The Lean Methodology is a framework that has gained adoption across multiple industries such as manufacturing (Lean Manufacturing), Entrepreneurship (Lean Startup), Software Development (Agile/Lean Software development), Analytics (Lean Analytics), Supply Chain (Lean Supply Chain) etc. At the core of the lean methodology is efficiency, elimination of waste and non-essentials.
Lean is a way of thinking about creating needed value with fewer resources and less waste. It i is a practice consisting of continuous experimentation to achieve perfect value with zero waste.
Here are seven great books on the lean methodology framework:
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The Machine that Changed the World by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones
John Krafcik coined the term “Lean” as a researcher in the MIT International Vehicle Program. The research findings from the MIT International Vehicle Program was documented in James P. Womack’s book “The Machine That Changed the World”. The book was based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5-million dollar 5-year study on the future of the automobile.
The book popularised lean production/manufacturing worldwide. James P. Womack and his co-authors, identified five key principles of lean thinking they are: precisely specify value by specific product, identify the value stream for each product, make value flow without interruptions, let the customer pull value from the producer, and pursue perfection.Lean is a way of thinking about creating needed value with fewer resources and less waste. It is a practice consisting of continuous experimentation to achieve perfect value with zero waste.
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The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
The Lean Startup is a methodology popularized by American Entrepreneur and author Eric Reis. His New York Times bestseller book, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, expands on the Lean Startup Framework, minimum viable product (MVP), the build-measure-learn feedback loop, validated learning, innovation accounting among others.
The Lean Startup provides a scientific approach to creating and managing startups and getting the desired product to customers’ hands faster.
The value in a startup is not the creation of stuff, but rather validated learning about how to build a sustainable business.
- Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production by Taiichi Ohno; Norman Bodek; Norman Bodek.
Japanese industrial engineer Taiichi Ohno is considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System, together with Eiji Toyoda they created TPS as a system that organizes manufacturing and logistics for the automobile manufacturer, including interaction with suppliers and customers.
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is embodied in the Toyota Way, which is a set of principles and behaviors that defines the fundamental values of the Toyota Corporation. The Toyota Way is supported by two main pillars: ‘Continuous Improvement’ and ‘Respect for People’.
** The basis of the Toyota production system is the absolute elimination of waste.**
- The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer by Jeffrey K. Liker
In The Toyota Way, Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker chronicles the management principles and underlying philosophy that drives Toyota Motor Corporation’s obsession for quality and efficiency.
The book describes 14 principles that, based on over 35 years of studying the company, constitute Liker’s perspective on the Toyota Way.
“Toyota’s continued success stems from a deeper business philosophy rooted in its understanding of people and human motivation.”
“The Toyota Way and the Toyota Production System (Toyota’s manufacturing philosophy and methodology) are the double helix of Toyota’s DNA; they define Toyota’s management style and what is unique about the company.”
- Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation by James P Womack and Daniel T Jones
Lean Thinking is a follow-up to their bestselling book, The Machine That Changed the World. Founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute James P Womack and his co-author, Daniel T Jones (founder of the Lean Enterprise Academy), using case studies from a range of industries. They distill the essential principles of the lean methodology and the strategies required for mindset change in the elimination of waste.
Lean Thinking is based on five principles: precisely specify value by specific product, identify the value stream for each product, make value flow without interruptions, let the customer pull value from the producer, and pursue perfection.
Waste is any human activity which absorbs resources but creates no value.
- Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works by Ash Maurya.
In Running Lean, Entrepreneur Ash Maurya provides a step-by-step blueprint for practicing entrepreneurs who want to increase their odds of success. Ash is the creator of the one-page business modeling tool “Lean Canvas, he highlight strategies for achieving “product/market fit” based on his experience building tech products.
“Running Lean is a systematic process for iterating from Plan A to a plan that works, before running out of resources.”
A business plan rests on a series of leap-of-faith assumptions, each of which can be tested empirically. Running Lean lays out Ash’s approach to breaking these assumptions down so that they can become the subjects of rigorous experiments.
- The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback by Dan Olsen
In Lean Product Playbook, Author and Entrepreneur Dan Olsen provide a step-by-step process you can follow to ensure you’re building a product that customers will find valuable. Olsen expand on concepts such as Product-Market Fit, the Lean Product Process, MVP Prototyping, Agile product Development etc
“A product is a specific offering intended to meet a set of customer needs.”
Honourable Mentions:
- Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones
- Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck
- Lean Analytics: Use data to build a better startup faster by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz
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