Lean Development
Lean Development is an approach to product development that aims to deliver maximum value to customers while minimizing waste. Inspired by Lean Manufacturing (especially from Toyota), it focuses on creating efficient workflows, learning early, and continuously improving both the product and the way it's built.
Instead of following rigid plans, Lean Development encourages teams to make informed decisions as late as responsibly possible, build quality in from the start, and empower individuals to take ownership of their work. It's about reducing unnecessary effort and focusing on what truly helps the customer.
Lean Development is often summarized by seven principles:
- Eliminate waste
- Amplify learning
- Decide as late as possible
- Deliver as fast as possible
- Empower the team
- Build quality in
- Optimize the whole
In Agile environments, Lean thinking is often used alongside methods like Kanban, where visualizing work, limiting WIP, and improving flow help teams apply these principles in practice.
Lean Development helps teams stay focused on value, reduce delays, and evolve continuously---making it a powerful mindset for modern product development.
