The Structuring Power of an Obeya: From Vision to Impact at the Digital Factory

"this is exactly why we do it"

I experienced a revealing moment last week during a Lean Framing exercise with my executive committee. One of those moments that makes you think "this is exactly why we do it." Let me tell you how our Obeya became much more than a wall of indicators - it's now the beating heart of our transformation.

The Power of Lean's 4Fs

If you follow me, you know I'm a passionate advocate of Lean Engineering. Not the textbook Lean, but the kind that truly transforms organizations. We chose to apply the 4Fs (Find, Face, Frame, Form) rather than the traditional 4Ds (Define, Decide, Drive, Deal). Why? Because our mission - creating the best digital banking experience for the French economy - deserves better than a top-down approach.

The Obeya: Our Collective Compass

Our "big room" (yes, that's the literal translation of Obeya - sometimes Japanese gets straight to the point 😉) is organized on two levels that tell our story:

Level 1: Our True North

At the top, four critical indicators that define our success:

1. Business Performance

   • 80% milestone achievement (our sacred commitment)

   • Measurable user impact

   • Usage growth

   • ROI on investments (not just € !!!)

2. Customer Satisfaction

   • CSAT > 4/5

   • NPS evolution

   • New feature adoption rates (usage, usage, usage)

   • Feedback analysis (the famous feedback loop)

3. Team Engagement

   • eNPS > 40 (considering the corporate eNPS standard is -10...)

   • Skills progression

   • Workplace well-being

4. Operational Excellence

   • P0/P1 incidents (goal: 50% reduction vs 2024)

   • Platform availability

   • Technical performance

   • Security and compliance

Level 2: Our 7 Systems of Excellence

The lower section reveals the 7 pillars that power our Digital Factory:

1. Tech: architecture, innovation, technical debt, performance, scalability, project lead time, quality...

2. Product: product vision, strategic roadmap, discovery...

3. Data: data quality, project lead time, monitoring, compliance, AI...

4. Delivery: milestone achievement, sponsor satisfaction, continuous learning...

5. Cloud: availability rate, devX, cyber, finOps...

6. People: strong eNPS, onboarding, culture & values...

7. Design: user experience, research, CES (customer effort score)...

Why Does It Work So Well?

Unmatched Structural Clarity

• Natural visual hierarchy

• Clear connections between strategy and execution

• Immediate visualization of interdependencies

Alignment That Becomes Instinctive

• Each team sees their contribution to overall success

• Trade-offs happen naturally

• Collaboration becomes second nature

Enhanced Organizational Agility

• Early problem detection

• Quick replication of successes

• Smooth inter-team communication

Continuous Improvement Culture

• Gaps become opportunities

• Innovation emerges at intersections

• Feedback is constant and constructive

Key Learnings

Our biggest discovery? The power of a simple but rigorous structure. When 300 people from the Digital Factory, plus the entire Digital leadership - even the whole company - can see at a glance where we're going and how we're getting there, magic happens.

💡 Pro tip: An Obeya's value isn't in its sophistication, but in its ability to trigger the right conversations and actions.

What makes me proudest?

Seeing a complex organization move with startup agility while maintaining the rigor of a leading bank. That's real digital transformation!

My Advice to Leaders and Managers

Start modestly, but start. Clarity will come from usage, not initial perfection. And above all, trust the process - a good Obeya often reveals the optimal organization you need.

#LeanEngineering #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #ProductManagement #Innovation #BankingInnovation #ContinuousImprovement #ChangeManagement