Mary Poppendieck has been in the Information Technology industry for over thirty years. She has managed software development, supply chain management, manufacturing operations, and new product development. She spearheaded the implementation of a Just-in-Time system in a 3M video tape manufacturing plant and led new product development teams, commercializing products ranging from digital controllers to 3M Light Fiber™. 
Mary is a popular writer and speaker, and co-author of the book Lean Software Development, which was awarded the Software Development Productivity Award in 2004. A sequel, Implementing Lean Software Development, was published in 2006.  A third book, Leading Lean Software Development, will be published in late 2009.

 

Tom Poppendieck has 25 years of experience in computing including eight years of work with object technology. His modelling and mentoring skills are rooted in his experience as a physics professor. His early work was in IT infrastructure, product development, and manufacturing support, and evolved to consulting project assignments in healthcare, logistics, mortgage banking, and travel services.
Tom holds a PhD in Physics and has taught physics for ten years. He is co-author of the book Lean Software Development, which was awarded the Software Development Productivity Award in 2004. A sequel, Implementing Lean Software Development, was published in 2006. A third book, Leading Lean Software Development, will be published in late 2009.

 
   
Designing a Lean Software Development Process

The widespread adoption of agile software development is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand agile teams have reported impressive gains in productivity. On the other hand, these gains seem to plateau after a while, leaving a disquieting suspicion that something might be missing. This tutorial will cover what might be missing. It will help you evaluate your software development process to find the leverage points for sustained improvement.
First, considering software development as a system, you will see how to evaluate:

  • Customer Demand
  • Process Capability
  • End-to-End Flow
  • Causes of Waste

Second, you will learn why agile technical practices are no longer optional:

  • Low Dependency Architecture
  • Evolutionary Development
  • Automated Verification
  • Immediate Integration

Third, you will discover a new way to look at flow through your process:

  • Discovering Constraints
  • Absorbing Variety
  • The Classic Workflow
  • Rethinking Scheduling

The tutorial will conclude with an exercise to demonstrate how to design relentless improvement into the process.
Agile Testing Days - 2009 - a Díaz & Hilterscheid Conference