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Lean principles assessment template
A lean principles assessment checks how far each of the five lean principles shows on one value stream or area today, from what you can see on the floor rather than from opinions. The five principles, set out by James Womack and Daniel Jones in Lean Thinking, are worded here as in the lean principles guide on this site: define value, map the value stream, create flow, establish pull and seek perfection. Under each are five things you can check on a walk, such as a current state map drawn in the last 12 months or upstream steps that start work only on a signal. Each is answered yes, partly or no, with what you saw. Page 1 is the walk sheet; page 2 has the score per principle with the next step and the templates on this site that help, a table for repeat walks and a worked example. The Excel version holds up to 6 walks of the same value stream, counts yes, partly and no, scores each principle, shows the latest walk against the first with the lowest principle, and charts the scores by principle and over time. The score is (yes + half of partly) ÷ items answered, a simple example rule made for this template, not a maturity standard.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a lean principles assessment
- On a value stream that has started lean work, to see which principle is furthest behind and pick the next step.
- Before and after a value stream mapping project, to check that the future state is showing on the floor.
- As a quarterly walk with the value stream manager, to track progress on the same 25 items over time.
- To compare two value streams or areas walked the same way, and learn from the one further ahead.
How to fill it in
- 1
Pick one value stream
One product family or area from order to delivery, with a named owner. A whole plant on one sheet averages away the gaps.
- 2
Walk it, do not ask about it
Two or three people walk the value stream together. Mark each item yes, partly or no from what you can see or check today, and write what you saw: where, how many, an example.
- 3
Score each principle
Count the yes, partly and no answers. Score = (yes + half of partly) ÷ items answered. Leave out items you could not check rather than guessing.
- 4
Choose the next step
Start with the lowest principle, or with the one the next depends on: pull needs flow, and flow needs a map. Page 2 names the templates on this site for each principle, from the value stream map to the kanban sizing calculator.
- 5
Walk again
Walk the same value stream every two to three months with the same items and rule, and copy the scores into the trend table to see what moved.
What's on the walk
The 25 things to check on the floor, five for each lean principle
On a walk of one value stream, each item is answered yes, partly or no from what you can see today, with what you saw. The principles are worded as in the lean principles guide on this site.
Define value
What the customer needs and pays for
- 1The customer's requirements for this value stream (quantity, delivery, quality) are written where the team can see them
- 2Daily demand or takt time for this value stream is known and posted
- 3Recent customer complaints and returns for these products are shown in the area
- 4Operators can say what the customer needs from the step they work on
- 5Work the customer does not need (rework, extra checks, reports nobody reads) has been listed
Map the value stream
Every step from order to delivery, seen as one flow
- 6A current state map of this value stream exists, drawn from a walk in the last 12 months
- 7The map shows inventory between steps and lead time against value-added time
- 8A future state map exists with a plan, an owner for each action and dates
- 9One person is responsible for the whole value stream, not only for each department in it
- 10Inventory on the floor between steps is close to what the map shows
Create flow
Value-adding steps run without stops, piles or waiting
- 11Parts move to the next step one at a time or in small batches, not in large piles
- 12Inventory between steps has a set maximum (marked lanes or FIFO lanes) and it is kept to
- 13The bottleneck step is known and is not left waiting for material or people
- 14Changeover times are measured and short enough to run small batches
- 15Work is balanced: no operator is clearly overloaded while another waits
Establish pull
Make what the customer has used, not what a forecast says
- 16Upstream steps start work only on a signal (kanban, empty bin, space in a FIFO lane)
- 17Kanban or supermarket quantities are worked out and posted, not guessed
- 18Finished goods stock has a set maximum based on customer demand
- 19The schedule goes to one point in the value stream only; the steps before it are pulled
- 20Material is replenished on a route or by a signal, without daily expediting
Seek perfection
Keep finding and removing waste, every day
- 21Problems in this value stream are logged and worked to a root cause, with an owner and a date
- 22Standard work is posted at the main steps and matches how the job is done
- 23The team reviews results against target every day at a board or huddle
- 24Improvements from the last three months can be seen, with a before and after
- 25Operators' improvement ideas get an answer, and some are in place
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: a bracket value stream (stamping, welding, painting and assembly) walked three times in 2026 by the value stream manager and the CI lead (illustrative numbers).
- Latest walk, 29 September: define value 60%, map the value stream 80%, create flow 40%, establish pull 20%, seek perfection 60%.
- Establish pull: 0 yes, 2 partly, 3 no, so (0 + 2 ÷ 2) ÷ 5 = 20%, the lowest. Stamping runs to the weekly forecast and there is no kanban.
- Overall: 8 yes, 10 partly, 7 no: (8 + 10 ÷ 2) ÷ 25 = 52%.
- The overall score went from 24% in April to 40% in July and 52% in September, with the biggest gain in map the value stream (10% to 80%) once the current and future state maps were drawn.
The next steps were a supermarket of stamped brackets sized with the kanban sizing calculator, so welding pulls from stamping, and timing the press changeovers with the SMED changeover worksheet so stamping can run smaller batches.
Common mistakes
Scoring from the office
The items are things you can see. Answering them in a meeting turns the walk into opinions; go to the floor and write what you saw.
Assessing the whole plant at once
Value streams differ. One sheet per value stream shows where each one stands; a plant average hides the one that is furthest behind.
Jumping to pull before flow
Kanban on top of large batches and long changeovers usually fails. If flow and the map score low, work there first.
Changing the items between walks
The trend only means something if each walk uses the same items and the same rule. Add items for a new value stream, not halfway through.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
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In the lean glossary
FAQ
Lean principles assessment template: common questions
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