Advisor

An Agile Myth: Large Batches Are Optimal

Posted February 14, 2019 | Technology |

With twice the product in half the time™ being a generic goal for industry, what exactly is going wrong in today’s industrial environment? What stops or delays improvements in product delivery, despite embracing practices from Lean and Six Sigma? Why does it take years to get a new product out of the manufacturing plant? This Advisor seeks to demystify one of the myths that surrounds Agile product development: the myth that one way to optimize people’s time is to have them work on large batches: design the whole product, build a full prototype, test a full prototype, and design manufacturing only when the prototype passes all tests. The thinking is that this will reduce task-switching, eliminate mistakes, and achieve the desired high utilization of people. By planning the work in phases, we believe we can prevent problems in the phases that follow.

About The Author
Hubert Smits
Hubert Smits is a member of Arthur D. Little's AMP open consulting network. He is an innovative, assertive, and goal-oriented Agile consultant, coach, and trainer with a track record of successfully spearheading enterprise-level Agile and Lean enablement efforts. Mr. Smit's work is based on 15 years' experience in the Agile domain, complemented by 20 years in project management, working with dozens of corporations, training and coaching… Read More
Peter Borsella
Peter Borsella is a Cutter Expert and a member of Arthur D. Little's AMP open consulting network. After many years of practical experience successfully delivering projects and creating effective teams, Peter became one of the earlier pioneers of agility, initiating groundbreaking practices that have become normal in the Agile world, such as scaling multiple teams, Agile contracts, distributed teams, and short iterations of delivery. He has… Read More
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