Meant for continuous improvement professionals and leaders, this guide describes the planning and executing of Kaizen Events in office, service, and technical settings, as well as conducting post-Event follow-ups. The authors provide background on the Toyota Production System, the lean philosophy, and the difference between the practice of ongoing, daily kaizen, and Kaizen Events. They include sample value stream maps for a purchasing process and a section on map interpretation. Also described is a new technique called Metrics-Based Process Mapping, which combines the metrics components from value stream mapping with the swim-lane structure of functional process maps. Use of Japanese terminology is limited. The accompanying CD-ROM contains Excel-based tools and templates. Martin (Lean enterprise program, U. of California, San Diego, and advanced Lean program, San Diego State U.) is a consultant specializing in applying Lean principles and tools in office, service, and technical environments. Osterling (Lean Enterprise Certificate Program and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Program, San Diego State U.) is associated with a firm that leads organizations in Lean. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)