To improve capabilities in a knowledge-based environment such as Product Development (PD), eliciting expert knowledge is a critical step. This is however underemphasised by many process improvement techniques. This paper studies in depth four improvement initiatives in four companies using PD Value Stream Mapping (PDVSM) techniques and describes lessons learned from both the successes and failures of more than 13 mappings. It demonstrates how PDVSM is valuable for bringing experts together to overcome compartmentalised thinking and for face-to-face sharing of tacit knowledge, both critical for improving the PD system. PDVSM addresses knowledge about PD procedures not to be found in handbooks or process descriptions and identifies improvements at interfaces and handovers, both common sources of wastes in PD.

Organisational learning (OL) that enhances efficiency and the continuous improvement of processes is a key objective of lean product development and has become an important principle of new product development (NPD). Therefore, it is critical for an organisation to capture individuals’ and groups’ knowledge and learning about processes, institutionalise it, and deploy it organisation-wide. Since OL is more likely to occur if it is supported systematically, NPD scholars and practitioners recognise the importance of investigating facilitators’ effect on OL. However, there is no shared understanding of OL among existing studies. This disparity makes it hard to assess, compare, and integrate prior findings into studies. Our article addresses this gap. We investigate how value stream mapping (VSM) and its implementation in NPD affect OL in development processes. Therefore, we operationalise OL on the basis of Crossan et al .'s 4I framework, which is comprehensive and widely recognised (Crossan, M., Lane, H. and White, R., 1999. An organizational learning framework: from intuition to institution. The Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 522–537). We analysed the approach to VSM and its implementation in four longitudinal, comparative case studies in the German-speaking car supplier industry. Using the 4I framework, we captured VSM's effects on the various OL dimensions. We provide valuable insights for R&D managers who seek to improve their processes and want to implement VSM.