Wound: "From VertX, I've seen the added value of Obeya boards in many organizations. During various assignments, I realized how essential it is to have knowledge of current operations. Lacking that knowledge impacts the progress of your projects. Your position plays a role in this. If you have a higher position or multiple roles, you have easier access to that knowledge. I saw Obeya as an opportunity to make access to knowledge less role-dependent."
Miranda: Yara and I regularly collaborate with clients. We also discuss the challenges we face on various projects. When Yara shared her observations, we both saw the opportunity to address them with Obeya. Obeya helps level the playing field. In an Obeya room, everyone gains the same knowledge and discusses it. Any additional knowledge that arises is immediately shared with everyone.
Knowledge from the head on the wall
Yara: "What makes it difficult in large organizations is that there are often multiple programs running simultaneously for similar goals. And it often happens that the projects are supported or positioned within different programs. That quickly leads to a real puzzle: okay, but which program is for what? Is it all the same? And... aren't we doing things twice?
A program manager is in a position to oversee this and, from that position, can make clear decisions. The knowledge required for this is largely absent, if at all, from colleagues' heads. With Obeya, we organize the process by literally putting the information from everyone's head onto the wall. This way, everyone has the same knowledge and the same overview.
An Obeya consists of three walls. You can also link it to the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" improvement cycle.
Left wall: The strategy wall. It contains your mission and vision, as well as your goals and personas. These are the people you're doing it for. What are their needs? This is your "Plan."
Middle wall: The performance wall. It consists of two parts: planning and performance. Here you can see where you stand. Planning is the "Do," performance is the "Check."
Right wall: The activity wall. This lists your actions, risks, and measures. This is your "Act."
Conversations that would otherwise never happen
Miranda: Within projects, it's important to keep stakeholders informed. What you often see within an organization is that one person reports and another does too, but all using a different template or wording. This creates noise. Obeya ensures that everyone is looking at the same thing, which eliminates that noise.
In addition, efficiency increases between teams. Team A sees exactly where Team B stands and what challenges they're facing. This makes it easier for one team to reach out to the other and say, "Do you have a problem there? I can help you." Or, "You're running a bit behind schedule, good to know."
Wound: Obeya makes it easier for a program manager or project manager to stay focused. And sometimes, during a project, you discover things you didn't know. Maybe something isn't smart or pleasant, and with Obeya, you can uncover that more quickly.
The difference between a conversation in an Obeya room and general team sessions is therefore significant. Often, in a team session or a weekly start, you discuss current affairs at a task-oriented level. The connection to overarching issues doesn't happen.
Completing the strategy wall, the left wall, can spark a conversation about "who are we actually doing this for?" The image colleagues within a (project) team have of the target group often turns out to be unclear or inconsistent.
This is how valuable conversations arise in an Obeya room. Conversations that might not otherwise happen. And yes, that can be frustrating, but you do move forward together.
Miranda: I agree with you 100%. Just reflecting on your left wall together, asking yourself what your mission and vision are, provides so much insight. As soon as you answer the question—why are we here and how does that connect to what we do—the follow-up question of who you're doing it for naturally arises. That immediately clears away a lot of noise and helps you maintain focus together.
Obeya bridges the gap between strategy and execution
Miranda: "With an Obeya, you also create more mutual understanding. Because teams have an overview, they look beyond their own tasks. They see the interconnectedness.
And if you have a clear compass, direction is also easier. Then working on a project comes more from intrinsic motivation instead of "we're just doing this because the program manager says so."
For me, Obeya is primarily about communication and shared understanding. Within projects, there's often a gap between strategy and execution. Obeya bridges that gap. You bring those worlds together. Everyone sees the same thing, understands why things happen, and can therefore execute better and with greater focus.
Obeya as a foundation for continued development as an organization
Yara: "For me, Obeya is a way to learn to look at your project, program, or organization differently. But it's also a way to create space. So, slow down for a moment, zoom out for a moment.
And what I personally really like is that it also offers the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other. By exploring together: where are we clashing? Why is that, and what can we learn from it together? That's what I find really cool about Obeya; you have conversations you wouldn't normally have.
Obeya is a tool in a sense, but it's broader than that. If you use it correctly, it creates an infrastructure that allows movement to emerge. Obeya then becomes a foundation that helps your entire organization continue to evolve.
