Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit

The Poppendiecks translate Toyota's manufacturing principles into software terms: eliminate waste, amplify learning, decide as late as possible, deliver as fast as possible, respect people, see the whole. The translation is literal enough to be rigorous and loose enough to be useful. The seven wastes of software (partially done work, extra features, relearning, handoffs, task switching, delays, defects) are the single most portable diagnostic tool a product director can carry into any team. Read alongside Reinertsen for the economic argument and Anderson for the implementation. It is not motivational literature; it is a manual.