Value stream mapping primarily helps identify waste by illustrating which of the following?

Value stream mapping primarily helps identify waste by illustrating which of the following?

• A. The flow of material and information through the process.
• B. Only the flow of money.
• C. Customer satisfaction metrics.
• D. Employee workload intensity (non-production).

Answer: (A)

Value stream mapping targets how work moves through a process by showing both the flow of materials and the flow of information that triggers and governs that work. Seeing how items physically travel and how signals, schedules, and data move alongside them exposes where delays, excessive waiting, bottlenecks, and unnecessary handoffs create waste. By mapping these flows, you can spot non‑value‑adding steps and opportunities to streamline, reduce lead times, and improve overall flow. It isn’t primarily about money, customer satisfaction metrics, or just the amount of work assigned to employees; those factors may improve as the waste is eliminated, but the map’s main purpose is to visualize material and information movement to identify waste.

Value stream mapping targets how work moves through a process by showing both the flow of materials and the flow of information that triggers and governs that work. Seeing how items physically travel and how signals, schedules, and data move alongside them exposes where delays, excessive waiting, bottlenecks, and unnecessary handoffs create waste. By mapping these flows, you can spot non‑value‑adding steps and opportunities to streamline, reduce lead times, and improve overall flow. It isn’t primarily about money, customer satisfaction metrics, or just the amount of work assigned to employees; those factors may improve as the waste is eliminated, but the map’s main purpose is to visualize material and information movement to identify waste.