ThoughtWorks' Quarterly Technology Briefings

Big in Japan: Lean Thinking Techniques for IT Professionals

Watch the presentation in full on InfoQ

In the 1980’s Japanese industry stunned the world with their ability to produce high quality products at incredibly low costs, triggering a quality revolution in The West™. By the 1990’s Toyota were developing three new vehicles in the time it took the big three US manufacturers to develop one. In 1991 MIT’s Auto Industry Programme and the best-seller that came out of it ‘The Machine that Changed the World’ revealed why: Lean Thinking.

This briefing will explore the processes, tools and philosophies applied by Toyota Corporation to become one of the most successful companies in the history of the world and it’s 7th largest.

Learn how ThoughtWorks’ customers—from top global banks and financial organizations to large web-based businesses to small- and medium-sized software business—learned to apply Lean principles and techniques to dramatically improve IT execution. Cases include customers that were able to reduce product delivery cycles from over 12 months to every 4-6 weeks, cut the time needed to capture project requirements from over 3 months to 2 weeks and halve the cost of a 12-month programme of work.

Who needs to know about Lean Thinking Techniques?

• CxO's seeking to improve the ROI on their technology investments, particularly in the area of new product development
• IT leaders seeking to improve the efficiency of the software delivery process.
• Software development practitioners who feel they are fighting against inefficient and bureaucratic processes and management systems.

Our speakers

Richard Durnall, ThoughtWorks Australia Pty. Ltd

Richard spent his formative years working for Ford Motor Company in their Manufacturing & Supply Chain Systems division, working closely with a number of Lean experts to do battle with the mighty Toyota Corporation (he has the scars to prove it). Following 12 years in the IT industry for major corporations, he joined ThoughtWorks as a Principal Consultant and has spent his time working with our global clients to apply and coach Lean principles to improve the software development process.

Kraig Parkinson, ThoughtWorks Canada Corporation

Kraig started his professional career at Siemens Communications, driving improvements in factory, engineering, and staff work environments as well as implementing JIT principles to support facility-based work. Joining ThoughtWorks over 10 years ago, Kraig has served ThoughtWorks worldwide, including its numerous clients in a wide range of industries to drive organizational change using Agile and Lean methods. He has also served as ThoughtWorks’ Director of Training and Education, engaging the company’s consultants to train and mentor in the foundations of ThoughtWorks values, principles, and practices. Kraig currently works as a Principal Consultant focusing on organizational development, business change, and IT execution.

Watch the presentation in full on InfoQ

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