This chapter discusses the concept of neglected work, which refers to important tasks that are deprioritized or delayed. It emphasizes the need for leaders to understand and prioritize neglected work, such as technical debt, and highlights the challenges of measuring and addressing it. The chapter also discusses the importance of allocating capacity for different types of work and setting up tool sets to measure each type of work.
“The five thieves of time are: too much work in progress, conflicting priorities, unplanned work, unknown dependencies, and neglected work."
Dominica DeGrandis is the author of “Making Work Visible”. In this episode, we discussed how we can optimize our workflow and reclaim control of our work and time. Dominica unveiled the concept of the five thieves of time that rob us of our productivity, that includes too much work-in-progress (WIP), conflicting priorities, unplanned work, unknown dependencies, and neglected work. She also shared actionable practices and tips on dealing with each of these thieves. Towards the end, Dominica emphasized the importance of bringing visibility to and measuring the flow of what leadership and customers care about - the delivery of customer value—big picture items that span end-to-end value streams.
Listen out for:
- Career Journey - [00:03:47]
- Making Work Visible & Five Thieves of Time - [00:08:45]
- Thief: Too Much WIP - [00:15:31]
- WIP is a Leading Indicator - [00:18:33]
- Thief: Unplanned Work - [00:20:45]
- Making Sense of WIP - [00:23:04]
- Thief: Conflicting Priorities - [00:24:38]
- Thief: Unknown Dependencies - [00:29:17]
- Managing Dependencies - [00:32:53]
- Thief: Neglected Work - [00:36:40]
- Make Organization Work Visible - [00:41:21]
- Measuring Flow - [00:50:19]
- 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:55:11]
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Dominica DeGrandis’s Bio
A huge fan of using visual cues to inspire change, Dominica DeGrandis, author of Making Work Visible - Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow, and Principal Flow Advisor at Planview, helps organizations make work visible to improve workflow. Obsessed with useful metrics & influencing change, Dominica advises customers on flow metrics, value stream management and how to effect change.
Follow Dominica:
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