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IRP Information Requirements Planning

IRP: a few cases from practice

How do you best explain the need for IRP? With situations every company knows. Nobody gives them a second thought, yet they cost a lot of time, energy and therefore money. Below are four cases, and how to tackle them with IRP in Lean.

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Familiar in every sector

Someone needs information. It exists, but in several versions. Or it sits with a colleague who happens to be unavailable, or who has since left the company. The result: lost time and lost efficiency. It happens in every sector.

With IRP you set out your process as a series of steps, with the information each step needs. Everyone sees in the same file what is already there and what is still missing, without endless calls and emails.

New employeeRevised planWhere should I be?And many more

Case 1: a new employee joins your company

Have you ever considered all the actions needed when a new member of staff starts?

Today. A lot goes into preparing for a new employee: setting up access codes, assigning a company car, arranging insurance, planning training. Much of it happens at the new colleague's own request, with a stream of emails, Excel files and documents. It is hard to keep track of what has been arranged and what still needs doing. Things get done twice, or not at all.

With IRP from Lean. You set up a "New employee" process. Every step is ready, with the information it needs: the employee's details, the equipment, the access rights, the buddy. Whoever is responsible for a step sees what is expected of them. What has been arranged and what is still to do is in one file.

**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data (screen in Dutch). The "New employee onboarding" process: at the step "Provide equipment", the buddy and the equipment list have been filled in. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data (screen in Dutch). The "New employee onboarding" process: at the step "Provide equipment", the buddy and the equipment list have been filled in. Click to enlarge.

Case 2: the building plan is revised

An example from construction: the architect revises a drawing, but the contractor works from an old version.

Today. How often does a customer ask for a change to the building plan, only for the new version never to reach the right subcontractor? An example: the customer wants a wall moved ten centimetres to fit a bigger bath. The drawing is revised, but the new version never reaches the contractor. The result: the plumber cannot install the bath.

With IRP from Lean. The drawing exists only once, as a piece of information linked to the file and to the steps that need it. Whoever opens the step looks at the drawing that is there now, not at a copy in a mailbox.

One drawing, at the step that needs it.
One drawing, at the step that needs it.

Case 3: where should I be?

Staff on the road get the wrong house number plan, or none at all, arrive late, or start work in the wrong place.

Today. An electrician arrives at a housing development to carry out the installation. He has no house number plan and does not know which plot to go to. The result: lost time and endless phone calls to find out where the tradesman should be working.

With IRP from Lean. The house number plan is a piece of information linked to the installation step. The office sees in advance whether it is there, and the installer finds it with his job. If the plan is replaced, the step shows the new version.

**Real screen from the demo environment**, with fictitious data. The steps of a file in the planning, with their dependencies. Click to enlarge.
Real screen from the demo environment, with fictitious data. The steps of a file in the planning, with their dependencies. Click to enlarge.

And so many more misunderstandings

Does this sound familiar in your sector too? Information exists, but in several versions. Or it sits with one person who happens to be unavailable. The consequence is always the same: lost time and mistakes that only come to light late.

Lean-Interactions experienced these problems in its own operations and with many customers. After several years of development, IRP became part of Lean ERP: a place for the information of every file, at the step where it is needed.

One versionA drawing or document exists once, at the step.
Missing is visibleWhatever has not come in is shown as missing. An empty box stands out.
Easy to hand overA colleague takes over from the same steps. What has been done and what is still to do is right there.

Frequently asked questions

Which processes can I use IRP for?

For any process in which several people have to supply information: from a new employee's first day to following up a construction file or a housing development.

Do we still work with emails and Excel?

The information a step needs is at that step in the file: the value, the attachments and the comments. Nobody has to search for it in a mailbox.

How do I know which version of a drawing is the right one?

A drawing is linked once to the file and to the steps that need it. Whoever opens the step sees the drawing that is there now.

More about IRP

What is IRP? ›IRP as process management software ›IRP in practice ›How IRP works ›IRP in property development ›
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We start from a situation in your work. You see what works in the software today, and we discuss how it fits your process.

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