Board
Inspired by: Obeya Board | Behavior: 5S (current condition) + Kaizen (improvement)
The Board is the team's operational mirror. It visualizes objectives (Plan), tasks in progress (Do), improvement opportunities under review (Check), and improvements being implemented (Act).
Anatomy
| Column | PDCA Phase | Contains |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Plan | Objectives from the Matrix, broken into actionable tasks |
| Do | Do | Tasks in progress (to-do, doing, done) |
| Check | Check | Improvement opportunities identified — anomalies, problems, ideas |
| Act | Act | Improvements being implemented, results pending verification |
How It Lives
- Updated during Briefing (tasks assigned per objective)
- Read continuously (the Board breathes between meetings)
- Reviewed during Debriefing (what was done, what was not, why)
- Feeds the Circle with improvement opportunities
Key Principle
The Board is not a task tracker. It is a thinking surface. If a task is blocked, the Board should show why. If an improvement is in progress, the Board should show what stage it is in.
Anti-pattern: The Task Tracker Board
The Board is reduced to a to-do list: tasks flow from left to right, but the Check and Act columns are empty. It shows what is being done but not what is being learned.
How to detect: The Board has many tasks in Do but none in Check or Act. Improvement opportunities are discussed verbally but not captured on the Board. The Board looks identical to a generic project management tool.
How to recover: The Check and Act columns must be actively maintained. Every Debriefing should move at least one item into Check. The Board is not complete until it reflects both execution and learning.