Waste

What Is Waste?

Waste is any activity that consumes resources and/or time without adding value. Rooted in Lean thinking, the concept helps teams identify and eliminate effort that does not contribute to the customer or the outcome.

In Practice

Common forms of waste include waiting, handoffs, partially done work, defects, unnecessary features and excess work in progress. Teams reduce waste by making work visible, limiting work in progress, shortening feedback loops and questioning steps that add no value. Less waste means faster flow and higher throughput.

PMBOK 8 Context

Eliminating waste supports the Delivery performance domain and the value and stewardship principles of the PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition. It underpins Lean and adaptive ways of working and is closely tied to continuous delivery.

FAQ

Is all non-value work waste? Some non-value work is necessary (for example required compliance). The goal is to remove unnecessary non-value activity.

How do teams spot waste? Value-stream mapping, cumulative flow diagrams and retrospectives all help surface it.

Author: Tom, PMP-certified since 2004. Last updated: July 2026. Aligned with the PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition.

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