In knowledge work, and also in work contexts such as manufacturing, it is desirable for work items to pass smoothly through a series of steps and stages on their way to completion. Flow is a Lean term that describes that movement of work items. In any Lean system, it is desirable for the movement of...Read More

In Lean systems, it is important to identify the maximum number of items allowable in each stage of a workflow. Since work at any stage before completion does not provide actual value, having too much Work In Progress (WIP) can be an expensive proposition. Setting a WIP Limit helps ensure that there is a smooth...Read More

In Lean systems, an important metric is how many work items are in an unfinished state. In Lean Manufacturing, it is particularly common to see Work In Progress (WIP) in use, where work items pass through what is often a complex series of steps on their way to completion. In knowledge work such as software...Read More

In Lean Systems, it is important to identify the most important factor that slows down work in a system (a “bottleneck”), adjust it, and continue the same process with the next-most-impactful bottleneck. Eliyahu M. Goldratt describes this concept, the Theory of Constraints, in the book The Goal. The original context for this concept was in...Read More

In many organizational contexts, there are workers whose main contribution is the application of knowledge, as opposed to performing manual labor. A common term for such employees is “knowledge workers.” Knowledge workers often perform activities such as writing software code, designing software interfaces and systems, acting as medical professionals, teachers, writers, scientists, and many other...Read More

Some forms of human endeavor are based on ideas and creativity where value comes from knowledge instead of manual labor. Peter Drucker coined the phrase “knowledge work” to describe less physical forms of work in the book The Landmarks of Tomorrow. In the book, Drucker predicted that the biggest benefits to society would come from...Read More

In Agile software development, stakeholders have the opportunity to frequently test and validate that value has been delivered, in the form of building blocks that gradually make a product better. When combined, these building blocks make up larger chunks of business value. The benefits of incremental delivery are that some value can be achieved sooner,...Read More

There are instances where individuals or groups make a choice to address a problem, where that choice proves to be ineffective at best, and does more harm than good, at worst. The term anti-pattern is a general way to call out that sort of situation, where a choice has largely negative consequences. In software development,...Read More

It is common to make an assertion, based on an assumption that is believed to be true, and where we do not have enough evidence to know for sure whether the assertion is true. And, to be considered a valid scientific hypothesis, it must also be possible to test the assertion. In agile product development,...Read More

The smallest set of functionality customers need in order to perceive value in a feature. Key attributes of a Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) include addressing a specific need, solving a particular customer problem, and having a high level of quality and usability. By focusing on releasing value in smaller increments, it’s possible to reduce both...Read More