Digital Obeya: the Enhanced Version of the Obeya Method

09 December 2025

Reading time : 8 minutes

The Obeya method, or “big room” in Japanese, is a central concept in Lean Management that brings teams together in a single space to solve complex problems and make strategic decisions. This approach relies on visual management, collaboration, and information centralization, allowing teams to monitor project progress and react quickly to issues.

With the emergence of digital signage, the Obeya method is evolving into the Digital Obeya. The use of dynamic displays, interactive dashboards, and real-time monitoring tools makes it possible to visualize performance indicators, ongoing projects, and alerts both on-site and remotely. This digital version preserves the fundamental principles of the traditional Obeya method while providing greater responsiveness, transparency, and improved collaboration, transforming the Obeya room into a true strategic command center for industrial companies.

What is Digital Obeya?

Digital Obeya is the digital adaptation of the traditional Obeya method. Essential information — performance indicators, ongoing projects, alerts, and strategic objectives — is centralized on connected screens and interactive dashboards.

This approach enables:

real-time data, updated automatically;

remote collaboration, even for geographically dispersed teams;
more dynamic communication thanks to interactive visualizations, charts, diagrams, and automated notifications.

Digital Obeya does not replace the spirit of the traditional method: it amplifies its benefits by leveraging the possibilities offered by digital tools and industrial digital signage.

Aspect	Traditional Obeya	Digital Obeya
Information support	Physical boards, post-its, paperboards	Dynamic screens, interactive dashboards
Updates	Manual and occasional	Automatic and real-time
Accessibility	On-site only	On-site and remote
Responsiveness	Limited by availability of decision-makers	High, since data is instantly visible
Collaboration	Physical presence required	On-site and remote, with instant synchronization
Transparency	Visible only to participants	All teams have access to the same information
Analysis and monitoring	Manual, slower	Automated, with alerts and interactive visualizations
Team motivation	Based on physical visibility	Reinforced by real-time feedback and visible indicators

1. Communication, decision-making, and transparency

Streamlined communication and collaboration
Digital Obeya allows all teams to see the same information in real time, reducing misunderstandings and improving coordination. Dynamic dashboards make it easier to quickly identify bottlenecks and support immediate exchanges between departments.
Faster and more informed decision-making
Decision-makers have access to reliable, continuously updated data. Digital signage screens display KPIs and alerts instantly, enabling quick reactions to operational issues or opportunities. For example, in industrial production, a deviation on a manufacturing line can be detected and corrected within minutes.
Enhanced transparency
All team members, whether on-site or remote, have access to the same information. Dashboards offer a clear view of project progress, gaps compared to objectives, and corrective actions implemented — strengthening trust and team accountability.

Reduction of ineffective meetings
With centralized, always up-to-date information thanks to digital signage software, meetings become shorter and more focused. Digital Obeya allows more time to be spent solving problems and making decisions rather than collecting data.
Team engagement and motivation
Seeing the direct impact of their work on real-time indicators motivates employees. Digital signage provides immediate feedback, highlighting completed work and reinforcing both individual and collective involvement.
Flexibility and accessibility
Digital Obeya allows geographically dispersed teams to participate fully. Information is accessible from any connected device, ensuring operational continuity even in hybrid or multi-site environments.

How to implement Digital Obeya?

1. Preparation and definition of objectives

Before deploying a Digital Obeya, it is essential to clearly define your objectives. Do you want to improve communication between teams, accelerate decision-making, increase transparency, or track industrial performance more precisely? Identifying these objectives will determine the information and key performance indicators (KPIs) to centralize in the digital room.
It is also important to map the processes and information flows that will be visualized: production, quality, maintenance, logistics, or safety.

2. Choosing tools and infrastructure

The success of a Digital Obeya relies primarily on choosing a powerful digital signage software. This type of tool allows centralizing key data, formatting it visually, and displaying it in real time on screens inside the Obeya space. It becomes the core of the system, ensuring smooth and clear information flow.

To ensure optimal functioning, it is essential to rely on high-quality dynamic screens and a reliable network infrastructure, ensuring continuous and secure visualization of indicators. The digital signage software must also be compatible with your existing systems (ERP, MES, production or project tracking tools), so that dashboards synchronize automatically and reduce manual updates.

3. Dashboard design

Dashboards are at the heart of Digital Obeya. Digital signage software makes it possible to design and format them directly in a visual editor, combining charts, indicators, and color codes to ensure clear and immediate reading. Information can be prioritized and enriched with automatic alerts to signal anomalies or delays, transforming each screen into a true operational and strategic management tool.

With a solution like Media4Display, it is also possible to display Power BI reports securely and in real time, without having to recreate the existing formatting. This allows teams to instantly benefit from rich, interactive dashboards fully integrated into their work environment.

Digital Obeya represents a modernized and enhanced version of the traditional Obeya method, combining Lean Management principles with the advantages of digital tools and digital signage. Thanks to this combination, industrial companies benefit from a more visual, connected, and collaborative work environment where key data is centralized and displayed in real time.

Thanks to Digital Obeya, each Obeya room becomes a strategic command center, where information flows freely and decisions are made faster and more accurately.