Examples of the hidden wastes of software development
The Toyota Production System's take on manufacturing processes changed the global automobile market and has been the subject of thorough analysis by researchers and academics. The application of those principles to software development included a focus on waste elimination which has always fascinated me.
The thought of doing less to achieve more is beautiful on many fronts, and as I've gone from engineering to architecture to management to whatever-I'm-doing-now, it has stayed with me. The idea of essentialism, i.e., doing less but better is a related one and goes hand-in-hand with the idea that to achieve more and higher quality results, we don't need to work more but we need to eliminate activities that don't bring us value.
The seven wastes mapped from lean manufacturing to software development are shown below, and there are several articles describing the relationship. I felt that a deeper look at these hidden wastes is needed because there are many instances of waste beyond the obvious ones that need to be called out. These wastes are hard to spot mostly because they're ingrained in our thinking and we see them as normal. This article examines the key types of waste, provides non-traditional examples so that we may reflect upon them and examine our working environment with a slightly improved lense to eliminating waste.
The eighth waste which was not explicitly mentioned in the Toyota system but is specific to software development is unused talent, i.e., not utilizing the creativity and talent of the people we have.
