Lean and What do we do next? - Part 2

Lean and "So, what do we do next?" - Part 2 These Lean-Agile principles all seem reasonable, but abstract. What do we do to put it into practice? This is part 2 of a discussion on this. OK. Root causes, Agile, Value Stream. What else? I held this interview just after a challenging Lean-Agile Overview class. Midway through, the students seemed restless or frustrated. One of those times where you know you are just not getting through to them, that something is blocking the students’ ability to hear what you have to say. That happens sometimes and when it is a crowd of managers in the room, you know that no amount of pushing through the material is going to help. Taking a cue from the lean thinking principle to “stop the line” when something is going wrong, Alan Shalloway decided that the best thing was to stop the class and see what was going on. The feeling of relief was tangible. They were only too happy to vent. “We understand these lean concepts: eliminate waste, decrease cycle time, doing just enough, voice of the customer. The concepts make sense. So, tell us, what are we supposed to do?” What sort of practical advice does lean offer me to start improving our processes? That is the question that every manager has. The principles of lean thinking seem obvious, general, and abstract. Putting them into practice is not so obvious. Help me make the connection. There are a couple of ways to answer this question. The easy answer would be to hire me as a consultant and do whatever I tell you. But the better answer is to use this as an opportunity to learn lean thinking, to take on the eyes of lean. I wanted the students to learn to think honestly about the root causes that create limits to productivity. To learn to look for delays. And then to start using some simple tools that can help you remove bottlenecks in as smart a way as you can. And finally, to learn not to be afraid of starting where you can to make small improvements every day. In [email protected] with the topics you want us to cover. This blog and podcast series is really about how we can provide value to you. Recommendations - Training by Net Objectives Lean-Agile Software Development Recommendations - Reading Managing Transitions: Making the most of change, by William Bridges Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash (The Addison-Wesley Signature Series), by Mary and Tom Poppendieck Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck Music used in this podcast: “Pizzaman” and “Chocolate” ©2006 William Cushman: ghostnotes.blogspot.com “On the Cool Side” ©2006 Kevin McLeod: http://www.incompetech.com/ For more information, contact [email protected] or visit us at https://www.netobjectives.com Blog Type: PodcastLog in or register to post comments