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AGILEVS.LEAN:YEAH
YEAH,WHATSTHE
DIFFERENCE?
byAbbyFichtner
IsAgilethesameasLean?WhenpeoplesayagiledotheyreallymeanScrum?Ordo
peoplestillusedifferenttypesofagileandifso,why?
Beengettingalotofquestionslately,sothoughtIdtakeastabatthis
LEAN
LeancomesfromLeanManufacturingandisasetofprinciplesforachievingquality,
speed&customeralignment(sameaswhatweretryingtodowithagile
development,right?).
Mary&TomPoppendieckadaptedtheprinciplesfromLeanManufacturingtofit
softwaredevelopmentandIbelievetheseideasactuallyprovidethepremises
behindwhyagileworks:
1.EliminateWaste 5.DeliverFast
2.BuildQualityIn 6.RespectPeople
3.CreateKnowledge 7.OptimizetheWhole
4.DeferCommitment
Inanutshell,Leansaystorelentlesslyeliminateanythingthatisntaddingvalueand
onlyworkonwhatweabsolutelyneedtobedoingatthismomentintime.Eliminating
wastemeanseliminatinguselessmeetings,tasksanddocumentation.But
italsomeanseliminatingtimespentbuildingwhatweknowwellneedinthefuture
(thingsareconstantlychangingsoweoftenendupnotneedingthemorifwedo,
wehavetoreworkthembecauseconditionsandourunderstandinghaschangedby
then).Italsomeanseliminatinginefficientwaysofworkinglikemultitasking(!)so
wecandeliverfast.
Leanalsoputsaverystrongemphasisonwhatitcallsthesystemthatis,theway
thattheteamoperatesasawhole.Wealwaysneedtobelookingatourworkfroma
topleveltoensurewereoptimizingforthewhole.Forexample,manymanagerswant
tooptimizeindividualdevelopersbyensuringtheyrealwaysat100%butmostof
thetime,thisisactuallycounterproductive.Letsnothavepeoplecodingsomething
thatisntneeded(orfullydefinedyet)justforthesakeofcoding,becausethat
actuallycreatesmoreworkforusinthefuture(see:WhyYouShouldLetYour
DevelopersSurf).
Alongthoselines,Leansaystorespectthatthepeopledoingtheworkaretheones
thatbestknowhowtodoit.Givethemwhattheyneedtobeeffectiveandthentrust
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12/04/2017 AgileVs.Lean:YeahYeah,WhatstheDifference?TheHackerChickBlogTheHackerChickBlog
themtodoit.Softwaredevelopmentisaboutlearning,sostructuretheworkto
ensurewerecontinuouslylearning.Andbecauseofthat,deferdecisionsuntilthelast
responsiblemoment(becausewellknowmorebythen).Finally,developinawaythat
buildsqualityintoourproduct,becausetheresnowaytocontinuouslydeliverfastif
wehavetokeepgoingbacktocleanupourmesses.
Organizationsthataretrulyleanhaveastrongcompetitiveadvantagebecausethey
respondveryrapidlyandinahighlydisciplinedmannertomarketdemand,rather
thantrytopredictthefuture.MaryPoppendieck
AGILE
AgilereferstoasetofvaluesandprinciplesputforthintheAgileManifesto.The
Manifestowasareactionagainstheavyweightmethodologiesthatwerepopular,yet
cripplingsoftwareprojectsfromactuallydoingwhattheyneededtodocreate
softwarethathelpedthecustomer!IbelieveAgilesvalues&principles
workbecauseofthesciencebehindLeanandsoyoullseealotofsimilarthemes
repeatedinagile.
TheAgileManifestosvaluesare:
Individualsandinteractionsoverprocessesandtools
Workingsoftwareovercomprehensivedocumentation
Customercollaborationovercontractnegotiation
Respondingtochangeoverfollowingaplan
Anditsprinciplesare:
1.Highestpriorityiscustomer 7.Progressmeasuredbyworking
satisfaction software
2.Welcomechangingrequirements 8.Sustainabledevelopmentpace
9.Continuousattentiontotechnical
3.Frequentdeliveryofsoftware
excellence
4.Businesspeople&developers
10.Simplicity
cooperatingdaily
5.Buildprojectsaroundmotivated
11.Selforganizingteams
people
6.Facetofaceconversationisbest 12.Regularreflection&adaptation
Anyprojectthatfollowsthesevaluesandprinciplescanrightlybeconsideredtobe
agile.Thatsaid,therearedefinitelypreferredpracticesthatarecommonforagile
teamstofollowinordertoachieveagility.Mostcommonly:
ScrumorKanban(orahybridofthetwo)forManagementPractices
ExtremeProgramming(XP)forTechnicalPractices(withnewpractices
becomingpopular,largelyfromLeanStartupsuchasContinuousDeployment
andTestinginProduction)
Agoodagileteampicksandchosesthemanagement&technicalpracticesthatbest
workforthem.(abadonejustpicksacoupleofpracticesandfalselybelievesthat
somehowmakesthemagilesee:AreWeAgileYet?).
InPartII,Illpostsummariesoftheseagilemethodsandpractices.
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