Lean and Agile Development Methodologies:

Lean is a management methodology which aimed to eliminate the waste resources and the time through a systematic analysis of processes and value streams.

Agile is an umbrella term for a philosophical approach to software development that only focus the early and continuous delivery of valuable functionality that satisfies customers.

In today's fast moving world there are three key players, Agile, DevOps and Lean. Lean aims for efficiency, Agile for adaptability, and DevOps principles for automation.

This guide examines the similarities and differences between Lean, Agile, and so you can determine which methodology is best for you and your team.?

Lean is a method for reducing waste within your development process — agile is a philosophy that encourages development teams to rapidly deliver software with users in mind.

Agile values and lean principles

Agile and lean share foundational beliefs. Each has its own set of values and principles that are meant to guide development teams.

As you read through the list below, take a moment to jot down the areas of symmetry and dissonance — this can help you later on as you decide which approach is best for your own team.

Agile principles and values

The Agile Manifesto outlined four core values and 12 principles to guide agile teams.

Agile values:

1. People and communication over procedures and tools
2. Functional software over extensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract terms
4. Adapting to change over sticking to a plan

Agile principles:

1. The top priority is to meet customer needs through early and ongoing delivery of valuable software.
2. Embrace changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes leverage change for the customer's competitive edge.
3. Deliver working software frequently, with a preference for shorter timescales ranging from a few weeks to a few months.
4. Business people and developers should collaborate daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals, providing them with the necessary environment and support, and trusting them to complete their tasks.
6. The most effective way to share information within the development team is through face-to-face conversation.
7. Progress is primarily measured by working software.
8. Agile processes support sustainable development, allowing sponsors, developers, and users to maintain a steady pace indefinitely.
9. Consistent focus on technical excellence and good design boosts agility.
10. Simplicity—maximizing the amount of work not done—is crucial.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs arise from self-organizing teams.
12. The team regularly reflects on how to improve its effectiveness and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Lean principles

James Womack defined five lean principles in his 1996 book:

1. Identify the value desired by the customer.
2. Map the value stream for each product and challenge all of the wasted steps currently necessary to provide it.
3. Create flow continuously through the remaining value-added steps (after wasted steps removed).
4. Establish pull between all steps where continuous flow is possible.
5. Seek perfection wherein the steps, time, and resources needed to serve customers is reduced.

The Poppendiecks outlined seven lean principles in their 2001 book:

1. Eliminate waste: If something (i.e. a meeting, task, or process) does not add value, find a way to cut it from your workflow.
2. Ensure quality: Build quality checks into each stage of your development process through frequent testing, incremental development, constant feedback, and automation.
3. Create knowledge: Maintain thorough documentation of team processes and past work so no learning is lost. This can be done through formal documentation, wiki sites, knowledge sharing sessions, and ongoing training.
4. Defer commitment: Rather than making decisions about things months in advance, constantly gather information so you can make informed decisions as you go.
5. Deliver fast: Get your product to market quickly by releasing your MVP and then improve features and functionality based on customer feedback.
6. Respect people: Build healthy teams by encouraging open communication, working through problems as a team, and creating an environment of support.
7. Optimize the whole: Think of your work and your team as an integrated, interconnected system. This means taking a big picture view to identify bottlenecks, always keeping team capacity in mind as you assess upcoming work, and carefully considering the downstream impact of decisions you make today.

By partnering with TechVention , you ensure you receive the perfect blend of cutting-edge technology and expert human insight.

Book your 1:1 consultation session with our CEO Suniya Shahid : https://calendly.com/suniyashahid/quick-15-mins-consultation

Differences between agile and lean:

Agile is focused on users, managing uncertainty, and delivering working software.

Lean is focused on eliminating waste, managing processes, and delivering value.

These differences also reveal common misconceptions about the potential negatives of adopting agile or lean methods.

Decision tree for selecting a development methodology:

Every team is unique, and there is no single perfect methodology for ensuring success. The choice isn't about picking one over the other—many organizations utilize both Agile and Lean.

Instead of committing fully to one approach, evaluate your team honestly and integrate the elements that will best complement and challenge you.

First, capture the basics:

- How critical is the project to the business?

- What is the project's scope?

- Are there budget or resource constraints?

- What is the delivery timeline?

- How large is your team?

A project with a broad scope, resource limitations, and a long delivery timeline might benefit from Lean methods to optimize costs and reduce waste.

Conversely, a business-critical project with a narrower scope and a tight deadline might be better suited to Agile methods, which focus on rapid iteration based on user feedback.

Team size is also important; Scrum teams ideally have three to six members, while Lean teams can be larger.

Next, evaluate the team, customer, and organization by ranking the following questions from one to ten, with one being very poor or low and ten being excellent or high:

- How competent is your development team?

- How skilled is your team at communicating?

- How well does your team understand the customer problem?

- How critical is customer collaboration to development?

- What is the level of urgency for customers to find a solution?

- How disciplined is the organizational culture?

- Is the management style hierarchical?

- How flexible is the organization to change?

If your team scores high in communication, customer collaboration, urgency, and organizational flexibility, Agile methods will likely enhance your current workflow.

If your team has a strong understanding of customer problems and organizational discipline, Lean methods may help you focus more effectively.

Finally, visualize your findings with a SWOT analysis. Map your team's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to success.

This exercise should be ongoing. Update the SWOT regularly as your work evolves and your team matures, making it part of your workflow to ensure transparency and accountability.

At TechVention , we are not just building products; we are shaping the future of technology and empowering businesses to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

Follow us on our Social Media: Facebook , Instagram and Twitter . Reach out to us at [email protected] for more information.

You can also contact us on WhatsApp +971 56 659 8025 | +971 56 630 5576