Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Agile Software Development

Within the software development community, one of the biggest movements over the past decade has been Agile Development whereby teams adopt practices and attitudes consistent with the now famous Agile Manifesto.  Additionally, there has been much discussion over the past four to five years about applying principles from the Theory of Constraints (ToC) and Lean Product Development (Lean) to software development. This has had a tendency to muddy the surrounding waters as teams question whether they should apply Agile, ToC, or Lean concepts.  Are these three approaches mutually exclusive?  Is there some hidden magic that can be unlocked by careful application of all three?  Isn't it hard enough just trying to be Agile, without also trying to be Lean and ToC-ish?  In this article we give an overview of Lean and ToC and show how they can be used in conjunction with Agile practices to focus on an organization's business value.  By using elements of Lean, ToC, and Agile together more business value can be delivered with less effort.

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