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Figure 12.5 The improvement kata pattern. Source: Mike Rother, Toyota Kata Practice Guide (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2017). . Set the direction or challenge. The challenge, usually set by management, may often seem out of reach, maybe even impossible, and thus forces the learner to break down the problem and learn through shorter-term target condi- tions. It is typically six months to one year out. . Grasp the current condition. Where are we now in relation to the challenge? It is useful, but not sufficient, to calculate statistics describing the current condi- tion. Rother recommends a routine, a starter kata, for process analysis that includes understanding the current process steps and making run charts— repeatedly observing the current process pattern and documenting the variation across trials and identifying reasons for the variation. . Establish your next target condition. Based on the learner’s initial grasp of the current condition, the target condition is a shorter-term next goal that is a significant step beyond the current condition on the way to the challenge. It includes a target (outcome metric) and a condition (desired process characteris- tics, or operating pattern, and a process metric). This is typically one to four weeks out. Shorter is better for novices, as it is easier to envision the condition. Smaller, short-term goals have been shown to be more motivating than big long-term challenges, and the beginner learner gets more repetitions of the entire improvement kata cycle. Warning: Do not attempt to plot out all the tar- get conditions in advance, because that is way beyond your threshold of knowl- edge. Start with one, and when you reach it, reflect back and then set the next one in light of what you have learned, and so on. . Experiment. Go crazy! Have fun! Be creative! This is the most enjoyable part for most people. Most of the planning to this point has been holding the learner back from trying out their ideas. Finally, some doing. Test one factor at a time if possible, predicting what will happen, running the experiment, and reflecting on what you learned. Repeat rapid cycles of PDCA until you reach the target con- dition, set your next target condition, and continue toward the challenge. It is recommended this be done in pairs—a learner with a coach. The learner is leading the project and often acts as the leader of a team. The coach meets regularly, ideally daily, with the learner. Rother also developed a coaching kata (CK) that helps get the coach engaged with a “five-question” starter kata (see Figure 12.6). The learner documents his or her IK process on a storyboard, which itself is one of the starter kata routines. The coach asks questions from each category, which mirrors the IK pattern. They are nested questions beginning with the target condition and actual condition, and on the flip side are questions to reflect on the last experiment that the learner has run. Each experiment is practiced via another starter kata, following the pattern of description, prediction, results, and reflection (PDCA). The comparison between prediction and actual results provides an opportunity for learning. Asking the predefined questions on the card is a starting point, a mental pattern- maker, as they demarcate phases of a coaching cycle. As the coach matures, he or she will ask deeper and deeper clarifying questions and eventually develop an individual style. There is research under way by Tilo Schwarz to build on the coaching kata and address specific ways to respond to the learner, with the opportunity to practice in rapid cycles offline in a dojo (simulated environment for practice).13 Card is turned over to reflect on the learner’s last step The Five Questions (® Whatiis the Target Condition? (@ Whatiis the Actual Condition now? ~=eeeee(Turn Card Over) (® What Obstacles do you think are preventing Reflect on the Last Step Taken Because you don't actually know what the result of a step will be! you from reaching the target condition? Which *one* are you addressing now? (@ What is your Next Step? (Next experiment) What do you expect? @ How quickly can we go and see what we Have Learned from taking that step? *You'll often work on the same obstacle with several experiments (D Whatdid you plan as your Last Step? (@ Whatdid you Expect? @ What Actually Happened? (@ What did you Learn? BTSRRI PIRE L, <) Return to question 3 Figure 12.6 A starter kata for the coach. Source: Mike Rother, Toyota Kata Practice Guide (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2017). PN 07. %51 DB D). 0. N\% | 3 B3 DHIVA I\ (€2 00 2007 VWA gL VN | B 10)140) D328