W7: Lean in the Test Lab – Work Smarter, Not Harder

Kathy Iberle, Iberle Consulting Group

Have you been wondering what Lean Management is all about? Do you want to “work smarter, not harder”? This workshop is for you!

You’ll spend the day learning how to apply the principles of 2nd-generation Lean project management to your test lab. We’ll explore batch size, Work-in-Process limits, and bottleneck elimination to make your test lab run faster and more smoothly. These methods can be used with both Agile and waterfall development.

When the workshop is completed the attendees will be able to:

1. Identify the natural batches in their work, including work that is often overlooked.
2. Understand how changing the batch size and/or order of batches can dramatically change the efficiency and flexibility of their test lab.
3. Understand how to visualize and monitor both the day-to-day and the long-term flow of batches using the complementary techniques of Visual Management Boards and Cumulative Flow Diagrams.
4. Explain to their management why lowering the Work in Process will create more work time and happier employees.
5. Use value stream mapping to identify bottlenecks in the process.

Target audience: Intermediate. Some familiarity with test lab management is expected.