Within the 8 Deadly Waste of TIMWOODS, a waste exists that is kind and considerate on the surface but cruel to the pursuit of excellence. It is a waste that consumes our time due to our preferences, pursuit of perfection, and obsession to make something a smidge better. It is a waste that trades your time for nothing because your customer fails to recognize its value. It is waste that consumes additional costs for grandiose ideas and then flippantly tossed to the side by the customer.
TIMWOODS - Overprocessing
The second O in TIMWOODS is overprocessing and is the chameleon action. In manufacturing, it is putting extra quality into a product that the customer will not pay for. When coding, overprocessing makes the resilience, organization, and redundancies immaterial. It is a byproduct of the department that defaults to say, we need a new SOP, after every incident. Unless something goes wrong, this department has no mechanism to monitor the effectiveness of the 1000s of SOPs (standard operating procedures).
Overprocessing originates from additional features and functionalities beyond what is required and inevitably diminishes value. In most cases, this overprocessing is a waste originating from shortsightedness and failure to understand the standards, specifications, and expectations that align with an overarching mission.
An example of overprocessing
Consider the kickstand on a bicycle as an example of overprocessing. You have a bicycle company that envisions a family's garage of individual bicycles in parallel at a 10-degree angle. With this mindset, the engineering team designs a small piece of carbon steel rod with a galvanized coating, bent to a specific angle, and with a feature that allows it to rotate approximately 90 degrees to avoid contacting the pedals when it is time to ride. The designed feature would keep every bicycle upright and organized.
However, this engineered solution does not apply to the garage that mounts the bicycles on a wall or ceiling. The solution returns no value to the kids who quickly ride down the street and haphazardly ditch the bike in a neighbor's front yard. It is a feature that benefits very few and will become permanently removed by the majority when the fastener loosens to make the kickstand non-functional. In disgust, it also created a long scratch on the driver's side door of the car parked in the garage when the bike fell.
Avoid overprocessing
Of the 8-deadly waste, overprocessing is the most caring and kind on the surface of the eight. Using the example of the kickstand, the engineer's intentions are good. In most overprocessing examples, the intent is the pursuit of an attribute, level of quality, or ability that targets a specific functionality yet will not be utilized. However, the value is rarely realized and leaves a trail of scratches instead. Seek out the overprocessing that hinders you from remaining nimble to achieve the overarching mission. Before you add your version of a kickstand to a product or process, consider if your kickstand will be used.
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