Blog : Lean

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Kanban Weekly Roundup - Jan 17, 2012

                                                                                            By Dominica DeGrandis
It is fun to discover articles sprinkled with Kanban properties, even though they don’t specifically mention Kanban. I stumbled across several good ones this week.

News

“The Rise of the New Groupthink” is a must read.  The author discusses how solitude is a catalyst to innovation and how creativity is best accomplished without interruptions. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

“PK Basics: Why Limit Your WIP Series, Post 1” by @sprezzatura covers the basics on limiting WIP.
http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/primers/the-basics-of-limiting-wip-why-limit-wip-series-post-1/

Having worked for their competitor for many years, I find this list of principles from Getty Images very interesting.  They flow, they pull, they stop the line, they optimize the whole, etc… It sounds too good to be true.
http://blog.gettyimages.com/2012/01/17/from-our-lean-and-agile-dev-team/

Gareth Rushgrove (@garethr) writes a fine newsletter called “Devops Weekly” that keeps me and over 2,000 others readers informed on all things Devops.  I’ve taken the liberty of including an article from Gareth’s post this week on convincing management of the importance of collaboration.  http://www.kitchensoap.com/2012/01/05/convincing-management-that-cooperation-and-collaboration-was-worth-it/
You can opt in for Devops Weekly at http://devopsweekly.com

Disclosure - this article isn’t really about Kanban, but “What’s in Store for 2012: A Few Predictions” offers all around good insights for us.  In particular, the value of software will continue to decline as open source contributions continues to rise and bring an overload of choices – perhaps too many.  http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2012/01/13/2012-predictions/

Tools


Speaking of open source, here’s a new free “Simple-Kanban” tool.
http://www.simple-kanban.com/

Events

Limited WIP Society Meetup – Manchester, UK.  Jan 18, 2012
http://www.meetup.com/Limited-WIP-Society-Manchester/

The Inaugural Cynefin, Agile & Lean Mashup (CALM) – London, UK Feb 16 -17, 2012
http://calm.eventbrite.com/


Agile and Beyond Conference - Dearborn, MI.  March 10, 2012
http://agileandbeyond.org/


Lean Kanban Southern Europe - Madrid, May 9-10, 2012
http://lkse12.leanssc.org/

Lean Software Systems Conference – Boston May 2012
http://lssc12.leanssc.org/program/

 



Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with questions.

Posted by Dominica on 01/17 at 07:32 PM DevopsEventsKanbanLeanNewspull • (0) CommentsPermalink

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Kanban Weekly Roundup - Jan 10,2012

                                                                                            By Dominica DeGrandis

The New Year has people experimenting with new ideas and challenging popular arguments.
This week, we check out ideas and arguments across four different countries.

News

Mike Burrows (@asplake) continues his series of “Real Kanban Questions” with a third post on,
“What makes for a good improvement?”  He questions “ROI driven” change and suggests we look instead at faster, better, cheaper drivers.
http://positiveincline.com/index.php/2011/12/real-kanban-questions-3-what-makes-for-a-good-improvement/

Alexei Zheglov (@az1) tackles the iteration-less argument with his post on “Kanban is for attacking flow problems, not for dropping iterations”.  Kanban’s main strength, he says refreshingly, “is to bring teams closer to their problems and understanding the science of their operations”.
http://learningagileandlean.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/kanban-is-for-attacking-flow-problems-not-for-dropping-iterations/

“The Project Portfolio Kanban Story: A Basic Approach”, by Pawel Brodzinski (@pawelbrodzinski).
This post captures a portfolio experiment.  I like how the last column is titled “Maintenance” instead of “Done” – a friendly reminder that projects once deployed will need to be maintained.
http://blog.brodzinski.com/2011/12/project-portfolio-kanban-basic-approach.html

An experience report from Jim Benson (@ourfounder) on the Pomodoro Daisuki app.
The story alone prompted me to either complete a task or find a good stopping point at the top of the hour without actually using the tool.  I can see how a timer would have been useful instead of watching the clock all day.
http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/applications/pomodoro-daisukisession-based-personal-kanban-and-pomodoro/

Here’s the slide deck from a presentation by Charan Atreya on using Kanban together with the Theory of Constraints (TOC).  Note slides approx 60% through showing the difference between a Scrum visualboard and a Scrum Kanban board.
http://www.kanbanway.com/agile-project-management-using-kanban-and-theory-of-constraints#.TvEsyNXNmLE

Tools

Kanbana launches a new Kanban Windows phone app.
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/ce601c0b-161d-4255-b308-c238c1a4e1c6

Events

Agile and Beyond Conference - Dearborn, MI.  March 10, 2012
http://agileandbeyond.org/


Lean Kanban Southern Europe - Madrid, May 9-10, 2012
#lkse12

Lean Software Systems Conference – Boston May 2012
http://lssc12.leanssc.org/program/

 



Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with questions.

 

Posted by Dominica on 01/10 at 09:24 PM EventsKanbanLeanNews • (0) CommentsPermalink

Friday, January 06, 2012

Kanban for IT Services & Operations - Dearborn, MI Mar 12-13, 2012

David J. Anderson’s

An Official “Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business” Class

                                                                                                                with Dominica DeGrandis (instructor)

Software only has a shot at reaping value after it is functioning in production.  People who write software and people who deploy and maintain software can realize many benefits from a strong alliance.  This 2-day Kanban for Ops training introduces practices that help unify teams and promote cross-functional collaboration.

We begin by looking at the demand on the organization, followed by discussions and interactive exercises on the Kanban Method.  Also covered are ways to manage risks related to the increasing complexity around software delivery and support.  Attendees play the “Kanban for Ops” version of the GetKanban game.

Working in small teams, class attendees will analyze and design a Kanban system that they can bring back to the organization to implement right away.

Based on David J. Anderson’s book “Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business”, attendees of the class will receive a copy of the book.

Class Schedule

Day 1 Kanban Mechanics
- Demand Analysis
- Workflow Mapping
- Visualization
- Work Item Types
- Work-in-progress Limits
- Classes of Service
- Kanban Simulation Game - pre-beta version customized for Operations

Day 2 Kanban Progression
- Kanban System design
- Operations Review
- Case Studies
- Risk Management
- Metrics
- Service Level Agreements (SLA)
- Variability and predictability
- How to Get Started with Kanban

Is this for you?

This training provides a useful perspective for improving work done on the periphery of software development.  If ever-more frequent deliveries from software development are increasing pressure on your teams and creating bottlenecks in the delivery process, look at Kanban to extend agility and balance to IT services and operations teams.  From Data Administrative Services to Deployment & Release Managers to Help Desk, this class covers beginning to intermediate level material.

Register today!
Special price due to the Agile & Beyond Conference  only $975 per person.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL $800 per person!

Enter Discount code: OPSEARLYBIRD
expires Feb 28, 2012



Discount Code:

About the presenter

Dominica specializes in Kanban for IT Services and Operations - with teams interacting with software development. She spent her first 15 years in software engineering deeply embedded in Development teams performing builds, deployments and environment maintenance. She has worked in organizations of all sizes, from the US Army, Boeing, and AT&T to small start-ups. Dominica first worked for David Anderson at Corbis in 2006 where she helped deliver the first implementation of Kanban for software engineering in the US. Adept at leading teams performing Configuration Management and Release Management, Dominica found a passion for improving the way development and operations teams work together.

Location:

Dearborn, MI USA

Venue:

THE DEARBORN INN
20301 Oakwood Blvd | Dearborn | MI 48124
313 271-2700 | http://www.dearborninnmarriott.com

Posted by Dominica on 01/06 at 10:18 AM DevopsEventsKanbanLeanwip • (0) CommentsPermalink

Kanban Leadership Workshop Barcelona, Spain - Mar 19-21, 2012

This 3-day leadership/coaching workshop with David is limited to just 12 people.

This workshop is for anyone tasked with leading a change initiative in their organization or at a client organization in 2012. It is suitable for managers, process engineers, change agents, experienced Agile, Lean, or project management coaches and consultants, existing Kanban practitioners with 1 year of experience, and those who have previously taken David J. Anderson’s Kanban class and are actively using Kanban at work. Attendees are expected to be familiar with the content of the book, “Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business.

These intensive 3 day workshops are intended to transfer the knowledge and skills to enable you to lead Lean transformations using the Kanban Method

Don’t miss out! Read what others are saying about this workshop.

- Rachel Davies, Kanban Coaching Insights
- Karen Graves, Kanban Evolution
- Armond Mehrabian, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Register today!
Regular price 4000 USD per person
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL 3000 USD per person!

Enter Discount code: BARCELONA
expires Feb 19, 2012


Discount Code:

A copy of the book will be supplied upon registration. Attendees will maximize the value if they are already familiar with the material.

The intent is to have an interactive collaborative session designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and learning. Attendees should come prepared to discuss their own experiences with Kanban and challenging situations they’ve faced with change initiatives at clients or employers

The workshop will open with a round table of introductions and shared Kanban experience. Each participant will be asked for a list of questions they’d like answered over the 3 day session and from this a topic backlog will be built. David will augment this backlog with essential topics and foundational material. The agenda for the remaining time will then be set to insure the fullest of coverage and the maximum value for all participants. The focus will be on shared experience and discussion of the hard questions that clients and team members ask coaches during the introduction of Lean ideas through the use of a kanban pull system. The workshop will include the use of the GetKanban game simulation and discussion of its value as a teaching aid.

The goal is to enable participants to go back into the field and successfully coach Agile/Lean transitions using the Kanban approach. Every workshop is different because of the unique experiences of each participant and their specific focus and desired outcomes. Each participant will received a personal recommendation from David J. Anderson as a result of participating in the class.

Kanban offers agile and project management coaches another tool in their transformation and coaching toolbox. Kanban is proving to be a facilitator of evolutionary change with low resistance and an enabler of accelerated high levels of organizational maturity.

For more details download the PDF flyer

Location: Barcelona, SPAIN
Venue TBD

Posted by Dominica on 01/06 at 10:06 AM EventsKanbanLeanwip • (0) CommentsPermalink

Kanban Leadership Workshop   San Diego, CA - Mar 6-8, 2012

This 3-day leadership/coaching workshop with David is limited to just 12 people.

This workshop is for anyone tasked with leading a change initiative in their organization or at a client organization in 2012. It is suitable for managers, process engineers, change agents, experienced Agile, Lean, or project management coaches and consultants, existing Kanban practitioners with 1 year of experience, and those who have previously taken David J. Anderson’s Kanban class and are actively using Kanban at work. Attendees are expected to be familiar with the content of the book, “Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business.

These intensive 3 day workshops are intended to transfer the knowledge and skills to enable you to lead Lean transformations using the Kanban Method

Don’t miss out! Read what others are saying about this workshop.

- Rachel Davies, Kanban Coaching Insights
- Karen Graves, Kanban Evolution
- Armond Mehrabian, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Register today!
Regular price $3500 per person
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL $2800 per person!

Enter Discount code: DIEGOBIRD
expires Feb 6, 2012


Discount Code:

A copy of the book will be supplied upon registration. Attendees will maximize the value if they are already familiar with the material.

The intent is to have an interactive collaborative session designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and learning. Attendees should come prepared to discuss their own experiences with Kanban and challenging situations they’ve faced with change initiatives at clients or employers

The workshop will open with a round table of introductions and shared Kanban experience. Each participant will be asked for a list of questions they’d like answered over the 3 day session and from this a topic backlog will be built. David will augment this backlog with essential topics and foundational material. The agenda for the remaining time will then be set to insure the fullest of coverage and the maximum value for all participants. The focus will be on shared experience and discussion of the hard questions that clients and team members ask coaches during the introduction of Lean ideas through the use of a kanban pull system. The workshop will include the use of the GetKanban game simulation and discussion of its value as a teaching aid.

The goal is to enable participants to go back into the field and successfully coach Agile/Lean transitions using the Kanban approach. Every workshop is different because of the unique experiences of each participant and their specific focus and desired outcomes. Each participant will received a personal recommendation from David J. Anderson as a result of participating in the class.

Kanban offers agile and project management coaches another tool in their transformation and coaching toolbox. Kanban is proving to be a facilitator of evolutionary change with low resistance and an enabler of accelerated high levels of organizational maturity.

For more details download the PDF flyer

Location: San Diego, CA
Venue TBD

Posted by Dominica on 01/06 at 09:25 AM EventsKanbanLeanwip • (0) CommentsPermalink
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