The Six Lean Transitions that Got Us to Where We Are

At a recent meeting, Al Shalloway discussed the six key transitions in Lean that has led to where we are in the application of Lean to software development. We found it very helpful in understanding where we have come from, the advantages that each phase offered as well as the challenges inherent in them that needed to be addressed. Looking back helps to get a good perspective of how we got where we are and it helps in thinking about what may lie ahead. Al suggests there have been six major transitions or phases: Lean Manufacturing, Lean Thinking, Lean Product Development, Lean Software Development, Lean Flow, and Lean-Agile Software Development (the current state of the art). We can now say that for an approach to be Lean and useful to software development, it must include the following: Systems thinking, using management to improve system, attending to quality, emphasizing just in time, attending to time, attending to how people learn, driving from value, and maximizing feedback.

Here is a book to help you go deeper: Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility

You can use the forums on the Net Objectives Portal to ask questions about the webinar.

Music used in this podcast: “And So It Begins” and “Easy Lemon” by Kevin MacLeod © Incompetech Inc.

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