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Value Stream Mapper

Lean value stream mapping for process optimization

Add process steps using the buttons above to start mapping your value stream.

Practical guide

Value Stream Mapper Quick Start

Map value streams to identify waste and optimize flow. Perfect for Lean process improvement and operational efficiency.

How to use this tool

  1. 1Start by defining your process stages from left to right: Supplier → Process 1 → Process 2 → ... → Customer.
  2. 2Click "Add Process Box" to create each stage. Enter cycle time (how long the work takes) and lead time (how long until next stage).
  3. 3Add data boxes below each process: inventory levels, defect rate, batch size, changeover time, and uptime percentage.
  4. 4Use the timeline at bottom to show total Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE): value-add time ÷ total lead time. Lower = more waste.
  5. 5Click "Add Improvement Kaizen" icons to mark opportunities for waste reduction. Tag waste types: waiting, overproduction, defects, etc.
  6. 6Export to PDF report, Excel data sheet, or A3 problem-solving template. Toggle "Current State" vs "Future State" view for before/after.

Useful tips

  • PCE below 10% is common in most processes - huge improvement opportunity. Target 25%+ for lean processes.
  • Use the 7 Wastes filter to highlight specific waste types: Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects.
  • Add swim lanes for different product families or customer segments to see variation in flow.
  • Right-click any process box to drill into a sub-value stream map for detailed analysis of that stage.
Tool field guideDiagramsCREATE

A practical guide to Value Stream Map

Use Value Stream Map when you need to lean value stream mapping for process optimization. It belongs to MAPb2's diagrams collection and fits the "create a new visual" workflow stage. The relevant underlying idea is value-stream mapping: a Lean method for examining material and information flow, delay, and value-adding work.

Verified against the maintained tool definition and its reproducible Try Demo fixture on August 9, 2026.

Reproducible worked example

Try the “Software Delivery Value Stream” example

Starting point

Load the built-in “Software Delivery Value Stream” demo. It starts with labels such as Software Delivery Pipeline, Design Review, Code Review, Development, and Requirement and 5 steps.

What to verify

Use Value Stream Map to lean value stream mapping for process optimization. The demo should produce a labeled diagram whose objects and relationships can be followed in sequence; confirm that Software Delivery Pipeline, Design Review, and Code Review appear in the result and compare the visible state with 5 steps.

The example is derived from the maintained fixture behind Value Stream Map's Try Demo control, rather than from an invented scenario. It exercises the “create a new visual” workflow with value-stream mapping and visual thinking as review lenses.

Demo evidence ID: 69e59015b6938d44

When this tool is useful

Designed for operations, quality, and service teams.

  • For operations, quality, and service teams, Value Stream Map provides a focused way to lean value stream mapping for process optimization.
  • A useful handoff from Value Stream Map is a visual that another person can review against this check: follow every connector in its intended direction and check that shapes, labels, and legends are used consistently.
  • Value Stream Map can help make visual thinking explicit before details are copied into a report, presentation, or follow-up tool.

Method and quality check

  1. 1

    Prepare for Value Stream Map

    List the objects, steps, actors, or concepts that must appear before drawing connections. Keep the first Value Stream Map example small enough to inspect without zooming or filtering away important context.

  2. 2

    Work with the tool's stated purpose

    Lean value stream mapping for process optimization. Build a small first version before adding detail so the structure stays easy to revise.

  3. 3

    Check the result

    After using Value Stream Map, follow every connector in its intended direction and check that shapes, labels, and legends are used consistently. The first draft should make its central subject and major groups understandable at a glance.

Related concepts and entities

Value-stream mapping
A Lean method for examining material and information flow, delay, and value-adding work.
Visual thinking
Using spatial arrangement, marks, and relationships to reason about information.
Process mapping
Representing activities, decisions, handoffs, and outcomes as an ordered flow.
Hierarchy
A parent-child structure in which broad topics contain progressively narrower ones.

Limits worth checking

  • Value Stream Map should be judged against its stated job, "Lean value stream mapping for process optimization", rather than against features claimed by a different MAPb2 page.
  • For Value Stream Map, remember this boundary: a diagram is a model of selected details, not the underlying system. Record assumptions that the drawing leaves out.
  • A useful Value Stream Map review criterion is straightforward: the first draft should make its central subject and major groups understandable at a glance.
  • When using Value Stream Map, remember that the tool runs in a web browser. Before entering sensitive material, review this page's save, export, and sharing controls for the workflow you intend to use.

How Value Stream Map differs from a nearby tool

Value Stream Map is for people who need to lean value stream mapping for process optimization. Customer Journey Map is a nearby option, but its maintained focus is different: end-to-end customer experience with touchpoints and emotions.

Questions about Value Stream Map

What is Value Stream Map best used for?

Lean value stream mapping for process optimization. For operations, quality, and service teams, Value Stream Map provides a focused way to lean value stream mapping for process optimization.

Which ideas are related to Value Stream Map?

For Value Stream Map, Value-stream mapping, Visual thinking, Process mapping are the closest concepts in this guide. A Lean method for examining material and information flow, delay, and value-adding work.

What should I check after using Value Stream Map?

For Value Stream Map, remember this boundary: a diagram is a model of selected details, not the underlying system. Record assumptions that the drawing leaves out. A useful Value Stream Map review criterion is straightforward: the first draft should make its central subject and major groups understandable at a glance.

Is Value Stream Map free to use?

Yes. Value Stream Map is part of the free MAPb2 browser-tool collection. House-product recommendations may appear around the page, but they do not lock this tool.

What can I use before or after Value Stream Map?

Value Stream Map connects most closely to these maintained MAPb2 pages: Customer Journey Map, Mind Map Grid, Approval Flow Builder. Choose among them by whether your next step is to create, enhance, convert, export, analyze, or present the same material.

References and verification

The worked example above comes from this tool's maintained Try Demo fixture. These primary standards and method references explain the relevant format, interaction model, or review practice; they do not imply endorsement of MAPb2.

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