Lean Software Process

Handling Muda in the IT Industry

March 11th, 2011

Dhivya Arunagiri

Senior Business Analyst

Thoughtworks, Chennai

Muda – The 7 variants

Wastage Due to

1. Over Production

2. Process Failure

3. Bad Quality

4. Transport

5. Inventory

6. Idle Time

7. Operator Motion

Muda 1: Overproduction

My client has 5 different types of end users.

Some users have a lot of extra features while

others do not have even the basic ones

Requirement Maps

Feature Completion Tracker

Muda 2: Due to Process Failures

I keep tracking the development effort on a daily basis but

it is a corrective measure. How do I visualize the blockers

slippages as well as Scope Creep upfront?

Finger Charts – Data Capture 90% 100% 1.1

End of

Date#

Appr

oved

Wait

for

appr

oval

In

Dev

Park

ed/d

esco

ped

Rea

dy /

defin

ed

Buff

er

(10%

)

Tota

l

Points

1.0

(90%)

Point

s 1.0

(100%

)

Point

s 1.1

(100%

)

Dev

sScope

Aug-6 1 0 0 8 0 864 86 872 0 0 6 880

Aug-7 2 0 0 8 0 864 86 872 0 0 6 880

Aug-8 3 0 0 20 0 852 86 872 5 6 7 6 880

Aug-11 4 0 0 20 0 852 86 872 11 12 13 6 880

Aug-12 5 4 0 28 8 854 86 894 16 18 20 6 880

Aug-13 6 4 0 28 8 854 86 894 22 24 26 6 880

Aug-14 7 4 0 36 0 854 86 894 27 30 33 6 880

Aug-15 8 4 0 36 0 854 86 894 27 30 33 6 880

Aug-18 9 4 12 30 66 782 86 894 32 36 40 6 880

Aug-19 10 4 12 36 64 778 86 894 38 42 46 6 880

Aug-20 11 6 22 38 64 764 86 894 43 48 53 6 880

Aug-21 12 14 22 38 66 764 86 904 49 54 59 6 880

Aug-22 13 14 24 46 66 758 86 908 54 60 66 6 880

Aug-25 14 14 30 40 68 764 86 916 59 66 73 6 880

Aug-26 15 38 18 34 88 740 86 918 65 72 79 6 880

1

2

3

Finger Chart

Muda 3: Bad Quality

We have a defect tracking system but

still we end up having a lot of defects.

• Test Driven Development

• Continuous feedback or Kaizen

Cycle Time Tracker

Muda 4: Transport

My team has grown. Status Communication is

becoming a major issue.

Story Wall

Muda 5: Inventory

My Client is in a volatile industry. By the time, we

release a feature, parts of it have become redundant

Plan for the current and consecutive iteration only

Muda 6: Idle Time

If one pair slips off on the completion date for a

requirement, the second pair remains idle.

Parallelisation

Muda 7: Operator Motion

Each developer is specialised in one area. How do we

ensure we disseminate the knowledge?

• Paired Programming

• Pair Rotation

A quick recap….

Thank You !!!

Questions??