In Japanese, obeya simply means "big room. At Toyota, it has become an important project management tool used primarily to promote effective and timely communication in product development. An obeya is a kind of nerve center; there are charts and diagrams that depict program time schedules, milestones and progress to date, and visual information on measures against existing time or technical problems. Project leaders have a desk in the obeya, as do others during certain periods within a program. The obeya should ensure project success and shorten the PDCA cycle. 

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