodynamics: everything deteriorates over time
There is no stable condition that can be maintained
The only solution is to improve constantly
Grow people and maximize human potential by engaging people to continually improve as part of their everyday work
Entropy

8. Questions or comments about the overview?
Toyota Kata
Questions or comments about the overview?
Philosophy:
Continually improve as part of everyday work to get better and fight entropy
Grow people and maximize human potential by engaging them in the improvement through Toyota Kata
Toyota Kata is two behavioral routines to realize these goals
Mentee
Improvement Kata
Coaching Kata
Mentor

9. A good target condition is abouth a month away
Long term vision
”North Star”
Improvement Kata
PDCA-experiment
Hypothesis
Experiment
Result
Learning
PDCA experiment
your way to the target
Next target
condition
A good target condition is abouth a month away
Current condition
Understand deeply
Understand the direction
Understand the current condition
Define the Next target condition
Experiment your way to the target
Start over

10. Example: Weight lose
I will be using weight lose as an simple example of the concepts I’ll be talking about

11. 1. Long term vision Also known as “True North” or “North Star”
Sets the direction for short term plans
Is brief and describes the outcome and the process
Toyota manufacturing example paraphrased:
“One piece flow, zero defects and 100% value adding steps (no waste)”
Does not need to be realistically achievable
Choose wisely 

12. This seems interesting
== TASK
This seems important!
This seems interesting
There is always too much to do and by random choices you get nowhere
A team without a North Star

13. Things you must do!
Things you can do
North Star
Things you can do
A team with a North Star

14. Weight lose: North Star
Enough exercise to stay on good shape and relax
Eat healthy and good food
Spend quality time with family and friends with good energy
Get enough rest and downtime

15. 2. Understand the current condition
Understanding the current condition is the bases for going forward and means going deeper than the superficial lever
Involves Systems Thinking and a process viewpoint
“Go and see”
It’s a lot harder to really see than you’d guess

16. Current condition: Weight lose
Quality of food is poor and the amount of calories is too big
Especially too much carbohydrates and fat
Not enough exercise
Weights once a week
Basketball once a week
Weight 107 kilograms

17. 3. Set the target condition
A target condition describes both the outcome and process and can be achieved in 1-3 months
In the beginning shorter is better for learning
A good target condition is challenging
Just right, not too easy and not too difficult
You can start with skeleton target (challenge) and fill in the details as you learn more (target condition)
A good target condition is just beyond where you can see clearly

18. Target condition: Weight lose
Regular meal and snack schedule
Less calories per meal by healthy composition of meals
Exercise
Weights 2-3 times a week
Basketball 2 times a week
Lose 5 kilograms of weight in 3 months

19. What are the obstacles?
As part of understanding the current condition and setting the target condition you gain insights into the obstacles that are in your way
Pick one (which one seems most important) and start finding your way toward your target condition one step at a time with PDCA experiments

20. Obstacles: Weight lose
Meal sizes are too big – food is good and I like to eat
Too busy and tired to get exercise. Mostly a feeling rather than a fact

21. 4. PDCA experiments Time for a new plan! or
How do I sustain the results?
What is your hypothesis?
Design a quick experiment
What is the expected outcome?
What was the actual outcome?
Was it what you expected?
What did you learn?
Run the experiment
“quick and light”
Points of emphasis
Short iteration cycles
Go and see
Focus on learning

22. 4. Navigate towards the target with experiments
Find the route to the target by learning from experiments and focusing on the next step forward based on that learning

23. Experiments: Weight lose
Expected outcome
Actual outcome
Learning
Eat smaller meals
Lunch
Dinner
Less food consumption during the day
More unhealthy snacks in the afternoon and evening
Eating smaller meals makes me eat more snacks.
Lunch: Eat half meat and half salad
Less calories during the day and protein will keep hunger away
Works out pretty much as planned, except when there is good desert
Eating salad and protein is good diet choice and makes it easy to eat less .
Increase basketball training by making commitment to friends to play on two days
Social pressure will help me get more exercise
At the beginning difficult, but as it became a habit it got easier.
Social commitment is a good motivator. New habits are difficult in the beginning.

24. Questions before the exercise? Short iteration cycles
Long term vision
”North Star”
Improvement Kata
Questions before the exercise?
PDCA-experiment
Hypothesis
Experiment
Result
Learning
Remember quick experiment cycles!
PDCA experiment
your way to the target
Next target
condition
A good target condition is abouth a month away. Describes both outcome and process
Points of emphasis
Short iteration cycles
Go and see
Current condition
Understand deeply
Focus on learning
Understand the direction
Understand the current condition
Define the Next target condition
Experiment your way to the target
Start over

25. Improvement Kata exercise

26. The Coaching Kata
The purpose of the Coaching Kata is to teach and coach the Improvement Kata using real world problems as practice.
Mentee
Improvement Kata
Coaching Kata
Mentor

27. When do you need a mentor/coach?
The need never goes a way. You can spend a lifetime learning the Improvement Kata and still have need for improvement. The role of the coach is to help you learn. No one questions why world class athlete’s need coaches. Why should work be different?

28. The responsibilities of the mentor
Teach the basics of the Improvement Kata to the mentee
Develop the mentees abilities by coaching him in the use of the Improvement Kata through real problems/challenges
The mentor can not give solutions to the mentee, but is responsible for the results

29. Requirements for the mentor
The mentor must have first hand knowledge and experience of using the Improvement Kata. The mentor must be involved in the Improvement Kata in order to coach properly. Don’t coach blind.
Toyota sets the bar at 10 years 
You can not coach the Improvement Kata blind, but you must understand deeply the problem it is being applied to

30. Before the target condition is set After the target condition is set
Coaching Kata
Before the target condition is set
After the target condition is set
Focus on understanding the long term direction and current condition in order to set a good and challenging next target condition.
Keep the target condition clear in the mind while focusing on the next step towards that target condition. A mindset of experimenting and learning is crucial.

31. Coaching before the target condition is set
Is there a clear and shared vision for the long term goal to set the direction?
Does the mentee understand the current condition deeply?
Does he know what is the next target condition? Do you need to give him a challenge that he can turn into the target condition?

32. Coaching after the target condition is set
The five questions:
What is the target condition?
What is the actual condition now?
What obstacles are now preventing you from reaching the target condition? Which one are you addressing now?
What is your next step (PDCA experiment)
When can we go and see what we have learned form taking that step?
From Toyota Kata by Mike Rother

33. The next step
The most important thing is making sure that the next step is clear for the mentee.
It is better for the mentee to figure out the next step, but if necessary the mentor can decide it. Go and see XYZ!

34. Remember routines are powerful…
… even in coaching!

35. Before the target condition is set After the target condition is set
Coaching Kata
Key points
Focus on guiding the Improvement Kata pattern
Ask question, don’t give answers
In unclear situations suggest: go and see
Remind the mentee about the key aspects of the Improvement Kata
Short and frequent coaching discussions
Is the next step clear?
The purpose of the Coaching Kata is to teach and coach the Improvement Kata using real world problems as practice.
Coaching questions
Before the target condition is set
After the target condition is set
What is the North Star?
What is the Current Condition?
What is the next Target Condition?
What is the first step?
What is the Target Condition?
What is the Actual Condition?
Which Obstacle are you working on?
What is your Next Step
When can we Go and See?

36. Coaching Kata exercise

37. Create shared understanding (thinking and coaching)
A3 - template
A3 is a single page document to support the Improvement and Coaching Katas.
A3-document
Mentee
Mentor
A3 – documents help to…
Learn the Kata
Create shared understanding
Create structure
(thinking and coaching)
The A3 is not a form to fill! It is a living document that is updated and revised throughout the Kata.

38. A3 and organizational learning
Solutions are documented together with their context
The why behind the solutions is also documented
A3 documents also reveal the thinking process that lead to finding the solution
Share the failures.
Worst practice is as valuable as best practice

39. A3 exercise
Study the A3 template and try to understand how you could use it to help you in the:
Improvement Kata
Coaching Kata

40. Experiences and lessons learned

41. Toyota Kata at application services unit in Aalto IT
About 35 people
Almost everyone has used the Improvement Kata and A3 documents in their work
5-10 people use the Improvement Kata actively on their own accord. The rest use it on occasion
I and few other people can act as coaches, but this is our bottleneck.
Using Toyota Kata and A3 templates has already made a considerable improvement for us

42. To what kind of work do we apply the Improvement Kata on?
Process improvement work
Improving our production services by understanding and eliminating root causes behind the incidents
Good substitute for a lot of traditional project work
For example a design of a new service can be a series of Improvement Katas

43. Get started by practicing the Improvement Kata
Get started by practicing the Improvement Kata. Start with a simple problem to practice the form, but quickly move to more challenging problems.
Remember to keep the time scales small in the beginning (at most a month). You will learn better this way.
Better yet. Find someone who wants to learn with you and share your experiences about the Improvement Kata. Do not start with the Coaching Kata before you gain experience in the Improvement Kata.

44. Choose the initial group of Improvement Kata pioneers
Choose the initial group of Improvement Kata pioneers. Organizational position can be a factor, but you should also consider how enthusiastic the person is.
I made the initial mistake of choosing just my team leaders. Soon I added more enthusiastic pioneers to the group.
Teach the pioneers the basics of the Improvement Kata and get them to experiment with it. Start using the Coaching Kata with them after a while. Be honest about your expertise level. Emphasize learning together.

45. Start scaling up by giving training sessions on the Improvement Kata and A3 – documents. Several short trainings sessions are better than one “big” one.
Make sure there is background material that people can study. Do everything you can to encourage experimenting.
Try to find ways to make Toyota Kata desirable. Not just the management fad of the month.
Have your pioneers share their experiences and learning.

46. A3 – documents can be a great help in teaching the Toyota Kata and making the results visible.
Remember that there is a real risk that it becomes too much about writing the A3 – documents instead of the thinking and behavioral patterns.

47. Develop your coaching capability by teaching your pioneers (and other who show promise in the Improvement Kata) the coaching Kata and ask them to choose people who they will start mentoring.
Follow up on their coaching efforts regularly. Remember to support and encourage their efforts.
Be explicit about teaching the Coaching Kata. I made the mistake of assuming people will learn it from being Coached. Teaching it explicitly will save you time and frustration.

48. Some will learn the Improvement Kata with ease. Most won’t. Be patient
Some will learn the Improvement Kata with ease. Most won’t. Be patient. There are no shortcuts. The level of coaching is critical in developing people in the Improvement Kata.
People who can do the Coaching Kata will be your bottleneck. Focus on developing this competence. There are no shortcuts here either.
Developing a real capability in Toyota Kata is really long term process. Trying to force the issue will only result in superficial learning.
Analogy to Agile: It is relative to easy to do Agile aka implement Scrum, but it is really difficult to actually be Agile.

49. Sources and additional information
Toyota Kata by Mike Rother
It is the single best book about Lean I have read and read a lot 
Håkan Forss has also interesting things to say about Toyota Kata.

50. Q & A Comments? Questions? Feedback?
Mentee
Improvement Kata
Coaching Kata
Mentor
Comments?
Questions?
Feedback?
Contact me if you want to discuss afterwards:
@number_9_

51. “We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
- Aristoteles
Toyota Kata is about creating habits that create excellence.