Lean Principles

I’m going to paraphrase and abridge heavily.  There are multiple authoritative sources on the principles of lean.  Here’s what sticks with me.

1. Value is defined by the customer
   • If you’re working on budgets, your customer is usually your in-house management team and departmental managers.
2. Analyze your process
   • Focusing on the steps that actually create customer value.
3. Eliminate the steps that fail to create value
   • Don’t form sentimental attachments to anything.
4. Let “pull” govern your process
   • Listen to your customers’s needs, rather than telling them what you’re going to deliver.
5. Keep cycling through the process
   • If you think it’s perfect, you’re wrong.