Concepts

Five ideas the framework rests on. None of them are novel in isolation — encoding intent, deleting waste, structured handoffs, layered controls, and durable memory are all ideas borrowed from disciplines older than software. What’s specific to Gemba Flow is the combination: each idea solves a failure mode that becomes acute when agents are typing at machine speed.

Read in order if you’re evaluating the framework end-to-end. Skip to whichever one named your current pain if you’re already using it and looking for the why behind a specific practice.

• Encode Intent — durable artifacts (PRD, architecture, agent configs) replace re-explaining yourself every session. The bootstrap-phase output IS the system’s working memory.
• Delete Waste — the seven wastes from Toyota’s lean system mapped to software delivery, with the specific Gemba Flow countermeasure for each. Lean is the lineage; this is the translation.
• Structured Handoffs — seven agents with non-overlapping authority. The point is not the count; the point is the separation of duties that makes shipping require multiple independent agreements.
• Layered Controls — defense in depth across platform enforcement, tool permissions, and workflow conventions. No single layer is sufficient; together they make agent misbehavior contained.
• Agent Memory — four persistence layers that compound knowledge across sessions instead of paying the relearning tax every time.

Where to go next

• If you’re new to the framework: start with Encode Intent — the rest of the concepts assume the bootstrap artifacts exist as durable input.
• If you’re evaluating safety properties: jump to Layered Controls and Structured Handoffs.
• If you came from the Hygiene section: Delete Waste names which waste each hygiene practice closes.