- Make the trigger event and the client value/outcome explicit. - Maps must begin with an **external business-relevant event** and end with an **external [client-]value** - This ensures you have captured the full value stream - Every value stream [fork] should end in a client value/outcome (Because otherwise, why would you be making that effort?) - Start the mapping exercise from the client value and work **backwards** to maximize map accuracy. - The only allowed cycles are **rework**, connecting an **action** to a previous **wait time**. - Aim to gather just enough information to identify a critical constraint, it is not necessary to gather precise timing data on every aspect of the map. - An actor can be either a human or a machine executing an automated process. ## Steps to create a current state map  1. Stream selection: what client value to explore 2. Add activities: tasks & work that is done as one unit without interruption 3. Add timing: of activities and wait times 4. Add total timings and any other dimensions (accuracy %, for example) that matter 5. Highlight the constraint: identify the bottleneck. ## Example VSM maps   ### Map components  ## References - https://itrevolution.com/articles/the-five-maps-of-flow-engineering/#nav-3 - https://github.com/stevepereira/flow-engineering/tree/main