Concurrent Development – A Better Way to Lead Software Projects

February 6, 2003

Location: Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Bldg., Room EE/CS 3-180

Abstract:

In the late 1980’s Detroit was shocked to discover that a typical Japanese automotive company could develop a new car in 2/3’s the time for half the cost as a typical US automaker.  The difference was that product development in Japan used a concurrent development process, which allows for learning cycles during the design process as well as on-going communication and negotiation as the design proceeds.  Replacing sequential (plan-up-front) engineering with concurrent (plan-as-you-go) engineering has been credited with reducing product development time by 30-70%, engineering changes by 65-90%, and time to market by 20-90%, while improving quality by 200-600%, and productivity by 20-110%.

Concurrent development is even more appropriate for software development than for new product development, yet project management training and certification programs tend to focus heavily on sequential development.  This talk will discuss the key differences between sequential and concurrent development, and the kind of leadership necessary to make concurrent development work.  Topics include training for project leaders, insuring system integrity with concurrent development, and how to structure contracts.

About the Speakers:

Mary Poppendieck has over 30 years of experience as an engineer, IT manager, program manager and product development manager.  A 20 year veteran of 3M, she is an expert in process control, lean manufacturing systems, and commercialization of hardware and software products.    Her most recent experience is with legacy system conversion, off-shore programming, and progressive deployment under a government contract.  She is the president of Poppendieck.LLC (www.poppendieck.com) as well as Treasurer and Managing Director of AgileAlliance (www.agilealliance.org).

A popular writer and speaker, Poppendieck’s tutorials on managing software development offer a fresh perspective on project management.   She is the author of numerous articles, including  “Lean Programming” and “Wicked Problems” in Software Development Magazine. Her book Lean Development; An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Leaders will be published by Addison Wesley in June, 2003.  She can be reached at mary@poppendieck.com.  Additional papers may be found at www.poppendieck.com.