As an agile coach with over 25 years of experience, I have learned a great deal from the principles outlined in “Product Development Flow” by Don Reinertsen. In this blog, I will share five new and novel lessons that I have gleaned from the book and how I have applied them in my coaching practice. These principles come from Don Reinertsen. according to his site, he’s “the author of three best-selling books on product development. For 30 years he has focused on creating fundamental changes in the way organizations develop products. Before starting his own firm, he had extensive management consulting experience at McKinsey & Co., an international management consulting firm. He also taught executive courses at California Institute of Technology for 15 years and for the last 8 years he has been teaching a popular seminar called Second Generation Lean Product Development.” https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-G.-Reinertsen/author/B001H6UEJS?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
As impressive as these books are, the concepts are even more impactful. They are foundational to Scaled Agile Framework and many other Agile methods like Kanban. The principles of product development flow are awesome; but intimidating. For starters, the cliff note version is 175 principles — http://lpd2.com/sample-page/the-principles-of-flow/
So, I’ve condesnsed these even further for you. If you’re pressed for time and need to get the top 5 lessons from the principles, here they are: Lesson 1: The power of flow. One of the key concepts in the book is the importance of flow in product development. Flow refers to the smooth and efficient movement of work through the development process. By focusing on flow, teams can increase their speed, reduce waste, and improve overall efficiency. To achieve flow, teams must eliminate bottlenecks, reduce batch sizes, and optimize the flow of work. Lesson 2: The impact of lead time. Lead time is the time it takes for work to be completed from start to finish. By reducing lead time, teams can increase their speed and responsiveness. To reduce lead time, teams must focus on reducing batch sizes, eliminating waste, and optimizing the flow of work. Lesson 3: The importance of decoupling. Decoupling refers to the separation of different activities or stages of the development process. By decoupling, teams can reduce dependencies, increase flexibility, and improve overall efficiency. To decouple, teams must focus on modular design, standardization, and the use of queues to buffer work. Lesson 4: The power of feedback. Feedback is essential for continuous improvement. By regularly soliciting feedback from customers, teams can identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments. To gather feedback, teams can use a variety of methods such as surveys, interviews, and user testing. Lesson 5: The importance of experimentation. Experimentation is crucial for innovation and continuous improvement. By running experiments, teams can test new ideas and validate assumptions. To run experiments, teams must focus on setting clear objectives, defining success criteria, and gathering data to inform decision making. As an agile coach, these lessons from “Product Development Flow” have been invaluable in helping me guide teams towards greater efficiency and effectiveness. By applying these principles and techniques, teams can achieve greater flow, reduce lead time, increase decoupling, gather valuable feedback, and foster a culture of experimentation.
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