Lean Vs. Agile OR Lean and Agile - A Relationship Defined
Posted on 1/16/2008 by Rajeev Singh
Several conversations in context of Lean and Agile have revealed a few patterns that I would like to share. Some people talk about Lean and Agile as if they are the same things, some try to distinguish as if they are not, and some are simply caught between the two, not sure what is what. Another observation - a lot of folks in their conversations use Lean and Agile and almost come across unsure about what they exactly are. I have heard them all - agile way, agile manner, agile methods, agile practices, agile processes, agile framework, agile tools, and a few more.
What's the difference?
Let's see if the two bullet items below start to draw a picture:
- Lean Thinking and Agile Methodologies
- Lean Principles and Agile Practices
In the software relam, Lean is a philosophy and Agile is a set of practices. In not so refined and all encompassing manner , the philosophy is to avoid the waste which can be implemented using some practices. That's the difference.
Wait a Minute!
Joe: Isn't Lean a manufacturing concept and Agile from software development? You can't compare the two.
Jane: Well, haven't you heard of Lean Software Development?
Joe: I have, but I have always had the doubt if two fit in together.
Unified Principle Different Practices/Tools
It's a mistake to see manufacturing and software development as two different things in this context. They are one and the same, fundamentally, producing a working mechanism. The lean philosophy or thinking is implemented in manufacturing using Lean toolset, whereas in software it is implemented using Agile practices. The guiding principles still are the same:
- Eliminate Waste
- Center on the People
- Flow Value from Demand
- Optimize Across Organization
Lean in manufacturing have implemented their principles using some building blocks (tools and practices) like 5S (work place organization), Total Productive Maintenance, Visual Controls, Concurrent Engineering, Kanban, Work Cells, etc. The seven wastes of manufacturing that Toyota identified - Overproduction, Waiting, Transportation or Conveyance, Over or Incorrect Processing, Excess Inventory, Unnecessary Movement (Operator Motion), and Defects - are the guiding principles behind some of the Agile practices and their evolution. Agile community's adaptation of some of the practices/tools from Lean environment have given us Pair Programming, Continuous Integration, Test Driven Development, Small Releases, Coding Standards, Sustainable Pace, Collective Ownership, etc.
So, it shouldn't be a questions of Lean or Agile, or Lean Vs. Agile. They are neither competitors nor mutually exclusive, when it comes to software development.
Picture take from: http://chohmann.free.fr/lean.gif
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2 Response to "Lean Vs. Agile OR Lean and Agile - A Relationship Defined"
Thanks Raj for this article. I understand what you are getting at.
But...
I was of the understanding that Agile is a philospohy, or at least a set of values about how work should be done.
And a set of practices has grown up around the values (and the rigidity of some people's approach to these practices has led to the backlash.)
I view Agile and Lean similarly t you; complementary things to draw upon. Just like PMI style project management, IIBA style business analysis and so on.
Expert practitioners call on whatever tools suit the context. Sometimes it's agile methods, sometimes it's lean thinking.
Craig, I agree with you statement that Agile is a set of practices that have grown around some values. This set of practices, in my opinion, have been inspired by some fundamental beliefs that guide the decision making in Agile community.
Agile community, from my perspective, is slowly realizing that the principles that guide their practices are not actually very different from Lean Principles. And so the evolution that I wanted to highlight was a unity of principles in the two communities that use a different set of practices and tools to implement them.
I am glad you commented on it though. You may find this interesting: http://sphereofinfluence.com/soiblogs/Tscheer/archive/2005/09/19/AgileVsLean.aspx
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