Lean, Agile, & Modern Tools in Managing Projects
Lean Root
Lean originated from the manufacturing world, particularly with the Toyota Production System (TPS) in the mid-20th century. Toyota revolutionized the manufacturing industry by focusing on reducing waste and maximizing value delivery to customers. This approach was grounded in the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen (continuous improvement).
Lean’s principles were formalized in the 1990s through the publication of "The Machine That Changed the World" and "Lean Thinking" by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. Since then, Lean has evolved from a manufacturing philosophy to a framework applicable to diverse industries such as healthcare, software development, and even government services.
Agile Born
Lean’s principles were formalized in the 1990s through the publication of "The Machine That Changed the World" and "Lean Thinking" by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. Since then, Lean has evolved from a manufacturing philosophy to a framework applicable to diverse industries such as healthcare, software development, and even government services.
Agile methodologies, such as Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming (XP), have since become dominant in software development, enabling teams to adapt quickly to changing requirements and deliver value iteratively.
Lean Basics
Lean is built around five core principles that guide teams and organizations to optimize processes:
Agile & Lean are modern scientific tools recently developed to help project management in 2 aspects:-
1) Lean :- To Eliminate wastes (Mainly time) which is the most valuable resource in project management
2) Agile:- To Mange the vast changes impacting the project performance.
Lean promotes a continuous flow of work, ensuring that every step in a process contributes directly to value creation. Bottlenecks are identified and eliminated to maintain efficiency across the system.
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Agile, however, works through iterative cycles, often referred to as sprints or iterations. In each cycle, teams deliver a usable increment of the product, gather feedback, and make adjustments for the next iteration. This approach allows for frequent reassessment and rapid course correction.
How to apply both together
Many organizations have successfully combined Lean and Agile principles to harness the strengths of both methodologies. This hybrid approach is often referred to as Lean-Agile.
it is most important for organization is to change & transform from normal traditional way of working into new modern workflows, without clear mindset, proper training of employee on how to use those methodologies, nothing can be achieved.
Applying Lean-Agile hybrid approach can be simplified in below steps:-
1) Develop the team members on the concepts of this hybrid approach
2) the PMO office should work closely identifying the main aspects where gaps or waste of resources are consumed, for examples:- resource wasted in CADing, Drafting, while we have the complete 7D tool and Ai which can generate any drawings without wasting human Manhours,
In other hand, adding too many resources in the same task understanding it will be finished fast is totally wrong concept, PM should start leanly with few resources, analysing the performance, productivity, then it can be increased in the next iteration.
3) Bureaucracy in the decision tree:- this the most important bottleneck to be removed in order to apply Agile. it is not just applying iteration in the cycle, it is all about the fast response to the new changes impacting the project, accordingly fast decision making is the key to apply Agile and succussed in challenging changes environment.
Ultimately, both Lean and Agile are more than just methodologies; they are mindsets that encourage organizations to focus on delivering value, empowering teams, and continuously improving.
By understanding the differences and synergies between Lean and Agile, organizations can make informed decisions and chart a path toward sustained success in an ever-changing world.