Lean software management case study: Timberline Inc.

This paper is believed to be the first documented account of a full adoption of lean by a software company. Lean techniques were devised by Toyota and other manufacturers over the last 50 years. The techniques are termed lean because they require less resource to produce more product and exceptional quality. Lean ideas have also been successful in service industries and product development. Applying lean to software has been advocated for over 10 years. Timberline, Inc started their lean initiative in Spring 2001 and this paper records their journey, results and lessons learned up to Fall 2003. This case study demonstrates that lean thinking can work successfully for software developers. It also indicates that the extensive lean literature is a valuable source of new ideas for software engineering.

Lean software process

This paper shows how the concepts of lean manufacturing can be successfully applied to software development. The key lean concept is to have a minimum of work in progress, which forces problems into the open. The time is then taken to fix the production system so the errors will not occur again.

Lean principles and techniques for improving the quality and productivity of software development projects: a case study

Software product development is recognised as difficult due to the intangible nature of the product, requirements elicitation, effective progress measurement, and so forth. In this paper, we describe some of the challenges of software product development and how the challenges are being met by lean management principles and techniques. Specifically, we examine lean principles and techniques that were devised by Toyota and other manufacturers over the last 50 years. Applying lean principles to software development projects has been advocated for over ten years and it will be shown that the extensive lean literature is a valuable source of ideas for software development. A case study with a software development organisation, Timberline Inc., will demonstrate that lean principles and techniques can be successfully applied to software product development.

A review of the selective reduction of NOx, with hydrocarbons under lean-burn conditions with non-zeolitic oxide and platinum group metal catalysts

Research on the selective reduction of NOx with hydrocarbons under lean-burn conditions using non-zeolitic oxides and platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts has been critically reviewed. Alumina and silver-promoted alumina catalysts have been described in detail with particular emphasis on an analysis of the various reaction mechanisms that have been put forward in the literature. The influence of the nature of the reducing agent, and the preparation and structure of the catalysts have also been discussed and rationalised for several other oxide systems. It is concluded for non-zeolitic oxides that species that are strongly adsorbed on the surface, such as nitrates/nitrites and acetates, could be key intermediates in the formation of various reduced and oxidised species of nitrogen, the further reaction of which leads eventually to the formation of molecular nitrogen. For the platinum group metal catalysts, the different mechanisms that have been proposed in the literature have been critically assessed. It is concluded that although there is indirect, mainly spectroscopic, evidence for various reaction intermediates on the catalyst surface, it is difficult to confirm that any of these are involved in a critical mechanistic step because of a lack of a direct quantitative correlation between infrared and kinetic measurements. A simple mechanism which involves the dissociation of NO on a reduced metal surface to give N(ads) and O(ads), with subsequent desorption of N-2 and N2O and removal of O(ads) by the reductant can explain many of the results with the platinum group metal catalysts, although an additional contribution from organo-nitro-type species may contribute to the overall NOx reduction activity with these catalysts.

An investigation of catalysts for the on board synthesis of NH3. A possible route to low temperature NOx reduction for lean-burn engines

Platinum group metal catalysts have been investigated for the formation of NH3 from NO + H-2 at low temperatures in the absence and presence of CO. Although CO inhibits the formation of NH3, substantial amounts are still observed with a Pt catalyst. By combining Pt with a support (ceria-zirconia) that has low temperature NOx storage characteristics it has been shown in transient experiments that NH3 can be formed and stored in situ under rich conditions, and may then be used to reduce NOx under lean burn conditions.

LDL particle size in habitual exercisers, lean sedentary men and abdominally obese sedentary men

Habitual exercisers enjoy considerable protection from coronary heart disease (CHD). Often, however, only modest differences in traditional CHD risk factors are apparent between habitual exercisers and their sedentary counterparts. For this reason, there is increasing interest in novel predictors of CHD, such as a preponderance of small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to separate lipoprotein subfractions in 32 lean exercisers, 36 lean sedentary men and 21 obese sedentary men aged 30-45 years. Well-validated equations were used to determine LDL concentration and peak particle diameter. Waist girth was used to identify lean (<100 cm) and obese ( >= 100cm) individuals. LDL concentration was lower in lean exercisers than in lean sedentary men (2.64 +/- 0.44 vs. 3.76 +/- 0.79 mmol.l(-1), p <0.001), suggesting that habitual exercise influences this risk factor. In contrast, there were no significant differences in LDL peak particle diameter between lean exercisers, lean sedentary men and obese sedentary men (27.92 +/- 0.67, 28.09 +/- 0.62 and 27.77 +/- 0.77 nm, respectively). In multiple linear regression analysis, triglyceride concentration was the only significant predictor of LDL PPD. These data suggest that habitual exercise influences LDL concentration but does not influence LDL particle size in men aged 30-45 years.

Lean Software Management: BBC Worldwide Case Study

This case study examines how the lean ideas behind the Toyota production system can be applied to software project management. It is a detailed investigation of the performance of a nine-person software development team employed by BBC Worldwide based in London. The data collected in 2009 involved direct observations of the development team, the kanban boards, the daily stand-up meetings, semistructured interviews with a wide variety of staff, and statistical analysis. The evidence shows that over the 12-month period, lead time to deliver software improved by 37%, consistency of delivery rose by 47%, and defects reported by customers fell 24%. The significance of this work is showing that the use of lean methods including visual management, team-based problem solving, smaller batch sizes, and statistical process control can improve software development. It also summarizes key differences between agile and lean approaches to software development. The conclusion is that the performance of the software development team was improved by adopting a lean approach. The faster delivery with a focus on creating the highest value to the customer also reduced both technical and market risks. The drawbacks are that it may not fit well with existing corporate standards.