Announcing the Formation of the Lean Software & Systems Consortium

I’m incredibly honoured and excited to have been able to be a founding member of the Lean Software & Systems Consortium which was announced today at the Lean & Kanban Conference in Miami. I hope that this is a significant venture which will have a major impact on the software development industry.  Further information can be found in the press release, which I have copied below.

Announcing the Formation of the Lean Software & Systems Consortium

Consortium to Promote Lean Software & Systems Thinking For Software Intensive Enterprises

SEATTLE, WA., May 6, 2009 / PRNewswire. The Lean Software & Systems Consortium (LeanSSC) was formed today to assist enterprises that depend on software – from start-ups to those that build complex, software intensive products, systems & services – with the application of Lean Thinking throughout the enterprise.

LeanSSC is a global, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote professionalism and create awareness of lean science and associated competencies by creating and promoting a body of knowledge and an associated certification program. This body of knowledge will be organized around three elements of Lean Thinking – lean science, lean management and lean education.

LeanSSC will assist organizations in applying Lean Thinking to reliably deliver business value, adapt to changing market conditions, manage risk, improve predictability, increase flexibility and reduce variability – with the clear goal of substantively increasing the ROI of their software investment.

Founding member David Anderson noted, “It has been recognized for over 30 years that the role of management is the most significant leverage point on the economic performance of organizations that depend on software. During this period, management practices have not kept pace with innovations in software and systems development processes. The LeanSSC will bring Lean Thinking to bear on the organizational problem of creating software economically by providing a framework for better decision making and policy setting at all levels of the enterprise. We believe Lean Thinking adds value not only to individual contribution such as development, testing and analysis, but also to all levels of management.”

Other founding members also commented on the formation of the consortium:

“Lean Thinking brings an organizational solution to an organizational problem. I look forward to the LeanSSC making a substantial contribution to the industry.” – Dean Leffingwell

“The LeanSSC will help create a foundation of knowledge and foster a Lean Thinking paradigm shift that will greatly increase professionalism and improve outcomes in the software development industry.” – Alan Shalloway

“Enterprises building systems of significant scope have become increasingly lean, but not yet been able to engage its software development in this transformation. The LeanSSC provides the first practical mechanism to integrate software development into the lean enterprise.”
– James Sutton

About Lean Software & Systems Consortium

Based in Washington, USA, LeanSSC is non-profit consortium comprised of corporate members, academic institutions, and industry leaders who share the belief that understanding and application of the science of lean will be of great benefit to software intensive industries. LeanSSC’s mission is to promote professionalism and create awareness of lean science and associated competencies by creating and promoting a body of knowledge and an associated certification program.

The consortium is committed to community, communication and education and will be hosting Lean Software & Systems Conferences in Atlanta, GA and Europe in 2010.

Founding members of the consortium include David Anderson–David J. Anderson Associates, Alan Shalloway and Alan Chedalawada–Net Objectives, Dean Leffingwell–Leffingwell, LLC., Don Reinertsen–Reinertsen & Associates, Karl Scotland–EMC Consulting, Rob Hathaway–IndigoBlue, James Sutton–Lockheed Martin, Mike Cottmeyer–VersionOne, Peter Middleton–Queens University @ Belfast.

Information on the consortium will soon be available at www.LeanSSC.org. For further information, contact David Anderson at dja@agilemanagement.net.