Agile Developers Guide to Lean Software Development

The principles which drive Lean can be applied to software. Doing so provides guidance for those who are attempting to develop software more effectively. In this chapter, instead of describing Lean on its own, I will describe Lean in terms of the Agile practices it suggests. This will illustrate how Agile practices are manifestations of Lean principles. There is power to this understanding - when an Agile practitioner finds himself in a situation where a standard Agile practice cannot be followed, the Lean principles will guide him/her to a better way. Lean principles also often highlight different things to look at than standard Agile practices. By making certain things explicit, Agile practitioners will have more power at their disposal to improve their methods.