Lean Software

Development Principles
John P Vajda, PMP, CSM

Lean Software Development

Principles
A Lean History
The 7 Principles of Lean
The 22 Tools of Lean

A Lean
History

A Lean History

A Lean History
Lean is a manufacturing & production practice that considers
the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the
creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and
thus a target for elimination.
"value" is defined as any action or process that a customer
would be willing to pay for.
Lean is centered around preserving value with less work.
Lean manufacturing is based on optimizing flow, increasing
efficiency, decreasing waste, and using empirical methods to
decide what matters, rather than uncritically accepting preexisting ideas
Toyota was a leader in implementing lean practices in the 80s

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing

The Seven Principles of Lean

Thinking: + 22 Tools

Eliminate Waste
Amplify Learning
Decide as Late as Possible
Deliver as Fast as Possible
Empower the Team
Build Integrity In
See the Whole

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing

nciple # 1: Eliminate Waste

The Seven Principles: Eliminate

Waste
What is waste?
Anything that doesnt add value (as perceived by the
customer) to the product
Unnecessary code or functionality
Unclear requirements
Slow internal communications or processes
Bureaucracy

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 1

The Seven Principles: Eliminate

Waste
Tools 1: Learn to see waste
Wastes of
Manufacturing

Wastes of Software
Development

Inventory

Partially work done

Extra processing

Paperwork or excess
documentation

Overproduction

Extra features

Transportation

Building the wrong thing

Waiting

Waiting for the information

Motion

Task switching & Motion

Defects

Defects
Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 1

The Seven Principles: Eliminate

Waste
Tool 2: Learn to reduce waste
Reduce management activities such as unnecessary tracking systems.
Minimize tracking by create a smooth flowing work system
Rethink Authorization systems. Make approvals unnecessary
Retrain you brain to see waste. Ask yourself Why am I really doing
this?
Map your value stream to indentify inefficiencies

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 1

The Seven Principles: Eliminate

Waste
Try This!

1.1 Make a list of the 10 15 most important activities in your organization. Pretend you are a customer
and rate them 1 to 5. (1 being the customer doesnt really care, 5 being they value this highly)
1.2 Take the 2 lowest scoring (the waste) and plan to cut the time on these activities in half
1.3 At a team meeting, discuss the 7 principles of Lean and ask the following questions about the waste:

Do you agree this is waste why or why not?

Estimate how much time it consumes each week
What can or should be done to reduce that time?

2. Develop a Value Stream of an incoming request a map a timeline of its progress. Compare added value
versus waiting. Take the biggest cause of delay and plan to cut that in half.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 1

nciple # 2: Amplify Learnin

The Seven Principles: Amplify

Learning
The Nature of Software Development
Realization of purpose of use rather than conforming to
requirements
Not intended to produce repeatable results, but to create solutions
to unique customer problems
Design is done best using discovery solutions: short, repeated cycles
of investigation, experimentation and checking results
We like to Try it, Test it, and Fix it!
Knowledge generation (or feedback) loops are critical

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 2

The Seven Principles: Amplify

Learning
Tool 3: Feedback
Introduce and increase feedback loops into the development process
Run tests as soon as code is written, dont let defects accumulate
Less Documentation, and more coding with real time feedback
Forgo requirements gathering sessions for prototype reviews of UI
Dont over study which tools are the best, take the top 3 and
evaluate them
Encourage and accept immediate customer response to your work

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 2

The Seven Principles: Amplify

Learning
Tool 4: Iterations
Are Short useful cycles of software development: Design > Programmed > Tested > Integrated >
Delivered
Allow the practice of Queuing Theory, small batches moving rapidly through an efficient
system
Allow Feedback to increase, thusly increasing control
Allow an option-based (open options) approach
Allow the ability to decide as late as possible
Require team planning, short complete cycles and team commitment
Allow scope to be negotiable, by prioritizing highest value items first
Short feedback loops create convergence, and a move toward uniformity

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 2

The Seven Principles: Amplify

Learning
Tool 5: Synchronization
Requires a configuration management system
Requires a daily build and smoke test
Requires automated testing
Allows you to build spanning applications, driving a nail through the entire
system
Allows you to develop separate components simultaneously using an
architecture matrix strategy
Requires a high level of communication

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 2

The Seven Principles: Amplify

Learning
Tool 6: Set Based Development
Is about communicating constraints not choices or
solutions
You develop multiple options, communicate constraints,
and let solutions emerge
Will let iterations leave latitude for implementing the
rest of the system as you progress

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 2

The Seven Principles: Amplify

Learning
Try This!
1. Take your most difficult problem and devise a way to increase feedback
Development to Management - Ask these questions:
Was the team properly staffed?
Where request for resources met?
What is getting in the way?
What can be changed to make things easier?
Development to Customers- Ask these questions:
How well does the work delivered solve your problem?
How can it be improved?
Does the work delivered give you confidence in the direction of the overall
project?

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 1

Principle #
3:Decide as Late

The Seven Principles: Decide as

Late as Possible
Sequential vs. Concurrent
Sequential

Concurrent

Depth First (Drilling into the

details too fast)

Breadth First (seeing things in full

view over time)

Order of Creation ( On day 1, We

created requirements)

Highest valued features first

Rigid, change is costly

Adaptable, change is manageable

Cost escalation is high when

issues are found late

Cost escalation is low, as issues are

found incrementally

High stakes decisions are made

based on assumptions and with
uncertainly

High stakes decisions can be

deferred until the last responsible
moment
Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 3

The Seven Principles: Decide as

Late as Possible
Tool 7: Options Thinking

A right, but not an obligation to do something in the future

Customer needs arent always clear or understood
You cant predict the future, so maintain flexibility, until uncertainty is removed
Options are like trade offs, they arent free and have a cost
Example: Building the GMA architecture (and having a back up strategy to
manage the data) with the ability to use the data created by the GMDB, without
actually knowing if the GMDB project would be successful.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 3

The Seven Principles: Decide as

Late as Possible
Tool 8: The Last Responsible Moment
The moment at which failing to make a decision eliminates an important alternative
This isnt Procrastination!
How do you do it?

Share partially complete design information

Organize for collaboration
Develop a change oriented mindset
Practice Object Orient Design or Component Based Development
Know what is critically important in the domain
Develop a sense of when decisions need to be made

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 3

The Seven Principles: Decide as

Late as Possible
Tool 9: Making Decisions
Depth First

Breadth First

Making early commitments

Delaying commitments

Needs an agreed to point to

zero in on

Requires someone savvy to

understand how the details will
emerge and when its time to
commit

Rational decision making

Intuitive decision making

Predictions and assumptions

drives decisions

Real time information and

feedback drives decisions

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 3

The Seven Principles: Decide as

Late as Possible
Try This!
1. Make a list of decisions that need to be made and group them into 2 categories, tough to
make and easy to make. Discuss what you would need to make the tough decisions easier.
2. Evaluate your personality, are you more inclined to use Depth or Breadth first problem
solving? Find someone who is the opposite of you and decide how to approach a decision
together.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 1

Principle # 4:
Deliver as Fast as
Possible

The Seven Principles: Deliver Fast

as Possible
Why Deliver Fast?
Customers like rapid delivery. Look at how UPS and FedEx provide
ordered products to customers in 1 to 3 days
Rapid delivery means less time for customers to change their minds
In-process, or partially done work can have undiscovered defects
The faster you deliver the longer you can delay decisions. Being
able to make a change in a week, lets you wait to make a decision
until that week.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 4

The Seven Principles: Deliver Fast

as Possible
Tool 10: Pull Systems
Allows people to figure out for themselves what needs to be done. Work becomes self
directing
Complex linear schedules can be negated as soon as one glitch or variation is introduced
A Just in Time approach allows for decision about work to be made real time, not in
advance

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 4

The Seven Principles: Deliver Fast

asTool
Possible
11: Queuing Theory
The key is to reduce cycle time, or the time it takes to get from one end of the process to the other

Steady Rate of Arrival

Practice a steady rate of arrival and control what comes into your queue.
Releasing small packages of work, allows you to spread it evenly thorough the team
Setting priorities and selecting work is critical
Releasing work frequently is even more critical

Steady Rate of Service

Remove the variability from processing time
Smaller work packages have less that can go wrong
Parallel the processing of work to avoid bottlenecks
Deliver consistently!

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 4

The Seven Principles: Deliver Fast

as Possible
Managing Slack

100% utilization isnt always the most efficient, as we need to room to change.
Practice the 80/20 rule for work load
Large batches of work take longer to process through the queue and requires more people to
be completed.

The larger the

batch of
work, the
slower it will
be
completed,
and the more
utilization it
will take.
Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 4

The Seven Principles: Deliver Fast

as Possible
Tool 12: Cost of Delay

Rapid Development will save you time and money, management may think differently
Determine what delayed delivery will cost you by using a profit and loss statement
Develop an Economic Application Model (breakdown of costs)
Use your P&L and Economic Models to drive trade off decisions

This is just a section of

a P&L

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 4

The Seven Principles: Deliver Fast

as Possible
Try This!
1. Create a P&L and economic model for an application you lead
the development for. More information on this process can be
found here M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 4

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 4

Principle # 5:
Empowering the
Team

The Seven Principles: Empower

the Team
What is a Mature Organization?
Lean Assumption #1 A mature organization looks at the
whole system; it doesnt only focus on optimizing disparate
or separate parts.
Lean Assumption #2 A mature organization focuses on
learning effectively and empowers the people who do the
work to make decisions.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 4

The Seven Principles: Empower

the Team
Tool 13: Self-Determination
Transfer practices from one environment to another is often an mistake
Let the team design their own working procedures
Remember Managements role is coach, train, and assist the teams
It is key to understand the fundamentals principals that make up
practices, and transform those principles into new practices
Managers need to improve as much as individual workers. A feedback loop
is critical going both ways between managers and workers to drive
improvement

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 5

The Seven Principles: Empower

the Team
Tool 14: Motivation
Create a sense of purpose at work. People care about a purpose greater
then themselves
It must be clear
It must be achievable
The team must have access to customers
Let the team make its own commitments
Managements role is to provide support, resources, guidance, and
protection

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 5

The Seven Principles: Empower

the Team
Tool 14: Motivation
The Building Blocks:
Belonging
Safety
Competence, discipline and good
practices
Progress by meaningful measurements

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 5

The Seven Principles: Empower

the Team
Tool 15: Leadership
Managers

Leaders

Cope with Complexity

Cope With Change

Plan & Budget

Set Direction

Organize & Staff

Align People

Track & Control

Enable Motivation

The Team needs Master Developers & Respected

Leaders
A Project Manager needs to become a Project
Leader
Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 5

The Seven Principles: Empower

the Team
Tool 16: Expertise

Develop and foster Communities of Expertise

Promote Mentorship and Pair Programming
activities
Encourage training and continued self
improvement

Develop software standards and practice them

Offer the Google approach to personal project
work.
= 80/20
Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 5

The Seven Principles: Empower the

Team
Try This!
At the end of each iteration ask the team:

What is slowing you down, or getting in your way

of doing a good job?

What would help things move faster, better, or

cheaper?

To make a list of good and bad practices. Decide

to implement a good practice and eliminate a
bad practice. Make it happen!

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 5

Principle # 6: Build
Integrity In

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity Within
Perceived Integrity: is affected by the customers whole experience of a system
Integrity: means that systems central concepts work together as a
Conceptual
smooth cohesive whole
Perceived Integrity

Conceptual Integrity

How intuitive is the system?

Does it have an effective balance

between flexibility, maintainability,
efficiency, and responsiveness?

How does it keep up with changes

in the domain?

Can the system evolve and mature?

How well does it solve problems?

Does it have a consistent set of design

principles?

How much market share does it

have?

Is usability consistent?

How much mind share does it

have?

a perquisite for perceived integrity

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 6

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity Within
Tool 17: Perceived Integrity

Smaller systems should be developed by a single team that has

immediate access to the people who will judge the systems integrity

Short iterations should be used and feedback should be acquired from a

wide range of people that can recognize the integrity

Customer tests provide excellent customer-development communication

Complex systems should be represented using models and languages
the customer understands and programmers can use without major
refinement.

Large systems should have a master developer who has technical

credentials and deep customer understanding

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 6

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity Within
Tool 18: Conceptual Integrity
The effectiveness of communication of all decisions made is critical
Remove complexity upfront in the design (using existing technology vs. new)
Use integrated problem solving:
Understand the problem and solve the problem at the same time
Preliminary information is released early, not delay until complete information
Is available
Information is transferred in small batches not large
Information flows in two directions not one
The preferred method of communication is face to face not just using
documentation

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 6

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity Within
Tool 19: Refactoring
Complex systems have effects that arent understood at design time
Architecture must remain healthy as the system matures and evolves
Maintain Conceptual integrity
Simplicity: Simple designs are the best
Clarity: Keep code understandable
Suitability for use: design for an intended purpose
No Repetition: never repeat code
No Extra Features: dont build what is not needed

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 6

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity Within
Tool 20: Testing

Communicates how things should work

Provides scaffolding, allowing developers to make changes

through out the development process

Provides feedback on if the system actually works the way it

was designed

Developer
Tests

Customer Tests

Unit Tests

Functional Testing

System Tests

Acceptance Testing

Integration
Tests
Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003
: Chapter 6

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity Within
Communication

Developer tests communicate how the system should work

Customer tests communicate, by example, how the system needs to work

Customer tests can replace requirements (Test Driven Development)

Designs arent complete until developer tests are executed (Design Driven Development)

Feedback

Immediate feedback is a nature part of the development cycle

Write customer tests during the iteration before the demo

Automated testing is key for daily builds

Scaffolding

A supporting framework that lets you do things that would otherwise be dangerous

Lean techniques could be dangerous if you arent careful (late code changes, late decisions, etc)

Automating testing is example of a way to create a safety net

A Comprehensive Test Suite of customer and developer tests let you assess the health of your product

To reduce overall maintenance costs, maintain a set of tests through the lifecycle of the system

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 6

The Seven Principles: Build

Integrity
Within
Try This!

On 5 large sheets of paper label them each with one of the following titles:

1. Simplicity
2. Clarity
3. Suitability for Use
4. No Repetition
5. No Extra Features

Take one application and ask each team member to list anything within the current
system that that doesnt meet these Lean Standards. Categorize them accordingly.
Choose 2 or 3 of the highest priority items and figure out a way to make them meet
the standards.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 6

Principle # 7: See
the Whole

The Seven Principles: See the

Whole
Systems Thinking & System Dynamics

A system is not just a sum of its parts, its a product of those interactions
When systems start to break down, rigid more sequential rules are usually put in place
A sequential/rigid process may cure one symptom, but not the root cause. It will become increasingly difficult to keep up with changing needs.

A Common Pattern

Limits of Growth: even as one process produces a desired result, it creates a secondary constraint that eventually slows down the effect and limits growth.
The Theory of Constraints: you can remove a constraint to growth in one place, but it will shift to another place. Its an on going process.
Shifting the Burden: addressing the symptoms, instead of the root cause.
Sub Optimization: the more complex a system, the more you temptation it is to divide into parts

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 7

The Seven Principles: See the

Whole
Ask the 5 whys!

You have increasing defects on a project you ask:

Why #1:
A: New modules were added, that are causing new issues.
Why #2: Why did the new modules generate defects in other modules?
A: They were not tested
Why #3: Why where they not tested?
A: Developers where pressured to deliver before testing could occur
Why #4: Why was there so much pressure?
A: A Manager thought a hard deadline would work to motive the developers
Why #5: Why did they think this approach was necessary?
A: A manager was worried about late delivery and schedule overruns

Now you can address the root cause: A manager doesnt grasp the burn down of the work and thinks hard deadlines motivate, instead of seeing the system converging and trusting in the progress of the team

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 7

The Seven Principles: See the

Whole
Tool 21: Measurements

When you are trying to measure performance, particularly of knowledge workers, you are asking for trouble
People will often optimize the measurements that their performance is measured against (sub-optimization)
Dont foster sub-optimized behavior! If you cant measure everything, dont try.
A defect in code, isnt always the fault of one person. Pointing the blame towards a developer doesnt address the root cause of the system.
Measurements should encourage optimizing the whole, and the team to collaborate to find better ways to do things.
Modern culture bases success on individual performance metrics, this drives sub-optimizing behavior.

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 7

The Seven Principles: See the

Whole
Tool 22: Contracts

Wont be covered in this training: for more information please read this book: Lean Software Development .

Reference: M & T Poppendieck, Lean Software Development. 2003

: Chapter 7

Appendix

This presentation was possible due to the amazing work done by Mary & Tom Poppendieck, in their book Lean Software Development. 2003
All slide intro images were borrowed from Google image search and are not proprietary to this presentation
Thank you!