I've had a couple of conversations recently about the difficulty of getting started with agile methods overall or even specific tools like 5S.  I've heard (and experienced) that sustaining  agile tools and concepts was difficult but never thought much about getting started.  I always saw that as the easy part.  But, listening to some of the folks I've been talking with, I've got some empathy for their plight.

I think part of the problem comes from looking at an agile implementation as simply putting a bunch of methods or tools in place.  I went on a sales call once during which the potential client asked if we could help them re-invigorate their stalled 5S initiative .  A series of questions uncovered several facts:

• The supervisors had already been trained in 5S...in a two hour session.
• The supervisors weren't doing anything with what they had learned.
• Other than the class, there was nothing that made it clear to the supervisors that they were responsible for implementing 5S, e.g., no clearly stated objectives or goals, no performance appraisals, no subsequent discussions about 5S that allowed for input from the supervisors.

The conversation also turned up what the prospect wanted from me....more training for the supervisors.

The point here is that it's harder than it seems to implement lean tools - certainly it takes more than putting supervisors in a two-hour class - but it's not rocket science.

I talk more about it in subsequent posts.