Map a citizen-facing service from first contact to resolution across department boundaries.
Quality & Productivity
Lean Government Techniques for Public Sector Service Quality
Apply Lean techniques to public sector service delivery, mapping citizen value streams, running rapid improvement events on permit and casework processes, and reducing queue and wait times.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Public sector services carry forms of waste that private sector Lean programmes rarely encounter in the same way: statutory sign-offs that cannot be removed but can be resequenced, casework that batches for administrative convenience rather than citizen benefit, and performance targets that distort behaviour if applied without care. This course adapts Lean value stream mapping, waste analysis and rapid improvement events to permitting, licensing, benefits and casework processes, starting from the citizen's actual journey rather than the department's organisational chart. Sessions cover mapping a service from first contact to resolution, identifying which steps are genuinely required by statute and which exist only by habit, and running a rapid improvement event that a cross-departmental team can complete in days rather than a lengthy change programme. Later modules address moving casework from batch processing toward continuous flow, using visual management to make queue length and case age visible to both staff and managers, and setting performance measures that improve service without inviting the target gaming seen in some public sector reforms. Participants leave with a value stream map template and a rapid improvement event agenda adapted to a public sector process of their choosing.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Distinguish statutory requirements from habitual steps that add no value to the citizen.
Plan and facilitate a rapid improvement event with a cross-departmental process team.
Redesign casework processing to move from batching toward continuous flow.
Apply visual management to make queue length and case age visible to staff and managers.
Set performance measures for public services that resist target gaming and distortion.
Sustain process improvements across departmental boundaries after the improvement event ends.
Who Should Attend
Public sector service managers responsible for permitting, licensing or benefits processing.
Continuous improvement leads introducing Lean methods into government departments.
Caseworker team leaders seeking to reduce backlog and case cycle time.
Digital service and transformation teams redesigning citizen-facing processes.
Local authority and agency staff planning cross-departmental improvement events.
Policy and performance analysts setting service measures for public sector programmes.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Mapping the citizen value stream
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Understanding the citizen journey
- Trace a citizen's actual journey through a service from first contact to resolution.
- Identify handoffs between departments where delay and rework typically accumulate.
- Distinguish the citizen's definition of value from internal administrative convenience.
- Capture cycle time, wait time and rework at each step of the current process.
Session 2Building the value stream map and waste analysis
- Construct a current-state value stream map spanning all departments touching the process.
- Classify each process step as statutory, value-adding or waste requiring elimination.
- Quantify total lead time versus actual processing time to reveal the scale of waiting.
- Design a future-state map that removes or resequences non-statutory waste steps.
02Running rapid improvement events
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Planning a cross-departmental improvement event
- Select a process scope narrow enough to redesign within a short, focused event.
- Assemble a cross-departmental team with authority to change the process being mapped.
- Prepare current-state data and citizen feedback ahead of the improvement event.
- Set improvement targets that are ambitious yet achievable within the event timeframe.
Session 2Facilitating the event and implementing changes
- Facilitate rapid-cycle testing of process changes during the improvement event itself.
- Resolve departmental objections to process changes using citizen impact evidence.
- Assign named owners and deadlines for changes agreed during the improvement event.
- Report event outcomes and early results to sponsoring leadership within days of completion.
03Moving casework toward flow
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Reducing batching in casework processing
- Identify where cases are batched for administrative convenience rather than citizen benefit.
- Redesign intake and triage so straightforward cases flow without waiting for a batch.
- Balance caseworker workload to reduce queue formation at high-volume process steps.
- Pilot single-piece case flow on a limited case type before wider rollout.
Session 2Visual management for queues and case ageing
- Design visual boards that show current queue length and oldest case age by team.
- Set escalation triggers when case age exceeds agreed service thresholds.
- Use daily stand-up reviews of the visual board to reallocate capacity to bottlenecks.
- Extend visual management to citizen-facing channels showing expected wait times.
04Measuring performance without distortion
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Designing performance measures for public services
- Select performance measures that reflect citizen outcomes rather than activity counts alone.
- Identify measures vulnerable to gaming, such as narrow time-to-close targets.
- Balance efficiency measures with quality and citizen satisfaction indicators.
- Review performance measures periodically against unintended behavioural effects.
Session 2Sustaining improvement across departments
- Institutionalise value stream review as a recurring cross-departmental practice.
- Train departmental staff to run smaller improvement events without external facilitation.
- Maintain visual management and flow disciplines after the initial improvement event.
- Share improvement outcomes across agencies facing similar statutory processes.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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