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Poppendieck: Ten Simple Rules of Lean Programming

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After my last post referring to a webinar by Durward Sobek, he got me thinking again about the fantastic work of Mary and Tom Poppendieck.  They are such a great force for evangelizing lean software development.  I highly recommend their two books on the subject.   

One of the things I especially like is that they boil down how you can apply lean to software development in a way that's clear and practical, and also does justice to the core philosophical principles of Lean Thinking.  Not always easy, that.  Even so, it's crucial to do --  an understanding of the core principles will allow you to apply the lean software concepts when situations and context change (as they will).

In that vein, I especially like this powerpoint slide deck that the Poppendiecks have posted on their website, called Lean Thinking: the theory behind agile development (2002).  Here's a nugget of insight from slide 9:

Ten Simple Rules of Lean Programming:

  • Eliminate waste
  • Minimize artifacts
  • Satisfy all stakeholders
  • Deliver as fast as possible
  • Decide as late as possible
  • Decide as low as possible
  • Deploy comprehensive testing
  • Learn by experimentation
  • Measure business impact
  • Optimize across organizations

See the deck for great examples and explanations about the list above, and more.   

And BTW, be sure to check out the last slide -- it's a bibliography slide.  The reading list could be an intense graduate seminar on lean thinking / lean management! 

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