After my last post referring to a webinar by Durward Sobek, he got me thinking again about the fantastic work of Mary and Tom Poppendieck. They are such a great force for evangelizing lean software development. I highly recommend their two books on the subject.
One of the things I especially like is that they boil down how you can apply lean to software development in a way that's clear and practical, and also does justice to the core philosophical principles of Lean Thinking. Not always easy, that. Even so, it's crucial to do -- an understanding of the core principles will allow you to apply the lean software concepts when situations and context change (as they will).
In that vein, I especially like this powerpoint slide deck that the Poppendiecks have posted on their website, called Lean Thinking: the theory behind agile development (2002). Here's a nugget of insight from slide 9:
Ten Simple Rules of Lean Programming: Eliminate waste Minimize artifacts Satisfy all stakeholders Deliver as fast as possible Decide as late as possible Decide as low as possible Deploy comprehensive testing Learn by experimentation Measure business impact Optimize across organizations
Ten Simple Rules of Lean Programming:
See the deck for great examples and explanations about the list above, and more.
And BTW, be sure to check out the last slide -- it's a bibliography slide. The reading list could be an intense graduate seminar on lean thinking / lean management!