A Tale of Two Methodologies: Comparing Lean and Lean-Agile
Lean principles and practices are guidelines and methodologies to maximize efficiency and minimize waste in business operations. Initially developed for manufacturing operations, they have been applied to various industries. Some fundamental principles and practices include:
- Identifying and eliminating waste: This includes any activity that doesn’t add value to the end product or service, such as excess inventory, unnecessary steps in a process, and defects.
- Continual improvement: Lean encourages a culture of continuous improvement, where employees are empowered to identify and solve problems, and processes are regularly reviewed and optimized.
- Respect for people: Lean recognizes that people are essential to any organization and emphasizes engaging and empowering employees to achieve goals.
- Focus on flow: Lean prioritizes the smooth flow of materials and information, reducing delays and bottlenecks to minimize lead times and increase productivity.
- Building quality in Lean emphasizes the importance of designing processes and systems that minimize defects and errors from the start rather than trying to fix them later.
Some standard Lean practices include Value Stream Mapping, Kanban, Pull System, 5S, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
Lean Agile
Lean Agile uses Agile principles and practices informed by Lean principles and practices. Lean Agile emphasizes continuous improvement, rapid feedback, and waste elimination.
The principles of Lean-Agile include:
- Emphasizing the importance of delivering value to the customer
- Encouraging the use of cross-functional teams to deliver value
- Focusing on flow rather than individual tasks or milestones
- Constantly seeking ways to improve and eliminate waste
- Embracing change and being open to new ideas
Agile vs. Lean-Agile
The main difference between normal Agile and Lean-Agile is that normal Agile focuses on delivering value through incremental releases and continuous improvement. At the same time, Lean-Agile also focuses on eliminating waste and improving flow. Lean Agile aims to provide more value with less work, while normal Agile aims to deliver value incrementally and continuously.