Lean Mastery Collection

by Jeffrey Ries

  Make it Clear that Individual Sacrifice is Not Required: When your team is in the middle of a Sprint, they are going to routinely be forced to work through complex problems on the fly. There is a right way and a wrong way to solve these problems, however, and the lines regarding which is which can seem blurry without the right context. First and foremost, it is important to understand that the team naturally improves by coming together and solving these sorts of problems, which not only makes the unit as a whole more prepared for the future but more cohesive as a team as well. As such, if one person cracks the nut the entire team was working on then great, but if that person goes to near super human lengths to do so, then the team learns a very different lesson instead.

  Rather than learning to work together to solve problems, the team in this case then learns to rely on the person who they know will always come through in a pinch. What’s worse, this person could then start having an inordinate amount of pull over the team as a whole which means they could end up assigning mandates and even setting stretch goals without even realizing they are doing so. They can also cause several other types of issues for the team, starting with preventing the other members from developing an ability to creatively experiment and solve problems.

  If one individual always has all of the answers then they are robbing others of learning why certain answers exist, which harms the team as a whole overall. If this proceeds unchecked for a prolonged period of time, then it is also likely that certain members of the team will become apathetic about the process as a whole because it will quickly become apparent that relying on the star is out of place with traditional Scrum practices. Ultimately this will break down the concept of the team at its base level and nothing will be accomplished, even if the star is still doing everything in their power to shine.

  The easiest way to avoid this type of issue is to nip it in the bud during the planning for the Sprint. As long as things are planned properly from the beginning, there should be no need for any individuals to have to step up in any extreme way to get things done. Additionally, you may find it helpful to pad out your Sprint times if you find this type of scenario forming on a regular basis so that you can prevent things from devolving towards the need for such feats in the way they previously have before.

  Chapter 8: Stories from the Trenches

  Terminales Portuarios Peruanos: This is a company built around port and maritime services in Peru. Their IT group develops software for its own internal processes and operations. Traditionally it had worked along a predetermined release map that, increasingly, wasn’t hitting the targets it needed to. With a team of 50 people, the goal was to deliver a new product at the end of each cycle but the process wasn’t iterative and the teams were always held up at the end of development which made it difficult for them to meet their goals. IT group’s ability to deliver new software every 30 days. The company chose to implement Scrum to scale by minimizing and removing cross-team dependencies and integration issues while elevating transparency.

  In 2017 the company came up against a future deadline that it new it absolutely had to meet so it went about setting up a Scrum team to ensure the deadline was met without issue. Their initial phase of the implementation process started by bringing together stakeholders to align business objectives with user needs before aligning the results with the Product Backlog. The Product Owner also worked with the teams and used Impact Mapping and Story Mapping to help order and refine the Product Backlog. The Product Owner and the teams worked together to focus on creating integrated software.

  The organization delivered products with a traditional project management model that prioritized schedule management and activity tracking to a model based on product delivery and daily progress. The first release was launched within one month and the product was in production completely by three months. The traditional model would have seen the first release within three months.

  Vodafone: Vodafone, one of the largest mobile communication providers in the world, operates in more than 30 countries around the world and partners with outside providers of nearly 50 more. One of these partners, Vodafone Turkey, provides service to more than 20 million subscribers but the telecommunications industry in Turkey is extremely competitive and they needed help to manage the extreme Time to the Market pressure they were feeling.

  Overall, there were three situations that needed to be dealt with in order for the pressure being put on the demand for improved productivity to decrease. The first was the time to market pressure, but there were also increased business expectations, an extremely long time-to-market period and a communication gap between all parts of the team. While the first issue could only be solved by improving the second and third, Scrum had answers for each.

  The long period of time between when a product was developed and brought to market was due to the fact that testers and developers were considered to be separate units as opposed to one Development Team. As a result, the delay between the handoff for the two was significant and also decreased the responsiveness of IT as a whole. Likewise, the communication gap that the previous system created was solved by the added transparency that comes to the Scrum Framework and the understanding that everyone is working towards the same Sprint Goal at the same time.

  To counter these issues the company set up a Scrum Team within the IT department in hopes of shortening their turnaround time while increasing the quality of the overall product as well. Under this pilot program, several Sprints were performed with this new Scrum team and the progress between each was tracked. Thanks to the added efficiency found in the Scrum framework, the pilot team ended up tripling its overall output in just three months.

  Faced with such impressive results, the company decided to move forward with scaling the Scrum framework throughout the company. After about five months of getting things situated to the new way of doing things, the company reported that, across the board, the Scrum teams were performing at double the efficiency that was seen with the old model. What’s more, the company also noted a marked decrease when it came to customer complaints as well as reported defects.

  SoftwarePeople: All the way back in 2004, a company by the name of SoftwarePeople, based in Denmark, partnered with an investment firm in Bangladesh and made the decision to create a new subsidiary company in Bangladesh directly. Then, it hired 20 people in a single week and started using traditional processes in both offices with the end goal of receiving a CMMI level 3 certification in about 18 months. This led to nothing but countless pit stops and hurdles until the team switched back to Scrum in an effort to promote easier communication. The end result was the cessation of long-running projects, difficulties when it came to integration and technical issues and the adoption of smaller work batches, improved integration at all levels and a much faster delivery of clear business value.

  It started in 2006 when the company was looking for a way to get away from their CMMI process that wasn’t working. Someone within the company had heard about Scrum and everyone thought it sounded interesting so the CTO and three of the project managers decided to give it a shot and took a Scrum Master training course. That same month the CEOs from both countries got together to receive Product Owner training in the UK to ensure they had a shared understanding of what made Scrum unique.

  Soon after they started experimenting with Scrum in the Danish office when a particular complex project appeared on the horizon Not only was the Scrum team able to complete the project with flying colors, their results were so compelling that they convinced the company to institute a rollout of the framework to both offices.

  Their implementation strategy revolved around starting with Scrum teams working on customer and research and development projects so that they could develop a reliable rhythm. The process would then expand to global teams who would now be able to work together more easily due to the additional understanding Scrum brought to the project. After a number of Sprints, they saw positive results across the board and a 100 percent increase in eff
iciency in some cases. While some team members still had questions from time to time, everyone generally had a much clearer idea of what their responsibilities were and what tools they had to ensure they met their goals.

  Conclusion

  Thanks for making it through to the end of Scrum: The Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Managing Product Development Using Agile Framework, let’s hope it was informative and able to provide you with all of the tools you need to achieve your goals.

  Just because you’ve finished this book doesn’t mean there is nothing left to learn on the topic, and expanding your horizons is the only way to find the mastery you seek.

  The Scrum framework offers something for virtually every type of business, but it is important to understand that it takes time to start seeing even the most basic of results. As such, if you are preparing to be the flagbearer for Scrum at your company it is important that you understand that it will be quite some time before you will start seeing results as getting a Scrum team to work together effectively is all about training and practice. Even with the short-term hit to productivity, however, the end result will still prove far more effective which is why it is still a quality value proposition despite the required training. Remember, molding your team into a Scrum team is a marathon, not a sprint, which means slow and steady wins the race.

  Finally, if you found this book useful in anyway, a review on Amazon is always appreciated!

  Kaizen for Small Business Startup

  How to Gain and Maintain a Competitive Edge by Applying the Kaizen Mindset to Your Startup Business and Management- Improve Performance, Communication & Productivity

  Introduction

  Kaizen in Japanese translates into improvement. In business terminology, it is used to refer to continuous improvement of functions that involve everyone—from the CEO to interns to assemble line employees. It can be applied to processes such as purchasing, supply chain, logistics, and more. Additionally, it encompasses multiple sectors such as life-coaching, banking, tech startups, and so on. The Kaizen philosophy is attributed to Japan’s massive industrial glory after the devastation of World War II. It is said to be responsible for transforming the nation into a vibrant, economically flourishing, and cutting-edge economy.

  The words ‘kai’ and ‘zen’ roughly translate to mean break apart and examine or improve/enhance an existing situation. It involves using both common sense and a meticulous scientific approach using quality control, dynamic framework of organizational principles, and beliefs that keep managers and workers focused on minimizing defects to optimize efficiency and productivity. Kaizen is not just another set of glorified quality control principles—but a way of life.

  After the Japanese automotive and tech companies skyrocketed their way into the big league, Westerners began taking note of the Kaizen philosophy. Today, innumerable American and British companies have adopted the Kaizen philosophy to streamline their business, optimize profits, organize the system, and eliminate waste. In short, it is a quality management philosophy that combines the best of effective American business practices, quality management techniques, and The Toyota Way.

  As a philosophy, Kaizen involves principles of improvement based on commitment and cooperation. These principles are equally applicable in all areas of life—including your home, professional, and social life. The application in a startup, or any business for that matter, involves everyone from the top managers to the workers.

  Typically, Kaizen systems involve total quality management, total productive maintenance, suggestion system, in-time production system, organization politics, conflict management, and small-group activities.

  Here are some basic Kaizen principles:

  According to basic principles, people are the most vital assets in any organization. Teamwork offers results and presents everyone an opportunity to experience a feeling of accomplishment. It is believed that a dozen brains are better than one.

  Every worker must embrace continuous change and improvement. Ideas for employees, suppliers, customers, and manufacturers must be taken into account for discovering newer, better, easier, and more efficient ways to do things.

  Small changes or baby steps are easier to embrace and accept than comprehensive overhauls. Employees are more open to slow, gradual change than a sudden transformation. Small changes can also reveal that tiny changes can lead to huge positive results.

  Conventional and established processes of methods of doing things can be comfortable. However, they may not necessarily be very effective. Everyone in the organization has to accept that change is necessary and good for the survival of an organization. An organization thrives on changing systems and processes.

  Making excuses can lead to the downfall of a business or organization. Justifying old processes in the name of ‘this has been working for the organization, and there’s no reason to change it’ isn’t a constructive approach. Sticking to old ways can impede or hamper an organization’s chances of being able to keep up with competition and changing times.

  The Kaizen philosophy also says that if a job is done right the first time, waste is eliminated. Waste makes up for about 35 percent or more of the manufactured product. When product wastage is reduced, profits, and overall returns invariably increase.

  If process errors aren’t rectified immediately, they lead to bigger issues. Think about how equipment breakdowns or large scale failures are a result of letting a small issue go ignored and snowball into a major disaster.

  By enhancing effective standardized programs, Kaizen attempts to remove waste. At its basic level, Kaizen is a business philosophy with a focus on endless and progressive momentum. Applying this philosophy to small businesses and startups can lead to plenty of improvements in various aspects of the enterprise such as employee morale, business efficiency, and overall profitability. This book talks about implementing powerful Kaizen strategies in your startup one step at a time to make its processes more organized for optimizing profits, employee loyalty, and reducing waste. Though it is primarily related to businesses, the Kaizen philosophy can also be applied outside business and productivity mechanisms.

  By applying Kaizen principles to your startup, you will not just make the processes more efficient but also boost your profits, employee morale, and overall effectiveness as a new business.

  It is important to understand that the concept of Kaizen is not limited to just one aspect or area of the business like marketing, production, distribution, and so on. It is based on the philosophy that improvements should be made anywhere they can be made without being limited to a specific area. While Western philosophy generally dictates that, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”

  On the other hand, Kaizen philosophy states that continuously strive to make it better improve upon it and enhance it—even if it isn’t broken. If we don’t keep improving and enhancing things, we are unable to compete with people who do it. Kaizen includes several well-known Japanese systems and processes such as process automation, quality control, suggestion systems, in-time delivery, Kanban, and so on. Kaizen is about setting standards and then continuously working on enhancing these standards to optimize results. According to the Japanese, there is always a better, faster, easier, and more efficient way of doing things. To support these lofty standards, Kaizen involves offering training materials, equipment, and supervision that is required for employees to accomplish higher standards and keep up their ability to fulfill those standards on a continuous basis.

  Here’s how the Kaizen activity cycle can be defined:

  Standardize activities and operation

  Measure standardized activities and operation (identify cycle time and in-process activity.

  Evaluate measurements against needs/objectives.

  Innovate to fulfill requirements and enhance productivity.

  Standardize improved and enhanced operations.

  Keep the cycle going. The most crucial Kaizen elements are the effort, involvement of every employee, quality, th
e eagerness to keep changing and improving, and communication.

  Some features of Kaizen are particularly noteworthy. The Kaizen philosophy focuses on processing enhancements and improvements rather than arriving at a specific target result. It needs consistent and ongoing management initiatives to focus on improvements. Ideally, this should comprise 50 percent management efforts. Kaizen is about incremental improvement ideas rather than breakthrough inventions. Small changes around continuous incremental ideas are the key to successful implementation of Kaizen.

  Several Kaizen ideas can be implemented on very small levels to make processes more streamlined and efficient—while also ensuring employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is a huge aspect of the Kaizen philosophy. It places worker’s satisfaction as a top priority for bringing about improvement and enhancement in processes. An improved way of doing something will typically be adopted if they make things easier, more efficient, and more fulfilling for workers. Though Japanese workplaces are characterized by a well-defined process and work standard set, they are constantly evolving over a period of time. The employers are more than willing to respond to improvements suggestions, and even set systems in place to track the progress of these suggestions over time.