InfoQ Homepage Lean Content on InfoQ
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Accurate Estimates - the ultimate oxymoron?
Amit Rathore questions the value of real time task based estimates in the planning and execution of software projects, taking a lean stance on what they bring to the software delivery party.
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InfoQ Interview: Mary and Tom Poppendieck on using Lean for Competitive Advantage
Lean software gurus Mary and Tom Poppendieck share their years of practical experience, as they speak on the history of Lean thinking, the value of fast delivery and deferred committment, their use of Value Stream Mapping to identify and reduce waste, the importance of identifying and dealing well with cross-organizational and inter-organizational boundaries, and how Lean relates to RUP and Scrum.
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Lean Process Works at Toyota USA
Since the "Toyota Production System" emerged in the late 80's, GM, Ford and Chrysler have applied TPS ideas, but they still trail Toyota. In his article, "No Satisfaction at Toyota," Charles Fishman suggested that the key is in teaching new ideas about what success looks like. It's an interesting read for those thinking about waste reduction in software development.
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Presentation: Jeff Sutherland on The Roots of Scrum
Jeff Sutherland, an Agile Manifesto signatory, ran the first Scrum at Easel Corp. in 1993. At JAOO 2005 he covered the history of Scrum from its inception to its impact at Easel, Fuji-Xerox, Honda, WildCard, Lexus, Google. Along the way Sutherland shared interesting stories & looked at Scrum types A, B, and "all at once" type C, reminding listeners that cultural change is the hard part of Scrum.
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New Book on Lean Software Offers Practical Advice
In 2003 Mary and Tom Poppendieck adapted the revolutionary principles of Lean manufacturing for software development. Their new book offers a blend of history, theory, and practice, drawing on their experience optimizing the software "value stream". They present the right questions to ask, the key issues to focus on, and techniques proven to work for those implementing a lean software process.
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Tips for Effective Kaizen Process Improvement
Agile software development and Lean Thinking go hand-in-hand for many practitioners. Six-Sigma blackbelt Mike Wroblewski has blogged some lessons learned from a recent kaizen session. People are a key variable in both manufacturing and software environments, so his lessons learned in manufacturing are also interesting for Lean Software practitioners using kaizen events for process improvement.
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Mary and Tom Poppendieck Discuss Their Next Book
Bob Payne interviewed Mary and Tom Poppendieck at Agile2006 about their next Lean book, which focuses even more on software than the last. Mary summarizes it as "So you think Agile is a good idea: now what?" saying it will help people get started with Lean, going beyond the recipes of the first book to provide practical information and case studies to help teams do their own process experiments.
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Google's Lean Software Process
On the Manageability.org blog, Carlos E. Perez asked "how closely do Google's development practices match Lean software development?" and compared their process against the seven Lean Software practices: Eliminate Waste, Amplify Learning, Empower the Team, Deliver as Fast as Possible, See the Whole, Build Integrity In, Decide as Late as Possible.
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TOC More Powerful than Six-Sigma, Lean
A manufacturing study has shown that TOC is twenty times as effective as Six Sigma, and nearly ten times more effective than lean at causing cost savings. This is the only scientific double-blind study of its kind performed "in the wild", i.e. in actual business plants. These ideas are frequently discussed in Agile circles and integrated into Agile methodologies.
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Submissions Wanted on Lean and Agile Together
The Software Technology Track at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences will include an Agile subject: "Incorporating Lean Development Practices into Agile Software Development". Research papers are sought, but the deadline for submissions is close: June 15, 2006. Did we mention it's taking place in Hawaii?
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Is the Feedback Loop Worth the Time?
John Brothers, on Indefinite Articles, blogged an interesting conversation last week between Mary Poppendieck and Robert Bogue. Drawn from the Agile Project Management newsgroup, it pointed out two different stances on the relative cost and value of "frequent feedback", a key component of Agile methodologies.