Lean Development

I've been looking for something I could write a series of posts about .. and I stumbled across Tom Poppendieck's business card. An odd thing to blog about you might think, but on the back of the card are 7 core ideas of Lean software development. I'm just going to repeat them here, then elaborate on what they mean to me. Lean is a style of development that I've been trying to move towards it focuses heavily on efficiency, blending ideas from Agile Development with ideas learn from large scale manufacturing from Japan. An odd combination, but it feels right to me.

So here's the list verbatim from Tom's card:

1. Eliminate Waste - No Extra Features, Churn or Boundaries
2. Build Quality In - Mistake-Proof with TDD; Write No New Legacy; Continuous Integration
3. Focus on Learning - Scientific Method; Challenge Standards; Feedback; Continuous Improvement
4. Defer Commitment - Break Dependencies; Maintain Options; Irreversible Decisions at Last Responsible Moment
5. Deliver Fast - Low Cost and Quality and Speed; Queuing Theory: Flow, Limit Work to Capacity
6. Respect People - Pride, Commitment, Trust and Applause; Effective Leadership; Respect Partners
7. Optimize the While - Measure Up, Avoid Sub-Optimization; While Value Stream & Whole Product

Oh and just a note, any mistakes here are purely my own, as are any opinions presented. But credit for the ideas really belongs elsewhere.