Ebook: Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit

"Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit" is not only an excellent introduction to lean principles, it also offers a great deal of wisdom about successful software leadership. The early chapters in the book offer pragmatic explorations of lean principles, with tangible examples of what might be foreign concepts. It tackles concepts such as: waste, value stream mapping, set-based development, concurrent development, and queuing theory and how these principles can be applied to software development.

The book is packed with gold nuggets like this comment regarding trying to run development teams at 100% of their capacity all the time: "We would never run the servers in our computer rooms at full utilization - why haven't we learned that lesson in software development?"

Perhaps the best chapter is the last, where the authors identify many of the common pitfalls encountered with agile software development. If you want to know the danger signs to watch for, start with the last chapter first. The final chapter also contains useful advice regarding compatibility with Six Sigma environments, but missed the mark on CMMI and PMI in my opinion.

While the practice of agile development has matured in the years since this book was published, its content stands the test of time. It is a great introduction for those new to lean or agile software development, and a great refresher of important principles for the experienced practitioner.