Implementing the Lean Concepts of

Continuous Improvement and Flow on

an Agile Software Development Project - An Industrial Case Study

Balachander S & Karuna JainFeb 17, 2012

Agenda

BackgroundResultsProcessLessons

Project Overview

Agile software development project executed at ThoughtWorks

Web-based application development projectDistributed across India and UK (Customer location)Team Size: 9-12 membersDuration: 25 weeksTeam experience on agile methods: 21 person-years Iteration length – 1 weekTechnology – Ruby-on-Rails, MySQL

Background

Value to the Customer

Releasing often in small increments

Good user experienceAttractive User InterfaceQuick response timeDefect-free experience

Continuous improvement to be displayed within the project

Background

Continuous Improvement

Story Rate: Story points closed/Dev. days worked

Results

Cumulative Flow Diagram

Results

Regression Results

R2 = 0.97

R2 = 0.99

R2 = 0.99

R2 = 0.99

R2 = 0.99

Slope = 34.53

Slope = 34.91

Slope = 35.09

Slope = 35.09

Slope = 35.22

Defined

In Development

Development Complete

Test Complete

Approved & Closed

Results

Development Process

Process

Lessons Learned

Lessons

Understanding Value to the customer

Close collaboration

Lessons Learned

Standard Unit of Estimation

Infrastructure Setup

Lessons

Lessons Learned

Coding Standards &

Engineering Practices

Continuous Prioritization

Lessons

Lessons Learned

Right Metrics

No Silos

Lessons

Lessons Learned

Mindset towards Defects

Culture of Trust

Lessons

Thank You

Balachander Swaminathan, bala@thoughtworks.com