Lean software development
Definition of Lean Software Development
Lean Software Development (LSD) is an agile approach that focuses on reducing development time and resources, eliminating waste, and providing just the features that the product requires.
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) method is a Lean technique in which a team publishes a bare-bones version of its product to the market, learns from consumers what they like, don’t like, and want to add iterates on that input. To expedite and enhance the software development process, the lean Software Development framework, which is based on agile concepts, is implemented.
In addition to lean Software Development, you may hear the term “minimal viable product (MVP) strategy” used to describe this technique, as the two working modes are incredibly similar. Both companies aim to reduce development time by concentrating on only the most critical deliverables and bringing a product to market before adding new features.
History of Lean Software Development
Toyota has been recognized as the inspiration for the lean development framework based on agile principles. The process was initially referred to as the Toyota Production System when it was first developed.
An approach based on lean development meant streamlining manufacturing and assembly lines for the Japanese automobile company to reduce waste of time and resources. Toyota deemed any action that did not directly contribute to constructing a car to be ‘waste,’ and the company removed it from the manufacturing process.
As more and more manufacturing teams — from various industries — began to see how Toyota’s lean strategy boosted efficacy, time and cost management, and maximizing customer value, they followed suit.
In 2003 when they first used lean Software Development in software development, the same year that the book ‘Lean Software Development: an Agile Toolkit’ was published.
Importance of Lean Software Development
Team members will gain valuable insight from real-world market metrics, such as determining what works and what doesn’t for users. They will then be able to put out new upgrades or redesigns depending on the information they have gained from this data.
Benefits of Lean Software Development
Lean Software Development has been demonstrated to improve software development in the following ways, according to current research:
The development process becomes more straightforward and logical. Due to eliminating unnecessary process phases during the software design process, lean Software Development allows for significant time and resource savings.
They are getting rid of unnecessary losses. Because the emphasis is on delivering the bare minimum viable product, lean Software Development places a high value on crucial functions and features. Once an MVP has been released into the market, teams may use honest consumer feedback to determine which future you should prioritize. This eliminates the danger of wasting time and resources on unnecessary builds.
Increase the level of participation among your team members. When it comes to an understanding the value of lean development methods, one of the most crucial factors to consider is the importance of people. As a result of increasing participation, the entire process becomes more efficient, decreasing or eliminating losses.
How To Use Lean Software Development
What is the best way to determine whether Lean Software Development is suited for your team?
Teams should weigh the advantages and disadvantages and the strengths and limitations of a Lean Software Development method before deciding.
For example, Lean Software Development has numerous advantages, including the following:
Concentrating on the essential activities to prevent unnecessary spending
Because of lean Software Development’s streamlined approach, it is possible to get a product launch-ready much faster than other frameworks.
During the decision-making process, development teams gain increased authority.
However, there are some disadvantages to take into consideration. For lean Software Development to be effective, the following conditions must be met:
The importance of documentation cannot be overstated. Failure to fully capture and document the lean Software Development process may result in mistakes during the development process.
To be successful, team participation, buy-in, and comprehension are essential — you must brief the entire team on and on board with the Lean Software Development method. Lean Software Development can be challenging to scale due to this limitation compared to other agile frameworks.
Most firms that employ Lean Software Development find that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. In most use cases, lean Software Development empowers the development team to move forward with confidence, expediting the development process and allowing the team to concentrate on the most critical features to meet the user’s needs.
Choosing to remove or de-prioritize activities and features outside the scope of a minimal viable product requires guts. Still, if you’ve followed the lean Software Development framework, you’ll have the opportunity to improve your MVP after it’s been successfully launched to market.
