Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash

by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck

Book Overview

Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy focusing on reduction of the 7 wastes (Over-production, Waiting time, Transportation, Processing, Inventory, Motion and Scrap) in manufactured products.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321437381
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 0.8" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

You MUST OWN this book if you manage software

Whether you build software for internal use only, or, as I do, you build and maintain commercial software for businesses and government .,. you have to read this book. First, this book is for management ... especially those who manage the managers who manage project leads, product managers and line of business management ... this is a MUST READ for anyone who pays for software, invests in software, thinks about software or maintains software. While I am well-steeeped in the agile methods of Scrum, this is an excellent text that builds on a long body of knowledge and experience. I used the concepts in this and a few other learned books and experts to reduce the costs of supporting some $70 million worth of software business from $12M to $6M!!! Quality improved, employee satisfaction soared. Customers were appreciative. I use a yellow highlighter when I read books I learn from. This books was YELLOW when I finished .. and I have purchased over a dozen copies for colleagues who manage software. A must have for your library!!!

A principle-based approach

The seven principles of Lean Software Development are; Eliminate Waste, Build Quality In, Create Knowledge, Defer Commitment, Deliver Fast, Respect People and Optimize the Whole. Each of these principles is discussed in detail. The theoretical foundations are supplemented by real-world examples, case studies and experience reports. Each section ends with a list of concrete exercises called "Try This", which invites you to put your knowledge into practice. This book is an excellent way for agile leaders focus on the most significant factors for success.

Inspiring and Fat Free

Some of this is so counter-intuitive. But once I began reading, I could see waste in software development where before I had seen good process. Just the concept of unfinished software as Inventory has caused me to rethink my previous willingness (even eagerness) to accommodate context switches between different projects. If the project being switched from has not issued a new iteration of the software, then there is wasted functionality that might have been providing value to users if it had been finished, just sitting on a "shelf" gathering dust. And the further cost of getting back up to speed on that project to transform partly finished work into deliverable software. I would like to recommend also these other two lean books Lean Thinking : Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Revised and Updated and The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production-- Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry which go into the research and rational behind the concepts in this book. It will sort out your doubts. I found myself reading this book during coffee breaks. It's a great read.

Relating software development to manufacturing...

I don't think I've ever tried to fit software development into the model of lean manufacturing techniques. But surprisingly, it has a number of parallels, and they are outlined well in the book Implementing Lean Software Development - From Concept to Cash by Mary and Tom Poppendieck. Contents: History; Principles; Values; Waste; Speed; People; Knowledge; Quality; Partners; Journey; Bibliography; Index The authors take the Deming-type principles of manufacturing and show how they relate to agile software development, using many of the same concepts and terms that have been handed down to us from the Japanese methodologies that revolutionized manufacturing. For instance, Shingo's seven wastes of manufacturing get translated into the seven wastes of software development: In-Process Inventory (Partially Done Work), Over-Production (Extra Features), Extra Processing (Relearning), Transportation (Handoffs), Motion (Task Switching), Waiting (Delays), and Defects (Defects). To take one of them specifically... Over-production is the making of product that isn't immediately needed. It builds up, costs money to store and maintain, and may never be used if the requirements change before the product is used. Likewise, extra features in software, ones not needed to get the customer's job done, should be avoided at all costs. It's code that needs to be maintained, it can break software that *is* essential, and the requirements for the feature may change dramatically by the time it is actually requested. Granted, these are guidelines and not hard-and-fast rules, but they make a lot of sense in terms of making the software development process more efficient and productive. Both authors have a manufacturing background in their software development past, so the content is liberally sprinkled with real-life examples of these guidelines as they have played out in companies. It's amazing how we accept things in software development that we would never stand for in a well-run manufacturing set-up (such as running your "machines" over 100% capacity for long periods of time... sound familiar?) If you're having a hard time getting your organization to give "agile" methodologies a try, you might want to reframe the discussion around "lean" software development. You could break out of the language misconceptions and discover new insights. This book can help you make that leap...

An amazing collection of practical advice you can use tomorrow

I've long considered Mary and Tom Poppendieck to be among the primary theoreticians in the agile software development movement. Their first book, Lean Software Development, provided insights into the theory behind agile software development. That first book has been widely praised for helping those of us doing agile software development know why what we were doing worked. With their new book, Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash, the Poppendiecks move their ideas a giant leap forward. In this book they move very much from theory straight into what teams should do tomorrow to create better products. The book is full of practical, agile- or lean-minded, do-this-tomorrow advice on topics such as how to solve problems, how to structure compensation and recognition programs, how to get started on a lean initiative, how to write contracts for agile projects, and many more. The practicality of the book is reinforced by the "Try This" exercises that conclude each chapter. The book starts out with a wonderful description of their seven principles of lean software development. For each principle they single out and dispel a common myth associated with the principle. Their description of the principle "build quality in," for example, includes a highly effective argument against the myth that the job of testing is to find defects. The book then moves on to chapters on value, waste, people, knowledge, quality, and partners before concluding with a chapter on the journey ahead for companies embracing the theory and the practical advice given in this wonderful book.