Why Reading

With product development in medium to large organizations it will always be essential to work actively with flow optimization, within and cross teams. This great book is clarifying the connection between product development flow and financial results. It also teaches theory and gives us hands on practices to deal with flow problems.

Reading tips

• In chapter 1 we are introduced to the problem that is there in most development organizations. The queues in the system (less visible than in manufacturing), that´s causing long cycle times. We are also introduced to possible solutions, that are described through-out the book.
• In chapter 2, introduction to an economic view to product development that is essential to get management reactions to the problem. Key is to measure cost of delay and make it transparent.
• Chapter 3 is about queue management techniques and how to exploit variability to improve innovation.
• Following chapters (5-8) gives us theories and practices to reduce cycle times and thereby cost of delay, through reducing batch size, applying WIP constraints and using fast feedback.
• Chapter 9 shows how governance can be adopted for fast flow.