Catalog
concept#Product#Delivery#Governance#Software Engineering

Lean Software Development

A lean, value-driven approach to software development adapted from Lean principles. Focuses on waste reduction, fast learning, and continuous improvement.

Lean Software Development is a lean, value-driven approach to building software, adapted from Lean manufacturing.
Established
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Organizational
  • Organizational
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Jira / issue tracker for visualizing workflowsGitHub / GitLab for continuous integrationCI/CD pipelines to automate builds and tests

Principles & goals

Eliminate wastePursue fast learningDeliver value continuously
Iterate
Enterprise, Domain, Team

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Incorrect shortening can lead to quality loss
  • Lack of management support causes failure
  • Overemphasis on speed instead of value
  • Start with small experiments and measurable goals
  • Promote transparency in the value stream and metrics
  • Apply WIP limits and optimize continuously

I/O & resources

  • Vision and product goals
  • Current metrics (lead/cycle time, defects)
  • Cross-functional teams
  • Reduced lead times
  • Improved prioritization by customer value
  • Continuous improvement actions

Description

Lean Software Development is a lean, value-driven approach to building software, adapted from Lean manufacturing. It emphasizes waste elimination, fast learning and continuous improvement through principles such as value-stream thinking, flow, and pull. It helps teams increase efficiency and reduce time-to-market while improving product outcomes.

✔

  • Faster time-to-market
  • Less waste and lower costs
  • Improved product quality through early feedback

✖

  • Requires organizational change and commitment
  • Not immediately effective without metrics and discipline
  • May have constraints in highly regulated contexts

  • Lead Time

    Total time from request to delivery of a feature.

  • Cycle Time

    Time a work item actively spends in the development process.

  • Defect Rate

    Number of delivered defects per release or iteration.

Startup shortens feedback cycles

A small team reduced batch sizes and established CI, enabling faster validation and lower defect rates.

Platform team improves flow

By value-stream analysis, handoffs were minimized and lead times reduced by a third.

Cross-domain lean rollout

Large organization adopted principles, changed governance, and achieved better prioritization and faster time-to-market.

1

Secure stakeholders and clarify goals

2

Conduct value stream mapping and identify bottlenecks

3

Start small experiments with WIP limits and smaller batches

4

Integrate CI/CD and automation for safety

5

Introduce metrics and evaluate them regularly

6

Anchor results in retrospectives and iterate

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Unaddressed technical debt slows flow
  • Lack of automation increases manual work
  • Monolithic architecture blocks small deployments
HandoffsLarge batchesLegacy code
  • Ignoring WIP limits and continuing multitasking
  • Optimizing only KPIs instead of customer feedback
  • Short-term savings at the expense of maintainability
  • Confusing activity with progress
  • Measuring without context leads to wrong actions
  • Over-optimizing single teams instead of end-to-end
Value stream analysis and mappingModeration and facilitation for retrospectivesKnowledge of metrics and measurement
Fast validation of customer valueMinimization of wasteMaintaining flow across teams
  • • Regulatory constraints
  • • Existing monolithic systems
  • • Limited team capacity