LEAN AND AGILE METHODS

Lean and Agile methods are set to revolutionise project planning and scheduling.



Introduction

For projects that include a significant software component, the traditional method of project management may not be as effective as the requirements may be vague and variable. Alternatively, you can use the lean and agile project management, not so long ago, became popular. This method is quite iterative and periodic process, during which developers and project participants are actively working together on understanding the scope of, and determine the needs that we need to implement and give priority to functionality.

Agility is defined by Goldman et al. (1995) as the ability to prosper in a competitive environment characterized by constant and unpredictable change. Lean is the process of manufacturing that eliminates inefficiencies and mobilizing the team around common objectives, lean management can reduce inventory and cycle times of production, increased productivity and improved quality.

These definitions can be stated more succinctly as a firm's ability to succeed in a turbulent environment. This shortened description relies on Emery and Trist's (1965) concept of a turbulent field, in which the environment is characterized as one with high levels of uncertainty. Manufacturers who are able to react and respond to an environment that frequently or continually pressures the firm to change while continuing to satisfy customers and achieve business objectives are considered to be agile. Although varying definitions of agility exist in the literature, one commonality is the manufacturer's capability to quickly respond to market requirements (Ramesh and Devadasan, 2007). To be responsive and adaptable to changing environmental conditions, manufacturing firms need to develop flexible practices and operations (Kara and Kayis, 2004). One way to tackle the problem of measuring agility is to focus on processes and change proficiency. Dove (1995, 2001) provides the earliest example of this approach, contending that any company is technically able to respond to change triggers, but agile companies are those that respond successfully based on four change-proficiency metrics: 1. cost; 2. time; 3. robustness; and 4. scope. Cost and time refer to whether the changes are implemented quickly and at reasonable costs. Robustness refers to whether the change was implemented in a manner that produces quality results without the need for constant attention, and scope indicates the magnitude of change that can be accommodated in the future. Dove (2001) concludes that an organization with change proficiency addresses all four metrics. To address enterprise agility, change proficiency can be analyzed through a collection of assessments for critical business practices.

Agile method

Specifically, the AGILE methodology sets up an environment that forces communication with the implementation of various points of contact internally and with customers, such as schedules, sprints, scrums, demonstrations and retrospectives. Level software engineering, Agile also provides a set of best practices capitalized over time as the logical testing and more specifically automatic unit testing (Test Driven Development) (Atkinson, 1999).

Agile methods are groups of practices that can be applied to various types of projects, but rather being limited to development projects in IT (software ...