PDMA Visions Article: What is Lean about Product Development?

I have a new article out in PDMA Visions, the member magazine for the Product Development Management Association. This article surveys the landscape of lean product development. I co-authored the article with Tricia Sutton, who will also co-chair the Lean Product and Process Development Conference with me for next year.

The article includes a chart comparing different approaches to product development, including their proponents. The concept for this has its origins in my 2005 Road Trip, where I interviewed people across America and summarized my findings in the Lean Product Development Road Trip Report.

As you can imagine, Tricia and I had some long and hard discussions about whom to include in the right hand column, when it came time to name names. Not every prominent name is on the list and I'm sure I will have to field some disagreement from a few of the ones who are. Not that I mind. I'll use any excuse to have a discussion that may deepen my understanding.

What do you think about the different schools within lean product development? Which ones have you drawn from in your own lean journey?

Allen Ward's Lean Product and Process Development

I'm pleased to tell you that the Lean Enterprise Institute has finally published Dr. Allen Ward's book on Lean Product Development. Although the HP team only knew Allen for a very short time, his impact on our work was immense and I am happy to see that his ideas are living on.

Dr. Ward's work was left unfinished when he died in a plane crash on May 31, 2004. The manuscript for this book was written mostly in 2001, and it doesn't reflect some of the major insights from the last years of his work, such as the LAMDA cycle to organize Plan-Do-Check-Act for knowledge workers. Some terms have evolved - the 'entrepreneurial system designer' is now commonly known as the Chief Engineer.

True to his spirit, Allen begins the book with a challenge: "How can you make all of your development projects make a lot more money -- and have more fun at the same time?" His voice filled with "tough love" for engineering managers and his passion for excellence shines through every page of the book.

Durward Sobek and John Shook helped organize his unfinished manuscript, and the result is much better than I would have expected. They have filled in a couple of missing pieces and provided much-needed context in the foreward, leaving the rest as Allen had it.

This is now the first book I would recommend to someone to learn about Lean Product Development.