Don Reinertsen discusses the concepts behind second generation lean product development. He shows some of the quantifiable economic trade-offs associated with queue management, batch size reduction, WIP constraints, cadence, and flow control. He explains why the ideas of lean manufacturing, though perfect for the predictable work of manufacturing, are inadequate for product developers.
Marc Baker discusses the origin of Lean and how it has developed into a complete business system. He also reviews the current frontiers of lean thinking and practice and wraps it up with insights from lean transformations for IT and software development.
Think of a product you love, one you'd recommend to a friend. What makes the product valuable? While I'm not a mind reader, I'm confident you weren't thinking: "lack of bugs" or "time to market." The most difficult part isn't delivery, but the discovery of products that are truly valuable to the people that use them. Jeff Patton explores applying Lean thinking to product discovery.
Target-Value Design (TVD) turns design upside-down, some examples are: - Rather than estimate based on a detailed design, design based on a detailed estimate. - Rather than narrow choices with design, carry solution sets far into the design process. TVD offers designers an opportunity to engage in the design conversation concurrently with people who procure services and execute the design.
Taiichi Ohno discovered some counter-intuitive truths as he developed the Toyota System. Similar counter-intuitive truths wait to be discovered by leaders of service organisations. When they are understood and applied, service organisations' performance is transformed to levels that, to the current mind-set, would be considered unachievable.
Alan Shalloway presents two ways to look at Lean: 1) Lean as a thought process, a culture, a way for an organization to be, and 2)how to use Lean to solve problems. Alan presents the case that Lean-Thinking can be used to solve many problems that face organizations. Lean-Thinking does not require an organization to become Lean, but gives the people involved more tools to become more effective.
A flow system requires focus on reliable handoffs and system throughput, not on utilization. It requires creative people who vigilantly address problems and improve the workflow. It requires a leadership team that understands "Results are Not the Point" - the real point is to create a system and grow people who are capable of delivering excellent results over the long term.
