{"id":96,"date":"2021-12-23T11:27:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T11:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devsimplify.com\/blog\/?p=96"},"modified":"2023-07-27T17:39:44","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T17:39:44","slug":"lean-software-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devsimplify.com\/blog\/lean-software-development\/","title":{"rendered":"All You Need To Know About Lean Software Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since the dawn of development, it seems the concepts of speed and quality have been at odds with each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think we can all agree that it\u2019s <\/span>really hard<\/span><\/i> to balance the two.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do we get software developed quickly, without compromising quality??<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter: Lean Software Development.<\/span><\/p>\n

How the Lean Software Development Methodology Came To Be<\/b><\/h3>\n

The use of this methodology isn\u2019t limited to just software development. This concept of \u201clean thinking\u201d has been around for a long time, now being utilized in industries like healthcare, banking, product development, and many more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We can thank Toyota Motor Company for coming up with this concept of Lean Thinking<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After an in-depth study of their production system, Toyota developed this thinking framework as a way to be impossibly efficient and eliminate waste, in order to offer innovative products while minimizing costs.<\/span><\/p>\n

They were able to sell their cars at a much lower price than U.S. manufacturers when they hit the U.S. market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This framework worked so well that it was a mystery to the outside world. How did Toyota manage to continually push out new products cheaper; products that didn\u2019t look quite as fancy, but products that consumers bought nonetheless??\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone wanted to know their secret.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward to today, and this Lean Thinking framework has been applied to industries around the world. It helped Toyota get their priorities straight and create impressive products without wasting time and resources, and it will help you in software development too.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Lean Software Development?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Now back to the context of software development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lean Software Development (LSD), is a framework for optimizing time and resources in development, in order to streamline the process and eliminate waste.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This process helps developers to decrease effort and cost, and more efficiently develop a product that only has necessary features. Focusing on the most essential features is crucial to best prioritizing, which in turn saves valuable time in not developing features that won\u2019t further the product as effectively.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is also known as <\/span>Minimum Viable Product (MVP)<\/span><\/a>. You\u2019ve most likely heard this term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It means to release a product with the minimum features necessary to viably function\u2013 a product stripped to essential core features only, so as to not waste time drumming up extra features before getting feedback.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is useful to then test the product, see what users like and dislike, and then finalize the product based on this user feedback. No time wasted guessing. And a better focus on what matters most.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you heard of the 80\/20 rule in <\/span>UX Design<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

It applies perfectly here.<\/span><\/p>\n

The rule says that a designer should spend 80% of their time on the top 20% of features that a user will care about, and just the last 20% of their time on the bottom 80% of features.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Using Lean Software Development not only helps save time and resources, but also helps developers focus their mindset on the user and their needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, you\u2019ll succeed better if you focus on what\u2019s most important to users. And utilizing the Lean Software Development principles will help you do that more efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 Key LSD Principles:<\/b><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s go into detail about the 7 key principles that make up the Lean Software Development framework, so that you can apply and implement them in your development process if you choose.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Eliminate waste<\/b><\/h3>\n

To save precious time, evaluate and eliminate waste wherever possible. Look at everything and ask, \u201cdoes this add value to the product?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If the answer is no, it\u2019s gone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruthless, yes. Effective, also yes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This could mean:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n