TL;DR: In Lean, even well-intended changes can backfire — what Germans call verschlimmbesserung. Avoid it by testing ideas through PDSA, using data, and adjusting before making changes permanent. Almost to a fault, the Lean methodology includes a lot of Japanese words, including kaizen, a word used to describe a particular approach to continuous improvement. When we learn words like this, they can draw us in to learn and understand more. Or, words like this can … Continue reading When “Improvement” Makes Things Worse: Learning from Verschlimmbesserung