Archive for Lean Six Sigma
Business901 #1 Podcast of the Year
Posted by: | CommentsJim (“Cope”) Coplien podcast, Coplien on Agile, Lean and Architecture was the most listened Business901 podcast of the year. In the podcast, we discussed his new book, Lean Architecture: for Agile Software Development. Cope’s view on Lean and Agile is quite interesting and his knowledge of the subject goes far beyond the software practices that he writes about. Whether you are in IT or not, I think this podcast really helps in understanding Lean as a methodology and/or culture.
This is a transcription of the podcast:
The Podcast…
Download Podcast: Click and choose options: Coplien on Agile or go to the Business901 iTunes Store.
Cope is a speaker and author whose works range from programming and architecture to ethnography and organizational design. He is a founder of the Software Pattern discipline and of organizational patterns, which in turn were one of the foundations of Scrum. Though he writes for a technical audience, his works focus on the human element of product development. His latest work, “Lean Architecture” is as much about how architecture helps make software usable, as it is about software maintainability on the technical side.
Other books:
Organizational Patterns of Agile Software Development
Advanced C++ Programming Styles and Idioms
Related Posts:
The differences in Lean and Agile
Understand Scrum, Understand Implementing PDCA
Should you Manage your Organization with Agile Techniques?
PDCA Cycle introduction to Lean Marketing
Lean and Six Sigma training for deployed Soldiers
Posted by: | CommentsJust received a copy of an article, Resolute’ brigade provides Lean Six Sigma training to deployed Soldiers from Tim Fowler, a CPS Professional Services contractor assigned to Task Force Resolute at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Tim is teaching a group of U.S. Forces about Lean and Six Sigma. They are applying this training immediately through improving the logistics capabilities of the command. More information can be found in the article. 
Quote from the article:
“Through Lean Six Sigma, soldiers and leaders will learn how to properly manage time and resources while delivering a top quality product the first time,” said Chief Warrant Officer Jackie Vuorinen, the TF-Resolute safety officer. “This is a program all soldiers can use to save Army resources while providing higher quality products.”
Tim appeared on the Business901 podcast, Are right brain thinkers better leaders? Tim is a University of Kentucky Certified Lean Master, a Goldratt Institute Theory of Constraint Supply Chain Expert, an ASQ-Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and a Licensed Social Worker with a SECRET clearance and his website, BusinessLeadership.com is a popular venue for leading edge thinking.
Thanks Tim for passing this on and wish you and everyone else at Kandahar Airfield a safe and Happy Holiday!
Related Information:
Using Right Brain Thinking in Business
Left Brain vs Right Brain = Management vs. Marketing
Be Productive, Be Visual, Part 2
Start your Visual Thinking Process with Mind Mapping
Bahadir Inozu, Ph.D., the Chief Executive Officer and Dan Chauncey, the Director of Deployment Services for NOVACES joined me in this podcast to discuss an integrated approach for using three industrially based methods, Lean, Six Sigma, and Constraints Management to transform hospital operations. They have just published a book, Performance Improvement for Healthcare that explains how using the right tool for the right problem at the right time from a systems perspective, the authors show how to deliver faster results and greater return on investment.
- Scales to any size organization and aligns easily to varying needs
- Shortens traditional execution time from adoption to results
- Optimizes the utilization of resources required to accomplish the desired goals
- Breaks organizational constraints and maximizes organizational efficiency
- Sustains the gains and defines a path to self-sufficiency
- Achieves a global impact through strategy alignment and focused project selection
- Shows how to integrate Constraints Management with Lean and Six Sigma to create a “best of breed” approach
- Explains how hospitals can deploy or re-energize their performance improvement program specifically for what’s most important for their particular organization
Download Podcast: Click and choose options: TOCHealthcare or go to the Business901 iTunes Store.
About Novaces: A management consulting firm that provides performance management, continuous process improvement (CPI), and project management services to both public and private sector organizations. NOVACES helps its clients build capabilities in today’s most effective methodologies to achieve breakthrough operational and financial results.
Related Information:
Lean Six Sigma for Government
Lean Six Sigma will increase effectiveness of Stimulus spending
The Hell with the Economic Stimulus Package – I’ll Lead
Balancing Internal and External Lean Six Sigma Consulting Roles
Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training
Does Lean need to move beyond Deming?
Posted by: | CommentsThe Agile Minds Group in Belgium recently held a conference on Lean Software Development. The speakers were a few of my favorite podcast guests such as Jim Benson
Don is always entertaining and has such a way with explaining statistics that he makes himself difficult to argue with. This time he took on Dr. Edward Deming
- Is preventing problems always better than correcting them?
- Should we really try to eliminate as much variability as possible?
- Does responding to normal variation make performance worse?
- Did Deming understand Kanban?
- Is 3 Sigma upper and lower control limits correct for you?
In this presentation, Don Reinertsen discusses the limitations of Deming’s ideas and how to go beyond them.
Don Reinertsen – Is It Time to Rethink Deming? from AGILEMinds on Vimeo.
I would consider myself a Deming Loyalist. However, I do agree with Don on many of his points. It is the evolution of Lean that is being discussed. As we apply Lean outside of manufacturing many of the basic assumptions that we tie to Deming and Lean may not be valid. Following the principles of John Boyd’s, OODA Loop for a better prescription may open the doors for Lean to prosper outside of traditional process thinking.
An example of this is The Lean Startup
You gotta like a guy that stirs the pot. Thanks Don!
Related Information:
Why the Lean SALES PDCA Cycle was Created!
Deming was just simply wrong about variation…
Why won’t Lean commit to the Demand Chain the way it committed to the Supply chain?
Lean Marketing: Sales Quotas lead to Waste
Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos
Creating Flow with Don Reinertsen
Why should 50% of your marketing fail?
