Presentation: "Understanding the Magic of Lean Product Development 1"

Track: MASTERING LEAN MANAGEMENT / Time: Monday 14:45 - 15:45 / Location: Rytmisk Sal, Musikhuset

Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Today, we find a lot of magical thinking associated with lean management.  This should be expected. Lean Manufacturing has been a spectacularly successful instantiation of lean management in the domain of manufacturing. It is no surprise that its ideas are migrating into product development. However, it might surprise you to find out that these ideas span the full range from tremendously useful to dangerously toxic. For example, though it is desirable to eliminate all variability in manufacturing, doing the same thing in product development will eliminate all innovation.

How can avoid the trap of magical thinking? Treat lean methods like the  advanced  technology it is.  Understand the mechanisms of action behind the methods. Find out WHY the methods work, not just WHAT to do.  This presentation will examine some key lean methods like queue management, batch size reduction, WIP constraints, and cadence.  It will discuss their governing economic tradeoffs and how these methods can be exploited by product developers.

Keywords: Lean, Product Development, Lean Product Development, Science, Magic

Target Audience: Managers and software professionals who are seeking a deeper understanding of lean product development and why it works.

Don Reinertsen, Consultant and Author

Don Reinertsen

Biography: Don Reinertsen

Don is the President of Reinertsen & Associates, a consulting firm specialized in the management of product development. He has worked with leading product development organizations for over 3o years, and taught executive courses at Caltech for 14 years. He is the author/co-author of three best-selling books on product development. His first two books, Developing Products in Half the Time, and Managing the Design Factory, are product development classics. His latest book, The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development, has won several awards and has been called, “quite simply the most advanced product development book you can buy.” He is considered one of the leading thinkers in the emerging field of lean product development.
Courses:
in Copenhagen, Denmark.
in Stockholm, Sweden.