Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash

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. These principles have revolutionized manufacturing and have been adopted by the most innovative product companies including Toyota and 3M. In 2003 the Poppendieck's published Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit which showed how these same lean principles can be successfully applied to software development. Since that publication the authors have increased their understanding of Lean and Agile problems faced by large organizations and have emerged as leading advocates for bringing Lean production techniques to software development. While their first book provides an introduction, theoretical advice and a reference to Lean, this follow-up incorporates their gained knowledge and understanding of what works and goes steps further to provide hands-on guidance for implementing a Lean system. Using historical case studies from prominent companies such as Polaris, Lockheed and Fujistu the authors prove the overall value of Lean practices and shows how to effectively apply these methods to software production.


About the Author

Mary Poppendieck is a seasoned leader in operations and product development with more than thirty years of IT experience. She has led teams implementing solutions ranging from enterprise supply chain management to digital media, and built one of 3M's first Just-in-Time Lean production systems. Mary is the president of Poppendieck LLC, which specializes in bringing Lean techniques to software development.

Tom Poppendieck is an enterprise analyst, architect, and agile process mentor with more than twenty-five years of experience developing and implementing complex systems. He currently assists organizations in applying Lean principles and tools to software development processes.