Value Stream Map in draw.io: Process Boxes, Wait Times and the Timeline
A value stream map shows where an order spends its time waiting between steps. Learn how to draw process boxes, inventory triangles with wait times and the timeline ladder in the free draw.io web app, using an online shop warehouse.
Step by step
Where work waits
- Value stream maps. An order spends most of its time waiting, not being worked on. A value stream map shows where that time goes. Here's the value stream map we'll build for an online shop warehouse.
- Blank diagram. Start a blank diagram in draw.io.
Process boxes
- Process boxes. A value stream map runs left to right. Each step where work gets done is a box. Drag in a rectangle and name it. Pick items. Leave a gap for the waiting, then add the next step. Pack order. And the last step. Ship order.
Wait times
- Wait triangles. Between steps, orders pile up and wait. Lean draws that as a triangle. Click more shapes, tick value stream mapping, and click apply. Drag the inventory triangle into the first gap and type how long orders wait there. Two days. Packed orders wait again for the courier. Another triangle in the second gap. One day.
The timeline ladder
- Timeline ladder. Now the timeline ladder underneath. Open misc and drag the open box under pick items. The low steps hold the work time. Ten minutes. The high steps are the waiting. Drag a horizontal line across the top, right under the first triangle. Another low step under pack order. Five minutes of work. A high step for the second wait. And the last low step under ship order. Fifteen minutes.
Add it up
- Add it up. Under the ladder, add it all up in one more box. Three days of lead time, but only thirty minutes of real work.
- The finished map. Click away to see the finished map. Three boxes, two wait triangles, and a ladder that shows where the time really goes.
Recap
- The rules. So, a box for each step, a triangle with the wait between steps, and a ladder underneath. Low steps for work, high steps for waiting, then add them up.
