Guide to 'Eliminate Waste' in Lean Software Development
Eliminating waste is a core principle of lean software development, originating from lean manufacturing principles and adapted for the software development context. This principle focuses on minimizing any activities or processes that do not add value to the customer, thus improving efficiency, productivity, and ultimately the quality of the product delivered.
Why It Is Important: With the growing competition in the software development market, it has become necessary for organizations to efficiently use their resources and reduce unnecessary effort or cost. Applying the 'eliminate waste' principle allows companies to identify inefficiencies, streamline processes and enhance customer satisfaction levels.
What It Is: In the context of lean software development, waste refers to any activity that absorbs resources but creates no value. Examples of waste in software development include unnecessary code or functionality, waiting, task switching, knowledge loss, and so on.
How It Works: It's about inspecting the software development process and identifying elements that do not contribute to the value of the final software product. This could include everything from redundant documentation to unnecessary lines of code in the software itself. Once identified, efforts are made to eliminate these wastes.
Exam Tips: It is important to understand the principle of 'eliminate waste' and how it applies to software development when preparing for the PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) exam.
- Questions may ask about the rationale and benefits behind the principle.
- Understand different forms of waste in the software development process.
- Be prepared to give examples of wastes and how to eliminate them.
- Understand how waste elimination contributes to overall efficiency and productivity in the context of agile project management.