How do I make a value stream map?

List your process steps from supplier to customer, collect the cycle time and inventory for each step, and note how information flows to the production schedule. Enter that description in the Figviz prompt, choose current state or future state, pick a style, and click Generate. The tool builds the labeled VSM with a sawtooth timeline at the bottom. Refine the prompt to adjust any step or metric.

Is the value stream map generator free?

Yes. Every account starts with free credits you can use to generate value stream maps right away. Purchasing any pay-as-you-go credit pack removes the watermark and unlocks higher resolutions up to 4K. Credits never expire, so you can use them at your own pace.

What is the difference between a current-state and a future-state VSM?

A current-state VSM documents how your process actually works today, with real cycle times, inventory levels, and information flows. A future-state VSM redesigns that flow to eliminate waste, often by replacing push arrows with pull systems, reducing WIP, and balancing cycle times to takt time. Figviz can generate both types from a description of your process.

What symbols does a value stream map use?

Standard VSM symbols include process boxes (one per step), data boxes showing cycle time and inventory, inventory triangles between steps, push arrows for material flow, pull (supermarket) symbols for controlled buffers, straight and lightning-bolt arrows for information flow, and a sawtooth lead-time timeline along the bottom. Figviz renders all of these from a plain-text process description.

Can I use a VSM for lean and process improvement projects?

Yes. Value stream mapping is a core lean tool used in manufacturing, healthcare, office, and service industries. A current-state VSM reveals waste such as excess WIP, long wait times, and information bottlenecks. A future-state VSM plans the improved flow. Figviz is well suited for kaizen events, A3 reports, and lean training, letting you prototype both maps quickly without specialist diagramming software.

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Value Stream Map Generator Value Stream Maps

Describe your process and get a clean, labeled value stream map in seconds, with process boxes, data boxes, inventory triangles, a sawtooth lead-time timeline, and material and information flow arrows. Current-state, future-state, office, and lean VSMs all supported.

✓Current and future state VSMs✓Process and data boxes with metrics✓Sawtooth lead-time timeline✓Material and information flow arrowsLast updated: 2026-06-21

Value Stream Map Examples

Browse VSM diagrams made with Figviz, or generate your own above

Current-State Manufacturing VSM

A full current-state manufacturing VSM showing stamping, welding, and painting steps with cycle times, inventory triangles, and a lead-time timeline.

manufacturingcurrent statelean

Future-State VSM

A future-state VSM with kaizen burst icons, pull (supermarket) symbols, and reduced lead time after applying lean improvements.

future stateleankaizen

Office and Service Process VSM

An office VSM mapping an order-processing workflow with intake, review, approval, and fulfillment steps and queue times labeled.

officeserviceinformation flow

VSM with Takt Time and Cycle Time

A VSM diagram with cycle time bars and takt time line added to a bar chart below the sawtooth timeline for capacity analysis.

takt timecycle timecapacity

VSM with Information and Material Flow Arrows

A VSM clearly distinguishing manual information flow (straight arrows), electronic information flow (lightning arrows), and material push arrows.

information flowmaterial flowarrows

Simple Lean VSM Example

A beginner-friendly lean VSM example with three steps, clear labels, and a sawtooth lead-time timeline.

leansimpleexample

Prompt templates you can copy

Start with one of these examples, then adapt the subject, labels, data, or layout for your own use.

Current-State Manufacturing VSM

A full current-state manufacturing VSM showing stamping, welding, and painting steps with cycle times, inventory triangles, and a lead-time timeline.

Create a labeled current-state value stream map for a metal bracket manufacturing process with three steps: Stamping (C/T 30s, 200 pcs WIP), Welding (C/T 45s, 100 pcs WIP), and Painting (C/T 60s, 50 pcs WIP). Show the supplier icon on the left, customer icon on the right, push arrows between steps, inventory triangles, data boxes below each process box, production scheduler with information flow arrows, and a sawtooth lead-time timeline at the bottom. Classic lean style. White background.

Future-State VSM

A future-state VSM with kaizen burst icons, pull (supermarket) symbols, and reduced lead time after applying lean improvements.

Create a labeled future-state value stream map showing lean improvements: replace push arrows with a pull supermarket between Welding and Painting, add kaizen burst symbols on the bottleneck steps, show a kanban signal from the supermarket, reduce the WIP inventory triangles, and update the sawtooth timeline to reflect the shorter lead time. Supplier on the left, customer on the right. Classic lean style. White background.

Office and Service Process VSM

An office VSM mapping an order-processing workflow with intake, review, approval, and fulfillment steps and queue times labeled.

Create a labeled value stream map for an office order-processing workflow with four steps: Order Intake (process time 10 min, queue 2 hrs), Credit Review (process time 20 min, queue 4 hrs), Approval (process time 5 min, queue 1 hr), and Fulfillment (process time 15 min). Show information flow arrows between steps, data boxes with process time and queue time, a customer icon on the right, and a sawtooth timeline at the bottom showing total lead time vs. value-added time. Minimal clean style. White background.

VSM with Takt Time and Cycle Time

A VSM diagram with cycle time bars and takt time line added to a bar chart below the sawtooth timeline for capacity analysis.

Create a labeled value stream map for a four-step assembly process. Under the sawtooth lead-time timeline at the bottom, add a cycle-time bar chart showing each step cycle time as a bar with the takt time drawn as a horizontal line across all bars. Label each bar with its cycle time value and show which steps are above takt time in red. Process boxes have data boxes with C/T, C/O, and uptime. Classic lean style. White background.

What is a value stream map generator?

A value stream map generator is a tool that creates VSM diagrams from a plain description of your process. Value stream mapping is a lean technique that visualizes every step a product or service takes from supplier to customer, using standardized symbols such as process boxes, data boxes, inventory triangles, push arrows, and a sawtooth lead-time timeline. Traditional VSM drawing requires knowing the symbol set and placing each element by hand in a diagramming tool. Figviz generates a clean, labeled VSM from a text description, so you can sketch a current-state or future-state map in seconds and spend more time analyzing the waste rather than drawing boxes.

How to make a value stream map

Define the product family or service you want to map and identify the customer demand (takt time).

List each process step from supplier to customer in the order material or information flows.

Collect the key metrics for each step: cycle time, changeover time, uptime, and work-in-process inventory.

Note how information flows from the customer order to the production scheduler and to each process step.

Enter your description in the prompt box, choose a style, and click Generate.

Review the output, check that the sawtooth timeline shows the correct value-added and lead times, and refine the prompt if needed.

Download the high-resolution PNG and use it in your lean workshop, A3 report, or process improvement presentation.

Key VSM symbols explained

Process box: a rectangle representing one step in the value stream, with the step name inside.

Data box: a box below each process box showing key metrics such as cycle time (C/T), changeover time (C/O), uptime, and number of operators.

Inventory triangle: a solid triangle between steps showing the amount of work-in-process inventory waiting between those steps.

Push arrow: a striped arrow indicating that material is pushed to the next step regardless of demand.

Pull (supermarket) symbol: a set of shelves indicating a controlled inventory buffer in a pull system.

Information flow arrow: a straight arrow for manual information flow and a lightning-bolt arrow for electronic information flow (e.g. EDI or ERP).

Sawtooth timeline: the zigzag line along the bottom of the map alternating between inventory wait times (up segments) and process times (down segments), with total lead time and value-added time summarized.

Kaizen burst: a starburst symbol placed on a step to indicate a targeted improvement action for the future state.

Tips for effective value stream mapping

Walk the actual value stream before you draw. Collect real cycle times and inventory counts rather than using planned values, because current-state maps built on actual data reveal the true waste. For future-state maps, mark improvement opportunities with kaizen bursts and redesign the flow to approach takt time at each step. Keep the scope to one product family to avoid a map that is too complex to act on. When sharing the VSM with a lean workshop team, use the colorful style for projection and the minimal style for printed A3 reports. Always show both the current-state and future-state maps side by side so the improvement delta is visible at a glance.

Using VSMs for lean and process improvement

Value stream mapping is one of the most widely used tools in lean manufacturing and lean office programs. A current-state VSM exposes the seven wastes (overproduction, waiting, transportation, over-processing, inventory, motion, and defects) by making lead time, WIP, and information bottlenecks visible. A future-state VSM then designs the improved flow, often by introducing pull systems, reducing batch sizes, or combining steps. Use Figviz to rapidly prototype both maps during a kaizen event, compare them in your A3 problem-solving report, and update the future-state map as improvements are implemented.

Frequently asked questions

A value stream map generator is a tool that builds a VSM diagram from a text description of your process. With Figviz you describe the process steps and their metrics, and the AI draws a labeled map with process boxes, data boxes, inventory triangles, flow arrows, and a sawtooth lead-time timeline, in seconds.

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