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Lean Thinking
Lean Thinking
Lean Thinking
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Overview

There's probably a support group for angry lean practitioners who are moved beyond frustration by 'lean' becoming a not so subtle code ...

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Quoniam, si dis placet, ab Epicuro loqui discimus. Bonum integritas corporis: misera debilitas. Explanetur igitur. Nam de summo mox, ut dixi, videbimus et ad id explicandum disputationem omnem conferemus. Quae cum ita sint, effectum est nihil esse malum, quod turpe non sit. Se dicere inter honestum et turpe nimium quantum, nescio quid inmensum, inter ceteras res nihil omnino interesse. Atqui eorum nihil est eius generis, ut sit in fine atque extrerno bonorum. Quod ea non occurrentia fingunt, vincunt Aristonem; At quicum ioca seria, ut dicitur, quicum arcana, quicum occulta omnia? Sed ad bona praeterita redeamus.

Aliis esse maiora, illud dubium, ad id, quod summum bonum dicitis, ecquaenam possit fieri accessio. Hoc est non modo cor non habere, sed ne palatum quidem. Dici enim nihil potest verius. In qua si nihil est praeter rationem, sit in una virtute finis bonorum; Cur igitur, inquam, res tam dissimiles eodem nomine appellas? Ut necesse sit omnium rerum, quae natura vigeant, similem esse finem, non eundem. Haec para/doca illi, nos admirabilia dicamus. Atqui haec patefactio quasi rerum opertarum, cum quid quidque sit aperitur, definitio est. Itaque his sapiens semper vacabit. Quid est igitur, cur ita semper deum appellet Epicurus beatum et aeternum?

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Actionable Takeaways
  • Start and end with the customer. 

Be absolutely focused on delivering customer value, which involve ...

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Luxuriam non reprehendit, modo sit vacua infinita cupiditate et timore. Si stante, hoc natura videlicet vult, salvam esse se, quod concedimus; Tum ille: Tu autem cum ipse tantum librorum habeas, quos hic tandem requiris? Hoc dictum in una re latissime patet, ut in omnibus factis re, non teste moveamur. Qui autem diffidet perpetuitati bonorum suorum, timeat necesse est, ne aliquando amissis illis sit miser. Quae diligentissime contra Aristonem dicuntur a Chryippo. Quamvis enim depravatae non sint, pravae tamen esse possunt. Qua igitur re ab deo vincitur, si aeternitate non vincitur? At modo dixeras nihil in istis rebus esse, quod interesset. Hoc est non modo cor non habere, sed ne palatum quidem. An est aliquid per se ipsum flagitiosum, etiamsi nulla comitetur infamia? Primum divisit ineleganter;

Falli igitur possumus. Quamquam haec quidem praeposita recte et reiecta dicere licebit. Nobis Heracleotes ille Dionysius flagitiose descivisse videtur a Stoicis propter oculorum dolorem. Illa sunt similia: hebes acies est cuipiam oculorum, corpore alius senescit; Cupiditates non Epicuri divisione finiebat, sed sua satietate. Apud imperitos tum illa dicta sunt, aliquid etiam coronae datum; Mihi quidem Antiochum, quem audis, satis belle videris attendere. Quod quidem iam fit etiam in Academia. Non igitur bene. An dubium est, quin virtus ita maximam partem optineat in rebus humanis, ut reliquas obruat?

Limitations

Lean manufacturing has been criticised for its negative impact on workers — with greater stress arising from the drive to perfection and zero waste. It has also been criticised for its tactical focus, in delivering customer value now, over having a strategic view of future opportunities. 

The focus on just-in-time delivery and minimising stock might create risks in some industries, particularly in the face of unpredictable or high impact demand. 

In Practice

Toyota and lean manufacturing.

The obvious example since they pioneered and literally wrote the book on lean, and even inspired broader agile methodologies. The Toyota Production System captured their approaches and led to increased customer satisfaction and reduced waste in their production process. It still champions this approach, incorporating automation and their just in time model of delivery. 

The BBC and lean software development. 

This academic case study outlines the experience of BBC applying lean software development approaches. This was combined with other agile methodologies including scrum, and led to continuous improvement, reduced risk through iterative delivery, better code, and actual business value.

Lean in healthcare. 

The ThedaCare hospital used lean principles to increase nurse time with patients by 70%. This in turn increased patient safety (the ultimate customer value in their context). It was in part achieved by optimising their processes, including keeping record-keeping systems and medications inpatient rooms. 

Build your latticework
This model will help you to:

Lean thinking is a broad term that informs lean manufacturing, lean software development and lean management. As a set of principles it aligns with agile methodologies and has broad application to a range of industries. 

Use the following examples of connected and complementary models to weave lean thinking into your broader latticework of mental models. Alternatively, discover your own connections by exploring the category list above. 

Connected models: 

  • Agile methodologies: which serves as a broader framework encompassing kanban, scrum and lean development. 
  • Scrum: an approach that is often combined with lean thinking. 
  • Kanban: particularly useful to optimise flow as part of lean thinking. 
  • Black box thinking: to support continuous improvement. 
  • First principle thinking: cutting to the core of delivering value and shedding the rest. 

Complementary models: 

  • Zawinski’s law: challenging design bloat with a lean approach.
  • Red queen effect: the challenge of simply improving processes, when competitors are striving to do the same. 
  • Lock-in effect: considering what would create greatest lock-in as a frame to establish customer value. 
Origins & Resources

Lean Thinking roots can be traced back to Henry Ford’s approach to production lines and the ‘flow production’. However, like kanban and even agile methodology, lean thinking owes much to the innovative work done by Toyota which continued to build on Ford’s contribution. 

These advances were led by Shigeco Shingo and Taiichi Ohno from the 1930s. In particular, they shifted the focus from individual machines to the broader production process and captured this approach in the Toyota Way. These approaches were subsequently given the title of ‘lean’ by John Krafcik in this 1988 article entitled the Triumph of the Lean Production System

Soon afterwards, James P. Womack, Daniel Roos, and Daniel T, Jones published the Machine that Changed the World that further documented and outlined the foundations of lean thinking. 

Finally, lean thinking was supported by mainstream management approaches when it was applied to software development. A key step in this process was the 2003 publication of Lean Software Development by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck. 

As with most complex mental models, lean was originated through an evolutionary process of practice and thought. In our diagram, we attribute it to Taichii Ohno and  Shigeo Shingo, given their significant contribution to just-in-time processing and waste reduction — but it’s never as simple as that and we really could have credited several alternatives.      

My Notes

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