A company named Allscripts purchased the rights to a medical practices management and billing system from a third party company. Allscripts launched a project to test, debug and enhance the system to fit into its business lines. Unfortunately developers at the company hit a roadblock. The requirements for the system were unclear, continually changing and not based on a solid understanding of the product. At this point the company turned to agile development. This is a methodology based on iterative development and team collaboration. The agile development breaks big projects down into smaller segments and allows software features and plans to be adjusted as development projects progress. The agile approach was created out of the need to build software faster and at a higher quality level.
Companies that have successfully implemented this method have found themselves using the lean principle. His had helped a lot of companies solve many cultural and organizational problems tied to software development. The lean approach challenges traditional techniques and replaces them with ones that reduce waste and increase value for the customer.
In the past traditional development approaches have led to a confrontational relationship with the business partner or customer. The agile method turns this relationship into a collaborative one that requires a close working relationship with the customer.
They found organizations that take advantage of both agile development and lean approaches together have seen benefits such as, reduced costs, improved time to market and higher quality.
West, A (2009) Agile Processes Go Lean: Lean approaches make it more likely agile development can deliver on its promise. Information Week: April 27, 2009, 32.
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