Introduction

Our services help software and technology companies implement Lean Management. This results in accelerated profitable growth through enhanced innovation, faster execution, improved customer satisfaction, and waste elimination.

Companies implementing Lean enhance the performance of all of their key business systems, including:

• product development, management and strategy
• outsourcing and supplier management
• demand generation and lead conversion
• hiring and talent management
• customer support and services
• accounting and finance

From leaders to individual contributors, we provide education to transfer knowledge about Lean philosophy and practices. We also provide hands-on coaching and consulting to ensure a successful implementation. We provide ongoing support to ensure that our clients stay on a path of continuous improvement.

Our services include:

• Lean Transformation Program
• Lean Training
• Lean Leadership Coaching
• Organizational Learning Consulting
• Workspace Design Services
• Information Architecture Design Services
• Software Architecture Recovery

Lean Transformation Program

The Lean Transformation Program is a comprehensive service program that results in the transformation to a Lean organization. First we conduct a thorough performance assessment to identify bottlenecks and prioritize critical areas for improvement. We then develop a custom Lean Strategy to address the bottlenecks. The strategy includes a detailed action plan. During the implementation phase, we help you execute the plan and make adjustments as needed. We also provide ongoing support to help ensure that your organization continues to make rapid progress.

Lean Training

The Lean Software Institute offers on-site training for the following courses:

• Discovering and Specifying Customer Value (2 days)
• Value Stream Mapping for the Software Enterprise (2-3 days)
• Implementing Lean Software Development (2-3 days)
• Software Defect Prevention (1-2 days)
• Using Lean to manage Suppliers, Partners, and Customers (1 day)

Lean Leadership Coaching

We provide coaching to executives and leaders that help them to identify and implement the changes required in order to lead a lean organization. We provide practical training on best practices for leading employees for optimal performance using Lean principles. We help our clients become more effective leaders and better coaches to their employees.

Organizational Learning Consulting

Do your managers and employees have the knowledge required for peak performance? We help organizations identify strategic knowledge areas that are relevant to their business objectives. We then help establish and support learning communities with clearly defined goals that enable your organization to learn faster than its competitors.

Workspace Design Services

Poorly designed physical workspaces are often detrimental to learning, collaboration, and decision-making. Our workspace design services help knowledge workers share information, collaborate, and make decisions faster. We work collaboratively with teams to help them apply lean principles to redesigning their own workspaces.

Information Architecture Design Services

We provide design services for the flow of information needed to have a Lean organization. We base our analysis on what information is needed, the data sources available, the timing requirements for the data, and who needs to be informed. We help our clients simplify complex information flows, increase data integrity, decrease information retrieval times, and reduce redundancy. Information Architecture is especially important in product development, where poor specifications and missing information routinely result in expensive rework and delays.

Software Architecture Recovery

As software systems mature, they grow in complexity. Knowledge of how these systems function is gradually lost to the organization as people depart or fail to keep design documents current. This makes the software more expensive and risky to change, and it also makes it more difficult for new developers to come up to speed. As much as 80% of the lifetime cost of a software product is incurred in its maintenance.

Our software architecture service helps recover the lost knowledge of how the system functions, saving time and money. Our methodology includes using a combination of custom and off-the-shelf tools for analyzing the source code and conducting in-person interviews with current and former contributors. We deliver a complete set of design specifications for the software architecture, a historical analysis, and recommendations for future versions.