Best practices and principles of lean product development system

Abstract ： Lean product development system best practices and principles . Keeping improving is the best way to realize the craftsman spirit , By introducing the principles and methods of practicing lean thinking, we carry out lean product development , Create the best products for customers to deliver , Secondly, reduce the operation cost of the enterprise through the concept of lean thinking , Improve the operational efficiency of the enterprise .

Definition of lean thinking

Let's start with lean thinking . Let's first define lean thinking , This definition comes from wikipedia, It actually comes from 《 Lean thinking 》 This book . It's defined as “ Lean thinking is a new way of thinking about how to effectively organize human activities , Its goal is to eliminate waste , Deliver more value that is useful to individuals and society ”.

Eliminating waste is one aspect , Adding value is another aspect . Of course, we can also say , Eliminating waste is the means , And adding value is the ultimate goal .

Just now we talked about human activities , Lean thinking is applied in many ways , Such as manufacturing or service provision , Of course, there will also be applications in product development , These are three main areas .

Lean production ： Toyota mode of production （TPS）

Let's take a look at the application of lean thinking in Toyota , Toyota mode of production （TPS） Also known as lean production .

One of its main creators, naiichi Ono, describes it through lean production house TPS, It's by the target , The pillar and foundation are composed of three parts .TPS Our goal is high quality 、 Low cost quick response , Just now 《 The victory of lean production system 》 What this article says , Toyota's production method is of higher quality 、 A lower cost 、 Faster response , And Ono Nai said , The goal of lean production is high quality 、 Low cost and fast response , In fact, lean production has also achieved this goal .

How it was achieved , Kenichi Ono thinks it has two pillars , One is punctuality , One is self-improvement . He said that just in time and self-improvement are the two pillars of lean production , These two pillars need to be based on corresponding practices , For example, Kanban 、 Standardized work 、 Balanced production 、 Quick die change 、U Type production unit 、 Visualization 、5S, These practices are the foundation , But most of them are unique to manufacturing .

Lean production pillar 1 ： On time

Now let's see what these two pillars mean ？

Punctuality is also known as Just In Time, It refers to the production of the required quantity of products only at the required time , This is called punctuality . The purpose of punctuality is to respond flexibly to changes , Eliminate the waste of overproduction , To reduce lead time . This may be more abstract , Let's take a look at how to realize the timeliness .

In this picture , I abstract the whole production process as a chain composed of upstream and downstream processes , Intercepted one of them , Upstream process 、 Temporary inventory between downstream processes and upstream and downstream processes . Suppose that the downstream process is the automobile assembly process , The upstream process is the production link of steering wheel , The produced steering wheel is placed on the shelf between the upstream and downstream processes .

In this, we will see the existence of kanban , Kanban actually refers to a card . In this picture we see cards of two colors , One is blue , Call it the pick-up board , One is brown and is called production Kanban .

Let's take a look at how these two Kanban are applied . When the downstream process （ It refers to the automobile assembly process ） When you need to assemble a car , For example, it needs to assemble two corolla cars , So it uses its pick-up board as a blue card , Go to the upstream shelf to get the corresponding steering wheel , It can only be taken with this card when it is needed .

When it holds this blue card , That is, the pick-up board , To retrieve the steering wheel , The brown card that used to be with the steering wheel, that is, the production Kanban, was left , It is estimated that you can also guess what the left cards can do . The left cards are transferred to the upstream process , That is, the steering wheel production process , The upstream link only holds these cards , When holding these two production Kanban , Before starting production .

When these two cards are transferred to the upstream production link , The upstream link gets the signal , It says I need to produce two corolla steering wheels , What do you do after production , It is estimated that you can also guess . Finished steering wheel and production Kanban , Together they are transferred to the shelf or replenishment shelf .

At this time, we see the role of kanban , The Kanban transmits the production signal to the upstream level , It drives upstream production , That is to say, it drives the logistics , Kanban constitutes signal flow , What drives is logistics , That is, the real value stream .

This is the realization of just in time production —— Only produce the required quantity of products in the required time . In fact, the most downstream customer orders ultimately drive the whole production process , Finally, the supply of raw materials , Even pull to raw material suppliers .

In this way we can see , Compared with the so-called centralized control and management in the past , Kanban forms a system , This system realizes a so-called decentralized management , Pull the whole production through the needs of customers , Or respond to customer needs , Produce the most timely and accurate response .

Let's take a look at what it can finally achieve . In the past, we called it push production , That is, the upstream produces the products according to the plan , Push it downstream , No matter whether the downstream needs .

The way that Kanban realizes is called pull production , That is to say, it will only pull the upstream production when the downstream needs it , The so-called punctuality has been realized , Only produce the required quantity of products in the required time .

Obvious , This method can reduce inventory . It also speeds up the flow , Here, accelerated flow refers to the flow of workpieces or the flow of values , That is to say, the time from raw materials entering the production process to finished products becomes shorter , In other words, the lead time from the generation of customer orders to the production of customer orders is minimized , Because the workpiece is almost non-stop , It only produces when needed , Once the production is completed, it will be transferred to the next link , Realized rapid value flow .

It also enables flexible response , That is, when the downstream demand changes , The whole production process is immediately reflected in the whole production process by the signal system formed by the kanban . Finally it also improves the quality , This will be introduced in detail when it is self-made .

I have just finished reading the first pillar of Toyota's production mode , The so-called punctuality . Look at the second pillar , Jidoka .

Lean production pillar II ： Jidoka

There is a character beside the character "Yao" , Toyota calls it the automation next to the herringbone , Japanese is called JIDOKA, English translation is also through Japanese phonetic translation . There is another translation method in English , It's called Auto-No-Mation, Automatic immobility .

What does it mean to be self-centered , It means that the production system can automatically find exceptions , When an abnormality occurs, the production can be stopped and the problem can be solved locally , That is to say, the time and place of the exception should be used to solve the problem 、 To analyze problems , And to remove the root cause of the exception .

This picture compares the difference between automation and automation , The picture on the left is normal , It's supposed to be automatic threading , The workpiece is continuously input to this link , A steady stream of output , If there is no abnormality , Everything is fine .

The upper right is the traditional sense of automation , When an exception occurs , For example, the lathe tool has cracks , The thread produced is defective , At this time, the abnormality was not found immediately , It will continuously produce more defective products .

Let's take a look at the meaning of Toyota's self localization . Look at the picture above and the bottom right , When an exception occurs , The production system can automatically sense , Stop this device immediately , When the trigger reaches a threshold, the whole production line will be stopped .

What are the benefits of stopping the production line , Perceiving the abnormality , stop , It is obvious that the defective products cannot be input to the next link , The second benefit it brings is to highlight this problem , Let the person in charge of our production line and the staff work together to analyze why this problem occurred , How to avoid this problem in the future , What is its root cause , How to solve .

By constantly finding problems 、 Expose the problem 、 solve the problem , Make our production line more reliable , Let our production system run more smoothly .

The unity of contradictions

Above, we introduced the two pillars of Toyota's production mode, that is, the lean production mode ： Punctuality and self-reliance . Punctuality and self consistency are a pair of contradictory unity .

Contradiction means , Punctuality promotes mobility , But the opposite is true of self - organization , It is to stop the flow , This seems contradictory . But they are unified .

Just in time is to make the workpiece flow continuously along the value stream , Automatization is stopping the flow when problems occur , They restrict and complement each other , The combination of the two can guarantee the smooth value 、 High quality and sustainable mobility . If there is no self-improvement , Only punctuality , Its flow may be difficult to guarantee its quality , It is difficult to guarantee its sustainability .

Self discovery in time 、 Expose the problem and solve the root cause of the problem , Make the flow more smooth . Therefore, self-improvement and punctuality are a pair of contradictory unity , Both of them are indispensable , Jointly support Toyota's production mode or lean production mode , Achieve high quality 、 Low cost and fast response .

The objectives of Toyota production mode or lean production mode have been introduced ： High-quality 、 Low cost and fast response ; And its principles （ Or pillar ）： Punctuality and self-reliance . This principle needs to be supported by practice , For example, balanced production 、 Standardized work 、 pull system 、U Type production 、 One piece flow 、 Quick die change .

These words may be unfamiliar , Fortunately, we don't need to know , The reason why I listed it , I hope you can feel , In fact, they are all practices in production , It cannot be copied into product development , Product development needs our own practice . The practice of production is not suitable for other fields , Therefore, lean product development needs to return to the principle itself .

To build a lean product development approach , We must proceed from the principle , Build lean product development practice system , And values can only be used as a high-level guidance .

Five core principles of lean thinking

《 Lean thinking 》 What exactly does this book say , He summarized the five core principles of lean thinking , These five core principles are also the five steps to implement lean , The author thinks that as long as we follow these five steps , You can achieve the so-called lean , That means eliminating waste 、 Add value , And this is part of the industry .

These five principles or five method steps

● First step , Is to define value , The core is to define what is value from the perspective of users , And describe these values as specific products or services , Users think it is value that is value , For example, in lean production just now , The user's order is the value .

● The second step , On this basis, the value stream should be identified , Identify the organization's flow of value creation , Or identify and map the process steps that create value , Eliminate steps and activities that don't add value to users , Like waiting , For example, meaningless approval and rework .

● The third step , Keep the value flowing , Keep them going 、 Flow smoothly to users .

● Step four , It is driven by user value , This flow is driven by the final value of users , Avoid waste that doesn't bring user value , Let user value pull the whole value stream .

● Step five , It is to strive for perfection , Continuously improve , Repeat steps one through four , Identify problems , The pursuit of perfect value and value flow , Eliminate all waste in the process .

The author believes that we can achieve the so-called lean through these five steps , Whether in production or other fields . Later practice has proved that it is applicable to almost all industries , However, it needs the support of relevant industry appropriate practices .

To build a lean product development approach , We must proceed from the principle , Build lean product development practice system , And values can only be used as a high-level guidance .

Lean product development practice system

Lean product development practice system . Because lean production is very mature and successful , When it comes to lean product development , It is natural for us to use lean production for analogy and mapping .

The first book to introduce lean software development , yes Mary Poppendieck Of 《 Lean Software Development 》, The book maps the concept of lean production to lean product development , Use in production 7 Waste is a metaphor for waste in product development .

Personally, I don't quite agree with this approach , This is an analogy , Analogies can help us understand , But they often ignore the essence of things . Lean product development is product development first , Then lean . Product development has its own characteristics , Therefore, we also need our own practice .

This picture compares the difference between product development and manufacturing . In conclusion , The value of product development is uncertain , Every product development is a new process , Value needs to be explored and discovered . The value unit of product development is uncertain , The value unit of product manufacturing is determined , It is a piece by piece , And the value unit of product development , A requirement can be split , Many requirements can be bound together to become larger requirements or even a project , Its value unit and granularity are uncertain .

The value flow process of product development is also uncertain , The time required to complete each requirement is fluctuating , The time required for the production and processing of each workpiece is relatively certain . The frequency of demand arrival is also uncertain .

Production and development are the same to eliminate waste , To add value , The five principles of lean thinking are also applicable in product development . But their explanation and understanding are different , For example, to define value in lean production means to start from customers' orders , In Lean Development , Customers sometimes don't know what the value is , Even the target customers need to be explored , This defines value , It is the process of constantly exploring and verifying the value .

Introduction to lean product development house

Based on the difference between lean production and lean product development that we just compared , I also defined the lean product development house in my book , The lean product development house corresponds to the Toyota production house , But a little more complicated , Because lean product development is more challenging than product manufacturing itself .

It is also made up of goals 、 principle 、 Practice consists of three parts , Or the goal 、 pillar 、 Basic practice consists of three parts . The basic practice includes two sub parts: management practice and engineering practice .

Look at the target first , As Drucker, the father of management, said , The performance of any organization can only be reflected externally . The purpose of management is to help the organization achieve external results , Its responsibility is to coordinate internal resources 、 Achieve external results .

The goal of lean product development must be defined from the perspective of users or from the perspective of external organizations . We define this goal as ：“ Smooth and high quality delivery of useful value ”.

There are three key words ：

● smooth , The delivery process should be smooth , That is to keep the value flowing ;

● High-quality , The delivery should meet the quality requirements ;

● Useful , The value of delivery must be that the user is willing to pay for it in order to be called useful value . smooth 、 High-quality 、 Useful , All three are indispensable , Constitute the ultimate goal of lean product development .

I have just introduced the goal of lean product development , Next, let's take a look at the two pillars or principles of lean product development .

Principle one ： Explore and discover useful value

The first principle is to explore and discover useful value , This is different from manufacturing , In the manufacturing process, just define the value , The user's order reflects the value . Product development is different , Users may not know what they want , So it is a process of exploration and discovery .

When it comes to exploring user value , There is a very important concept ,—— Lean Startup , I'm sure you've heard of it . What we are going to talk about today is , Lean entrepreneurship is actually a “ ignorance ” The revolution of , The premise of lean entrepreneurship is to admit your ignorance .

We are in the process of product development , We must admit our ignorance , We don't know what the user wants , Where is the pain point , What kind of solution is appropriate , What kind of channel is appropriate , What kind of pricing model is appropriate , What is the best requirement list , What kind of business model is feasible . Even if we know , It can only be used as an initial assumption . The process of lean entrepreneurship , Is to constantly and efficiently explore , Until a user wants something .

So we define the goal of lean entrepreneurship as making something that can be sold , Instead of selling something that can be made , This is the core goal of lean entrepreneurship , Or we start from an initial A Plan to go , Through continuous exploration and verification, a feasible plan is found and delivered .

On the left of this picture are two pictures , It's on it 1459 A chart drawn by Europeans in ,1459 Before the Great Voyage , Dias is coming 1487 It reached the southernmost tip of Africa in , Columbus is going to 1492 The new world was discovered in . but , At that time, Europeans thought they knew everything about the world , The world in the chart is completely known , People either ignore the unknown （ Take America for example ）, Or make random additions as you imagine （ For example, southern Africa ）.

Let's look at the picture at the bottom left of the picture , The picture below is 1525 Year map , We see that the east coast of America has been explored , But most areas are still blank , This includes the Midwest of America , The vast Pacific Ocean , Australia is also a blank . Anyone who is curious , When you see such a chart, you will ask ：“ What would the blank space be ”, Arouse their strong desire to explore . Then came Magellan and the great captain cook .

At the same time as the great navigation, there was also the scientific revolution . There has been a super bestseller in the past two years 《 Brief history of mankind 》, The author calls the scientific revolution “ An ignorant revolution ”, Think “ Human beings admit their ignorance , Is a prerequisite for the scientific revolution “. Admitting ignorance is the premise of exploration , So that through observation 、 Exploration and demonstration , Continue to explore and understand Xinjiang , Build new capabilities .

We have seen it in the great navigation and the scientific revolution “ Admit ignorance ” It's exploration 、 A prerequisite for progress and building new capabilities , Why emphasize this ？ This is the same as the next topic “ Lean Startup ” relevant .

Lean entrepreneurship is also a “ An ignorant revolution ”,Eric Rise Entrepreneurship is defined as developing innovative products and new services under extreme uncertainty ,“ Not sure ” It is the normal state of new product development today . Although there is an initial goal and idea , But the target users 、 User problem 、 Solution 、 Promotion channels 、 There is uncertainty in the way of income . In the process of starting a business or building a new product , We should start from the initial plan and model , Keep exploring , Find a viable business model , This is the essence of lean entrepreneurship or new product creation .

We have to do “ know what really understands , Don't know for don't know ”, And continuous and effective exploration . The problem that lean entrepreneurship solves is the first pillar of the lean product development house we just mentioned , Discover and explore useful values .

The core of lean entrepreneurship practice is called development 、 Measurement and cognition （ Sometimes referred to as building 、 Measuring and learning ） The cycle of , The initial idea is just a concept , We start from this concept , Develop the smallest possible product , Take measurements , Get data , Through the analysis of data , To prove or falsify the concept of the original , Build your own awareness , So back and forth , Explore viable business models , Create products that can be sold , This is the so-called development of lean entrepreneurship 、 The cycle of measurement and cognition .

Support the implementation of lean entrepreneurship , A series of practices are required , These practices include the design and validation of business models 、 Lean customer development 、 Lean UX、 Lean data analysis 、 Lean B2B wait , They are all designed to support discovery and to validate and explore value .

Principle two ： Focus on and improve the flow efficiency of value

Let's look at the second principle of lean product development , Focus on and improve the flow efficiency of value . What is flow efficiency ？ Two chapters are devoted to . Corresponding to the flow efficiency is the resource efficiency , Resource efficiency is viewed from the inside of an organization , Resource availability and productivity , For example, how many people work overtime every day , Test how many use cases , How many lines of code to write . The flow efficiency is viewed from the perspective of users , How long does it take for user requirements to be put forward and completed , Whether the process is smooth , Or stop and go .

It's important to point out that , We do not simply emphasize flow efficiency . It's about improving the path , Which is the core issue .

Taking resource efficiency as the core is often unsustainable , It leads to local optimization , A shaft of efficiency and a dilemma of coordination . With flow efficiency at the core , It ensures the end-to-end optimization and overall coordination of the system , On the basis of overall coordination , To improve resource efficiency , In this way, resource efficiency is transformed into effective user products .

On how to achieve the improvement with resource efficiency as the core , Kanban method is an effective method , I have made a very detailed exposition in the book , There is a methodology , There are implementation methods , There are a large number of examples to support , Sufficient operability .

Above, we introduced the two pillars of lean product development , It needs the support of management practice and engineering practice . There are three sets of practices , Namely ： First of all , Lean entrepreneurship and innovation practices ; second , Lean requirements analysis and management practices ; Third , Lean Kanban approach practice .

For lean entrepreneurship 、 Innovation and lean Kanban we have already mentioned the related concepts , These concepts also need to be translated into specific operational practices . Demand analysis and management are the practice of communicating Lean Innovation and lean Kanban methods , It should also form a complete time system , For example, how to dig 、 analysis 、 Clarify and plan requirements, etc .

About us

Learn more about cloud effects DevOps What's new , Wechat search can focus on 【 Cloud effect 】 official account ;

welfare ： Official account back office reply 【 guide 】, Can be obtained 《 Alibaba DevOps Practice Guide 》&《10 A collection of cases to improve R & D efficiency 》;

After reading it, I think it's helpful for you. Don't forget to like it 、 Collection and attention ;