Flowcon SF 2014, September 3-4 San Francisco, California

Workshop: "Lean Mindset Workshop"

Time: Thursday 09:00 - 16:00 / Location: Commonwealth

What company doesn't want energized workers, delighted customers, genuine efficiency, and breakthrough innovation? But the paradox is that most companies do not focus on these things; they are governed by financial metrics instead. Lean companies have a different mindset – they think of financial results as a second order effect. Their primary focus is to cultivate enthusiastic workers, loyal customers, efficient flow, and market-creating products.

This workshop uses case studies and research to demonstrate what a Lean Mindset means in organizations developing software and show why such companies tend to have a better track record over the long term. Attendees will work in groups to develop metrics that will help organizations focus on engagement, reputation, flow, and impact. Finally, attendees will discuss ways to help their companies discover that financial measures are a second order effect.

Mary Poppendieck, Author of "The Lean Mindset: Ask the Right Questions"

Mary Poppendieck

Biography: Mary Poppendieck

Mary Poppendieck started her career as a process control programmer, moved on to manage the IT department of a manufacturing plant, and then ended up in product development, where she was both a product champion and department manager.

Mary considered retirement 1998, but instead found herself managing a government software project where she first encountered the word "waterfall." When Mary compared her experience in successful software and product development to the prevailing opinions about how to manage software projects, she decided the time had come for a new paradigm. She wrote the award-winning book Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit in 2003 to explain how the lean principles from manufacturing offer a better approach to software development.

Over the past several years, Mary has found retirement elusive as she lectures and teaches classes with her husband Tom. Based on their on-going learning, they wrote a second book, Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash in 2006, a third, Leading Lean Software Development: Results are Not the Point in 2009, and a fourth book, The Lean Mindset: Ask the Right Questions in 2013. A popular writer and speaker, Mary continues to bring fresh perspectives to the world of software development.

Twitter: @mpoppendieck

Website: http://www.poppendieck.com

Tom Poppendieck, Enterprise analyst and Architect & Agile process mentor

Tom Poppendieck

Biography: Tom Poppendieck

Tom Poppendieck has 25 years of experience in computing including eight years of work with object technology. His modeling and mentoring skills are rooted in his experience as a physics professor. His early work was in IT infrastructure, product development, and manufacturing support, and evolved to consulting project assignments in healthcare, logistics, mortgage banking, and travel services.

Tom led the development of a world-class product data management practice for a major commercial avionics manufacturer that reduced design to production transition efforts from 6 months to 6 weeks. He also led the technical architecture team for very large national and international Baan and SAP implementations.

Tom Poppendieck is an enterprise analyst and architect, and an agile process mentor. He focuses on identifying real business value and enabling product teams to realize that value. Tom specializes in understanding customer processes and in effective collaboration of customer, development and support specialists to maximize development efficiency, system flexibility, and business value.

Tom is co-author of the book Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit , published in 2003, its sequel, Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash, published in 2006, Leading Lean Software Development: Results are Not the Point in 2009, and The Lean Mindset: Ask the Right Questions in 2013.