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IRP Information Requirements Planning

IRP in practice: the information at every process step

IRP in practice means that at every step of your process you see which information is needed, who supplies it and what is still missing. Read how Lean models this, and what it changes in situations every company knows.

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Who knows? Who has it? Where is it?

Someone needs information to move on. It is scattered across Excel files, Word documents, mailboxes and folders. There are three versions of it, and the colleague who knows has just gone on leave.

You know what follows: emails and calls back and forth, work done twice, and decisions based on an old version. Nobody sees it as a problem, until a crew arrives on site without the right plan.

Business software is usually built around goods and money: what has been sold, ordered, produced and invoiced. The information each step needs rarely gets a place of its own. That is why Lean-Interactions built IRP, as part of Lean ERP.

The MRP principle, applied to information

MRP (Material Requirements Planning) calculates which materials a production run needs, how many and for which order. IRP (Information Requirements Planning) does the same for information: which information does each process step need, and is it there yet?

Because the steps are in the planning of the file, you also see at which planned step a piece of information is needed. A plan, a customer's choice or a check becomes part of the process, just like a material in a bill of materials.

How Lean models this

You may know working with processes and checklists from other software. In Lean, the information is linked to the same steps as the planning and the file.

  1. 1
    ProcessYou define your process as a series of steps, for example from request to handover.
  2. 2
    StepEach step is in the planning of the file, with the steps it depends on.
  3. 3
    InformationFor each step, you define which information is needed: a choice, a plan, a confirmation, a check or a document.
  4. 4
    CompletingEach piece of information has its value, attachments and comments. All in one place, not in an email.
**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. A process model for windows and doors, with the information that belongs to each step. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. A process model for windows and doors, with the information that belongs to each step. Click to enlarge.

What you see, and what is missing

What is in, per stepAt each step, you see which information has already been supplied and which has not.
Unknown is not fineWhat has not come in is shown as missing. An empty box stands out; it does not disappear.
Points of attention at the topPer file or per block, you see what needs attention, such as a choice that is late.
One versionA plan exists once, at the step. Whoever opens the step looks at the same document.
**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. At the step "Detail drawing and approval", one of the three documents is in. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. At the step "Detail drawing and approval", one of the three documents is in. Click to enlarge.

Customers and partners take part

Information often comes from outside: a buyer choosing a kitchen, a customer confirming the number of guests, a partner supplying a plan. In Lean, the customer or partner follows along through a portal, for their own file only.

A buyer sees their documents and reports in their home portal, with their status. If they report something, it becomes a task on their lot, with the conversation as history. For a party, the customer sees the steps and their choices in the event portal.

**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. Per lot, which documents are in and which buyer choice is still missing. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. Per lot, which documents are in and which buyer choice is still missing. Click to enlarge.

Five situations from practice

Situations every company knows. This is how you tackle them with IRP in Lean.

  1. A new employee startsCreating accounts, assigning a car, arranging insurance, planning training: it often happens on request, through emails and Excel. With a "New employee" process, every step is ready, with the information it needs. What has been arranged and what is still to do, everyone sees in the same file.
  2. The architect changes a planThe customer wants a wall moved ten centimetres for a larger bath. The plan is changed, but the plumber works from the old version. In Lean, the plan is one piece of information linked to the file and to the steps that need it. Whoever opens the step sees the plan that is there now.
  3. Where do I need to be?An installer arrives at a housing development without the plot numbering plan and phones around to find out which lot it is. If the numbering plan is linked to the installation step, he has it with his job, and the office sees in advance whether it is there.
  4. The colleague who knows is not thereThe information exists, but sits with someone who is ill or has left. Because the information is at the step and not in a mailbox, a colleague takes over from the same steps. What has been done and what is still to do is right there.
  5. Entering the same data three timesCustomer details, choices or dimensions are retyped from email to Excel to order. In Lean, every piece of data exists once. During a survey for windows and doors, the data per opening goes onto the file, where the estimator uses it for the quote.

Information from the ERP, at the step

IRP is part of Lean ERP. A step can therefore also show data from the file, without a copy. At a caterer, the kitchen step shows the dishes from the quote, multiplied by the number of guests. If the quote changes, the kitchen looks at the same data.

Which information a step shows, and who may see or complete it, is set up with you at the start, process by process. Read more about permissions under Permissions and security.

Frequently asked questions about IRP

What does IRP stand for?

IRP stands for Information Requirements Planning: planning which information each process step needs, who supplies it and whether it is there yet.

What is the difference between MRP and IRP?

MRP plans materials: what a production run needs and how much. IRP plans information: what a process step needs to move on. In Lean, both are in the same file.

Is IRP a separate program?

No. IRP is part of Lean ERP. The information is linked to the same files, steps and planning as the rest of your work.

Can customers and partners take part?

Yes, through a portal. They only see their own file. A buyer can, for example, report something in their home portal, which becomes a task on their lot.

How do you see what is missing?

Each step shows which information is in and which is not. What is missing appears among the points of attention of the file or the block.

In which companies does this work?

Wherever several people, inside or outside the company, have to supply information for one process.

  • Property development
  • Construction and installation
  • Windows and doors
  • Manufacturing
  • Catering and events
  • Services
IRP in property development ›IRP for windows and doors ›IRP for catering and events ›IRP in food production ›How IRP works ›Lean ERP ›
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