Lean Project
Management
With a focus on fixing problems and reducing inefficiencies, lean project management became increasingly popular across a number of industries. Lean principles were originally developed and used exclusively in the manufacturing world, as the principles promote simplified processes and emphasize high-quality output. This approach is particularly important for the production of goods, but has been so successful that it's been co-opted by other industries.
Today, lean project delivery is all about maximizing value while minimizing waste. In other words it is essentially using a minimum amount of materials, equipment, labor, and space. In particular, lean methodologies optimize resource use by eliminating waste in seven areas:
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Overproduction : excess production is unnecessary and leads to high levels of inventory; it also contributes to the other areas of waste.
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Waiting : backlogs (waiting for things to be done) in any area leads to lost time.
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Transportation : Moving materials from place to place unnecessarily causes inefficiency.
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Defects : quality issues can only be fixed by spending additional time, money, and resources.
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Motion : too many unnecessary steps in a process extends production time.
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Inventory : surplus materials increase storage costs and are rarely used.
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Over processing : work that doesn’t add value to a product or process is wasteful and drives up costs unnecessarily.
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A number of lean project management methodologies have been developed based on these principles.
Digital Business Services has created its own framework based on the Deming Cycle :
Ready to start thinking lean?
No single project management methodology is perfect, which is why many organizations use some combination of methodologies. In the case of lean, its core tenet (minimizing waste while maximizing value) can still be applied to some degree even if you are using another project framework.
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To find out more about how Digital Business Services supports lean project delivery, contact us. We are always pleased to jump into new projects!