Lean Leader's Workshop
Software is the heart and soul of a vast number of products and business processes; every year the ability to develop robust software systems quickly and reliably becomes more critical to the world economy. Yet all to often companies use software development processes that were born when systems were coded in assembly language and computer hardware was more expensive than programmers' salaries.
Today we have pervasive internet, omnipresent social media, big data, and massively scalable hardware. These advances have flourished largely outside the realm of traditional software development practices, and they call into question the conventional wisdom of what it means to develop, scale, and maintain excellent software-intensive systems.
It's time to re-think our approach to software development processes, our perception of the people who create software, and our governance systems. This two day workshop presents an alternate framework for thinking about developing software-intensive systems - one based on Lean principles and focused on innovation.
You will Learn:
- How to discover what customers really want.
- Who should engineering solutions to customer problems.
- How to look at your process from a customer's point of view and identify waste.
- What's wrong with software testing and what you have to do to fix it.
- What organizational structures are most likely to foster innovation.
- Scheduling strategies that permit confident promise-dating and reliable delivery.
- Tools for problem solving that everyone in the organization can use.
- Leadership roles that work - from the perspective of followers.
You will be asked to read short articles and watch videos on each topic prior to the workshop - come prepared for thoughtful discussion!
Learn from the Experts:
Learn first-hand from thought-leaders Mary and Tom Poppendieck how to reframe your software development process from the perspective of lean principles. Mary and Tom have pioneered the application of Lean Thinking to software development and documented their principles in books (below).
This two day workshop is offered either privately or through partners who sponsor a public workshop. For additional information on the Leader's Workshop please contact us at info@poppendieck.com.
Agenda
Build the Right Thing
- Beyond Amateur Design
- Strong Centers
- Lean Startup
Build the Thing Right
- Learn to See Waste
- Mistake-Proof the Process
- Map the Value Stream
Focus on Flow
- Manage Workflow
- Limit Work-in-Progress
- Increase the Pace of Delivery
Build the Right Organization
- Motivation
- Leadership Roles
- Organizing for Innovation
Learn to Improve
- Improvement Kata
- The Coaching Role
- Problem Solving
Books
- Results are Not the Point
- Concept to Cash
- An Agile Toolkit
Leading Lean Software Development:
Results are not the Point
Building on their breakthrough bestsellers Lean Software Development: Concept to Cash and Implementing Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit, Mary and Tom Poppendieck's latest book shows software leaders and team members exactly how to drive high-value change throughout a software organization—and make it stick.
Implementing Lean Software Development:
From Concept to Cash
This book draws on the Poppendiecks' unparalleled experience helping development organizations optimize the entire software value stream. You'll discover the right questions to ask, the key issues to focus on, and techniques proven to work. The authors present case studies from leading-edge software organizations, and offer practical exercises for jumpstarting your own Lean initiatives.
Lean Software Development
An Agile Toolkit
Lean Software Development shows software professionals how to achieve breakthrough quality, savings, speed, and business value by adapting the seven "lean" principles that have already revolutionized manufacturing and R&D. Drawing on 25+ years' experience leading enterprise projects, the authors show how to use these principles to create agile processes that work - because they're optimized for your environment.

