Agile & Lean

In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, our organizations must be quicker and adaptive to survive. Lean and Agile are both techniques that provide a focus on the tasks at hand and a continuous refinement and improvement of our organization’s capabilities. We seek to streamline, remove waste, and undertake actions that will continuously bring the organization to peak performance without sacrifice.

The right-hand side, you will see a number of links to other parts of the website associated with Agile and Lean. The upper menu provides a link to articles, podcasts, and videos along with a link to training aids and games. The lower menu contains links to tools and discussion boards where you can pose and answer questions and comment.

Agile & Lean

Agile

Agile & Lean

There are times when the best solution for the project strategy is agile. Agile strips away many of the processes relying instead upon the ability and talent of the team to discover, overcome or circumvent the obstacles presented. Predominantly used for software, though not exclusively, agile can be a quick way to respond to the unknowns in the product development effort. This area contains, product backlog, sprint backlog, estimating techniques, burn down charts, and retrospective. This area also contains a significant level of learning organization discipline.

Lean

Lean consists of a set of principles and techniques often associated with efficient and cost effective manufacturing. These tools and techniques are designed to eliminate waste in whatever form it may take, from scrap or reworked material to idle time and material flow and inventory. The approach is that of continuous and incremental improvement.

What makes sense in Scrum Projects, Joe Dager and Jon M. Quigley

Guardrails, Reciprocal Agreements, Essays and Discussions

Gemba Walk, Agile Development, No Right Way

SPaMCAST 479 – Mentor or Coach, TameFlow Chapter 21a, Employee Engagement

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-479-mentor-or-coach-tameflow-chapter-21a-employee-engagement

SPaMCAST 483 – Measuring The Value of Agile, TameFlow Chapter 21, Agile Culture

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-483-measuring-the-value-of-agile-tameflow-chapter-21-agile-culture

SPaMCAST 585 – Most Agile Transformations Ignore Technical Skills, A Conversation with Susan Parente and Jon M Quigley

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/category/Parente+and+Quigley

SPaMCAST 495 – Done, Waste and Innovation; Kanban to the Kanban Power

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-495-done-waste-and-innovation-kanban-to-the-kanban-power

SPaMCAST 575 – Messing Up Agile Hybrids, Deming and Book Club, Essays and Discussions

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-575-messing-up-agile-hybrids-deming-and-book-club-essays-and-discussions

SPaMCAST 477 – Silence: A Powerful Tool, Muddling Through, Monolithic Monolith

https://podtail.se/podcast/software-process-and-measurement-cast/spamcast-477-silence-a-powerful-tool-muddling-thro/

SPaMCAST 552 – Fit For Value, Saying No, Essays and Discussions

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-552-fit-for-value-saying-no-essays-and-discussions

SPaMCAST 686 – Pitchforks and Torches, Work in 2022, A Panel

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-686-pitchforks-and-torches-work-in-2022-a-panel-discussion

SPaMCAST 694 – The Team Lead Role In Agile, Time, Essays and Conversations

Spamcast-694-the-team-lead-role-in-agile-time-essays-and-conversations

SPaMCAST 711 – Why Re-read Saturday, Team Leaders In Scrum, Essays and Conversations

SPaMCAST 711 – Why Re-read Saturday, Team Leaders In Scrum, Essays and Conversations

SPaMCAST 731 – Giving Thanks, Flow, Essays and Conversations

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/spamcast-731-giving-thanks-flow-essays-and-conversations?tdest_id=107081

SPaMCAST 824 You Can Never Cross The Same River Twice, Essays and Conversations

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/you-can-never-cross-the-same-river-twice-essays-and-conversations-with-jon-m-quigley-spamcast-824

SPaMCAST 816 Goal Conflicts Cause Work Intake Problems, Finding Time To Concentrate

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/goal-conflicts-cause-work-intake-problems-finding-time-to-concentrate-conversations-with-jeremy-willets-and-jon-m-quigley-spamcast-816

SPaMCAST 809 Accountability vs. Responsibility Debate, Essays and Conversations

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/accountability-vs-responsibility-debate-essays-and-conversations-w-jon-m-quigley-spamcast-809

SPaMCAST 799 Beyond Buzzwords – Rethinking Collaboration in Software Development and Prioritization vs. Micromanagement

https://spamcast.libsyn.com/beyond-buzzwords-rethinking-collaboration-in-software-development-and-prioritization-vs-micromanagement-finding-the-right-balance-spamcast-799

Laminar and Turbulent Flow in Project Management

Laminar and Turbulent Flow in Project Management: Navigating Organizational Tension We might believe our projects and the organization should always operate smoothly whether projects or operations, understanding organizational tension – and how to use to our advantage, is crucial for success. One effective way to conceptualize this tension is through the analogy of laminar and […]

The Importance of Documentation

In the fast-paced manufacturing world, the importance of documentation cannot be overstated. Documentation is the backbone of product development and manufacturing, ensuring every step is traceable, repeatable, and optimized for quality. Companies risk inefficiencies, product failures, and costly setbacks without proper documentation. This article delves into why documentation is essential, the problems associated with inadequate […]

Lab Testing vs. Real-World Testing: Understanding the Differences

By: Jon M. Quigley Introduction We watch Air Disasters on The Smithsonian Channel. You should watch the program to understand the root cause analysis. It is not just about root cause analysis but also risks and how circumstances and events stack up to produce unwanted results. A recent episode I watched was about Atlantic Southeast […]

Establishing a PMO – Beyond Dogmatic Approaches

Creating a PMO (Project Management Office) is often seen as a strategic endeavor to streamline organizational project management practices. However, adopting a dogmatic approach to this process can lead to rigidity and inefficiency. In this post, we explore why flexibility and adaptability are crucial in creating a PMO and outline the steps to set up […]

Unveiling the Metrics Behind Achievement

Unveiling the Metrics Behind Achievement Jon M Quigley In the dynamic landscape of project management, success hinges not only on effective planning and execution but also on accurately measuring progress (metrics) and outcomes. Project metrics serve as the compass guiding teams through the complexities of project delivery, offering valuable insights into performance, efficiency, and overall […]

Its been Five Weeks

A Song As I wrote this, I kept getting that song by Barenaked Ladies, One Week, going through my head. I have been working on the bassline for that song. My kid introduced the song to me some years back and just recently I thought about learning it. I’m very close. Estimating I have a […]

The Product Development Hike.

The Product Development Hike. You won’t read far in product development, where product road map analogy (or actuality) is brought up. Recently, I saw a tweet (is it still called tweet, or is it an X) from @CGLambdin. I wish I had captured the tweet for posting here, but I recall it was about the […]

Off Topic: Jimmy Buffett is Dead

I usually have little problem writing. I write multiple columns at technical and business magazines per month; I have a book or books in the queue at any given time. This has taken much longer than I had hoped, but for days, my mind raced. I ran through many Jimmy Buffett experiences and have never […]

Quieting Loud Mouth People – Not THE Solution

Our Loud Team Members There is more to engagement then quieting the loud voices. For example, intrinsic motivation and a sense of agency. We thank Ngan Tran for posting an article on LinkedIn; the piece is found at LinkedIn Article, we do not disagree with much of what they write in the paper but have […]

Projects are People

People are Human I realize this piece is likely, nearly certainly, to ruffle some feathers. That is not my intention for sure.  We have written on the impediments to us seeing things truly as it is.  There are many cognitive biases that may plague us. In fact, we dedicated an entire section in our latest […]

A3 Template with Instructions

Reducing Process Costs – Value Transformation Book

What is a Negative Margin Launch

Building a Cause and Effect Diagram

8D Template

CMMI Tracking

Pugh Matrix

Using Pareto Charts

TIEMP 02

Contact Value Transformation about Agile and Lean