We live in a bold world. Our world is constantly innovating smarter ways of doing things. Would software be left behind? Of course, not! Software is ubiquitous in modern life. If you pause to think, algorithms are the most important adjuncts to modern way of life. ‘Code’ helps you decode many things in life….for example:
All of this and more is run by languages which we can only write but not speak. The process of writing algorithms/code is called development. The early models of software development were borrowed from those used in hardware industries. This crude adaptation of models from hardware industry worked well for large projects. For instance, the structured process of the waterfall model suits projects where requirements and scope are fixed, and technology is well understood. Conversely, it does not suit dynamic contexts, which favour a more evolutionary style of development.
Startups and large enterprises both want to avoid market failure. The lean movement is a product of this desire to minimise risk and maximise value.
How Lean is Not Traditional
The traditional business model is giving way to the lean start-up. The lean startup movement has a more exploratory approach to the business of launching a new service or product. A stark contrast to the old regime, which relied on the perfect plan, long-term forecasts and stealth working mode to get a product out into the market.
What ‘Lean’ People Know
The lean startup assumes that
Lean methodology thrives on creating variation and learning from it. Different hypotheses are tested, revised and discarded. A continuous customer feedback loop is established both pre- and post- product launch. This strategy ensures that too much money isn’t poured into ideas that would end up failing.
The Winning Philosophy
It’s a sound philosophy. If you are competing in a game, it would be prudent to discover your weaknesses early on and work on improving them. The alternative would be to find out on field and suffer a crushing defeat with no hope of changing the verdict. If lean methods are widely adopted, they will reduce the incidence of start-up failure, which at the moment stands quite high.
The B Team
Alternative development methodologies like the Lean-Agile model and devOps movement are the B team. They have tried to address the limitations of the A team, a.k.a the waterfall model.
The newer lower risk models follow incremental, iterative processes that rely on continuous delivery and integration. The change in methodologies has been helped along by the emergence of cloud computing.
Given their popularity and apparent value, it is pertinent to introduce these concepts and understand the synergies between these methods and the cloud computing paradigm in general.
Lean-agile methodology
A new development hire in a large firm is usually given a lengthy manual of project documentation on his first week on the job. He may frown at the bulky manual, but once he pores over its contents, he is ready to join the team. The beauty of the traditional waterfall model lies in its simplicity and robust documentation. New members can easily replace old ones in such processes. This is absent in lean methods which often don’t support extensive documentation. Despite this disadvantage, lean methods are rapidly gaining in popularity in the IT industry. The answer to this seeming contradiction lies in the ‘business value’ lean principles bring to firms, which also explains their popularity.
The Right Focus
Lean methodology owes its success to its laser-sharp focus on the right elements needed to ensure product success.
LEAN principles
The lean-agile methodology has evolved it’s development practices based on a set of foundational principles. A cursory glance