Going to Gemba or MBWA?

A client recently mentioned the concept of Going to Gemba which roughly translates to "going to the place where the truth can be found." In more practical terms, it means go to the place where the action is occurring (where work is being done) to learn and improve. This concept is familiar to Lean practitioners, usually describing it as having three parts: Go See, Ask Why and Show Respect.

A quick look on the web reveals many articles talking about the merits of Going to Gemba. This Industry Week article is a good introduction to the concept: How to Go to the Gemba. At Lean.org, How to Go to the Gemba: Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect provides additional practical insight on the process.

Going to Gemba reminds me of Management By Wandering Around (MBWA), a management technique that I first encountered when working for Hewlett-Packard. These two approaches are very similar but with some differences. Gemba provides more structure to the process while MBWA tends to be open ended. They both recognize the need to get out of your office to observe activity first hand and to engage with employees. All good stuff.

Don Reinertsen points out a potential trap with Going to Gemba. In Going to Gemba and Its Limits, he writes that in the design process too much reliance on observation can lead you to faulty conclusions. The design process is filled with information that exists in abstract form or just inside the designer's brain. He warns against a cognitive fallacy called WYSIATI (What you see is all there is.) That's good advice. I think the Gemba answer to this is to Ask Why in a way that exposes the real issues, opportunities and challenges. You have to go beyond what is easily visible and drive to root cause.