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Give the request a clear next step

Office management + ownership + pull. Follow the visual, practise a decision, then check your thinking.

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Fictional teaching examples and AI-generated illustrations. Proposed changes and goals are not achieved results. Use the written instructions and check local conditions before applying a method.

Teaching view 1 of 2

Give each request one visible next owner

A request board shows readiness, active work, blocked work, review and completion with visible ownership. — AI-generated teaching illustration. Follow the steps below, then try the practice question. View full size ↗

The current case describes seven handoffs and a proposed three; it does not contain a measured seven-step route. Teach readers to trace the actual request and define which transfers count. A board makes readiness, ownership, blocked work and completion visible. Pull new work when agreed capacity is available, preserve necessary approvals and acknowledge receipt at every required transfer. A tidy desk is not evidence that the request route improved.

Follow the method

Ready
In progress
Waiting for response
Review
Done + acknowledged

Read the example carefully

Seven existing handoffs and a proposed three are summary figures. The source does not supply a measured seven-step route.

Ready, In progress, Waiting, Review and Done are proposed board states, not the seven historical handoffs. Define which ownership transfers count.

Try it before revealing the answer

Does putting every incoming request into In progress create flow?

Reveal the answer and reasoning

No. It can hide overload; make capacity, ageing and blocked work visible and use an explicit pull rule.

Teaching view 2 of 2

Trace five requests from arrival to acceptance

A request transfer connects sender readiness, receiver acknowledgement and escalation alongside a trace record. — AI-generated teaching illustration. Follow the steps below, then try the practice question. View full size ↗

Use the planned five-request trace to discover the real route. Record who owns each next step, why the transfer occurs, when the request waits and what causes rework. Compare the whole request experience before removing a handoff. The aim is clear ownership and useful work, not bypassing controls. Review the trace with the people on both sides of the transfer and choose one small test.

Follow the method

Arrival + ready check
Owner + transfer reason
Touch + waiting stamps
Rework + completion
PDCA review

Read the example carefully

Trace five real requests with arrival, ready condition, next owner, transfer reason, touch and waiting stamps, rework and accepted completion.

A sender states readiness and a receiver acknowledges custody. Define the response when acknowledgement does not arrive; preserve required approvals.

Try it before revealing the answer

Can removing four handoffs be called an improvement without checking completion and rework?

Reveal the answer and reasoning

No. Necessary decisions may have been lost or work transferred; verify the customer outcome.

Build on reliable methods

Sources and further reading

Lean Enterprise Institute — Practicing Lean Fundamentals in an Office Environment ↗
Office improvement focuses on customer-relevant processes through stabilization, standardization, visibility and continued improvement. Organizing desks alone does not resolve batching, information quality or handoff delays.
Lean Enterprise Institute — Gemba ↗
Direct observation and inquiry where value-producing work occurs establish current conditions before action; following a process across departments can reveal its end-to-end operation.
Gemba applies to service and office work as well as manufacturing.
ASQ — Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle ↗
PDCA repeats planning, a small trial, review of results and learning, and action informed by that learning.
Check includes analysis and learning; do not reduce it to an approval tick.

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Five illustrated system chapters: 15 Flare concept maps and 26 original workplace teaching cards, with links to all 81 supporting cases and method lessons.

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