Once a process is documented, the next step is to assess it. This is where you look at the work with fresh eyes and ask a direct question: where is time, effort, and money being spent on activities that add no value?
Why Assessment Matters
Most processes carry waste that nobody planned for and nobody owns. It accumulates over time through workarounds, redundant approvals, and steps that made sense once but no longer do. The Assess phase makes that waste visible and gives you the evidence you need to act on it.
If the waste is visible to everyone in the room, a basic Lean framework gives you a structured single-session approach to assess and improve the process. If the cause isn't clear or people see it differently, the full DMAIC approach provides the rigor needed to get to root cause. The BPMO Lean Six Sigma Toolkit covers both, including step-by-step guidance for leading a DMAIC session.
Basic Lean Framework to Assess and Improve a Process in a Single Session
Details, tools, and templates can be found in the BPMO Lean Six Sigma Toolkit.
How to Assess a Process
The BPMO uses a structured approach to assessment. Each step builds on the last.
STEP 1: Walk the process
Review the current state map with the people who do the work. Confirm it reflects reality before you start analyzing it.
STEP 2: Classify each step
For every activity in the process, ask: Is this Value Add, Non-Value Add, or Business Value Add?
Use the VA/NVA/BVA worksheet to capture the classification and the time associated with each step.
STEP 3: Identify waste using TIMWOODS
For every Non-Value Add step, identify which type of waste it represents. This sharpens the conversation about what to fix and why.
STEP 4: Capture baseline metrics
Before making any changes, record how the process performs today. Cycle time, number of steps, handoffs, and error rate are good starting points. You will need some type of data to measure the impact of improvements later.
STEP 5: Prioritize
Not all waste is worth addressing immediately. Focus on the waste that has the highest impact on the customer and the most realistic path to elimination.
Value and Waste Analysis
The BPMO uses the VA/NVA/BVA framework to classify every step in a process.
Customer Value Add (CVA)
Work the customer would recognize as necessary and worth paying for. If you removed it, the result would suffer.
Business Value Add (BVA)
Work the organization requires but the customer would not choose to pay for directly. Compliance steps, financial reporting, and regulatory requirements fall here. The goal is to minimize it, not eliminate it.
Non-Value Add (NVA)
Work that adds no value to anyone. Waiting, rework, redundant approvals, unnecessary handoffs. This is the waste you eliminate first.
The 8 Types of Waste (TIMWOODS)
Not all waste looks the same. The TIMWOODS framework gives you a vocabulary for identifying it.
TRANSPORTATION
Moving information or work unnecessarily between people or systems.
INVENTORY
Work sitting in queues, waiting to be processed.
MOTION
Unnecessary steps people take to get the information or tools they need.
WAITING
Delays caused by approvals, missing information, or upstream bottlenecks.
OVERPRODUCTION
Producing more than the next step or the customer actually needs.
OVERPROCESSING
More review, approval, or effort than the work requires.
DEFECTS
Errors that require rework, correction, or escalation.
SKILLS
Underusing the knowledge and capability of the people doing the work.
Tools and Templates
VA/NVA/BVA Worksheet: Use this to classify each process step and calculate the percentage of value-adding work in your process. Download at bpmo.berkeley.edu/templates.
TIMWOODS Reference Guide: A quick reference for identifying and naming waste in administrative processes. Download at bpmo.berkeley.edu/templates.
BPMO Lean Six Sigma Toolkit: A complete guide to Lean and DMAIC tools, templates, and facilitation guides for process improvement work at UC Berkeley. Access the toolkit at bpmo.berkeley.edu/lss-toolkit.
UC Berkeley Process Optimization Guide: Section 2 covers the full Assess methodology with examples and a detailed TIMWOODS table. Download the guide at...
Ready for the next step?
Once you know where the waste is, move to Improve to design and implement solutions.
Back to Document — Back to Process Management Lifecycle — Go to Improve