Agile instead of lean?
We come across this question from time to time. So we at wibas thought we'd bring in some reinforcements to give a concise answer. But read for yourself.
In the middle of the pre-Christmas period - in other words, when everyone is "just" getting things "ready" - an idea was born in a small group: We invite Don Reinertsen, an expert in lean and product development for over 30 years.
Of course, the best way to do this is with good cooperation. And because this small group happens to include a few Kegon - and wibas people were sitting at the table, we solemnly agreed on post-its over baguettes and juice that we would discuss with Don Reinertsen and interested parties what "agile instead of lean" has to do with, among other things. The grease stains on the post-its are witnesses.
We kicked things off with an open seminar in our wibas office. It was dark when we started and dark when we finished. In between, a few caffés flowed and considerable nuggets of knowledge wandered between the ears of the attentive participants.
Don Reinertsen uses simple images to explain why we have to deal with queues constantly and everywhere in our work and why they are just as annoying as a traffic jam on a crowded highway. The difference: they are not easily visible! So the first step must be to make them visible. The second step is to learn how to deal with them. This includes making decisions.
And let's be honest: it's rare that anyone complains about too few parallel topics. So not deciding is not really an option. This is where the cost of delay and the economic framework come into play. Using a very simple technique, we can prioritize the topics by simply evaluating the cost of delay and duration, simply in terms of low-medium-high. The topic, for example noted on a post-it, is then simply laid out on the matrix and a first very simple procedure for prioritization is created: The topics should be processed sequentially from 1 to 9.
Beyond this simple example, Don Reinertsen has a coherent overall concept for Lean Product Development Flow in his repertoire, not least his current book "The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development" a concentrated collection of solid arguments for flow. Sounds flowery? Flow actually stands for the principles of improved development of new products. Don Reinertsen borrows from lean manufacturing, but distinguishes between ideation and creation, which distinguishes product development from the former. And since Design Thinking and Scrum, for example, contain good methods for driving development forward in a targeted and collaborative manner, it is slowly dawning on us: it should be "lean and agile", not "lean or agile" and certainly not "lean instead of agile".
An example should illustrate what is meant. In our practical (development) work, we experience time and again that we work on everything. If we work on these tasks in parallel, each of them takes longer (see variant A in the picture below) - logical, isn't it? If we manage to reduce the batch size in a similar way to "lean manufacturing", we will finish faster and benefit from the success of the first two completed topics, Don Reinertsen calls this "cost of delay savings" (variant B). At the same time, we gain time to gain clarity on vague projects, which may make topics three and four easier to work on! Lean and agile are therefore close to each other!
This graphic had an aha effect on the participants and sparked a discussion about actual practical experience. We are particularly pleased that they can now go back to their organizations with simple and convincing arguments to ensure understanding and enthusiasm for Lean and Agile.
The great thing about Don Reinertsen's knowledge is that he is always able to convey the theoretical basis for it and has a humorous anecdote from his practical work for everything. Almost four decades of consulting experience pay off, which is longer than many of the seminar participants have even been on this planet.
By the next day at the latest, on a visit to Vodafone, where almost 500 people are attentively taking part, the answer to the longed-for question is given. Agile instead of lean?
Agile instead of lean? Not at all. Here's the short version:
Lean is a collection of methods for creating flow... in other words, for doing work properly - even with new, unpredictable, difficult-to-estimate tasks. Agile is a collection of methods for working on the right things - even under unstable conditions and with a lot of creativity. And if we bring that together now: working on the right things. If that's not worth striving for!
Of course, the how then goes into detail again. The participants gained a lot of knowledge and a pragmatic exchange with like-minded people. We are delighted and honored by Don Reinertsen's visit and your participation!
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