The Future of Quality

Concurrent Session

M10 - Agile Product Development and Agile Lean Six Sigma

Primary Presenter(s)

• 

  Dodd Starbird, MBA, MBB

  Managing Partner
  Implementation Partners LLC
  Alpharetta, Georgia

Moderator(s)

• 

  James Bossert

  Consultant
  J&T Consulting
  Fort Worth, Texas

Level: Intermediate

Sprints, stories, and scrums? Pigs and chickens? Demos and retrospectives? What does that all mean, and why does the world need another manifesto? Agile sometimes can be perceived as simply “that project management method for software development,” but agile is actually quite applicable in other situations as well; the approach just needs to be tailored to each situation.

This session will orient participants to agile’s benefits in nonsoftware businesses and allow them to integrate the approach with other project management approaches they are currently using. If you're building something new or if the requirements are evolving or unclear, agile's iterative development process could be very helpful. And you’ll also see the benefits of teamwork, visual controls, and self-discipline that have become trademarks of the approach.

So whether you're building a robot or an insurance plan, or even if you’re leading a Lean Six Sigma project, consider integrating agile!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the basic concepts of agile project management and how to apply it in nonsoftware-development situations.
• Discuss how a financial services company applied agile to its product development processes and how a manufacturer used agile to develop a new robotic medical device.
• Envision the value of an agile cadence, team structure, and visual controls in support of Lean Six Sigma process improvement projects, with examples from a variety of businesses.
• Integrate agile project management concepts with any existing project methodology.