It is the dream of every enterprise to have software developed cheaper, faster, and better. During the last several years many technologies, methodologies and software languages and development tools have emerged as the answers to the above dream. Additionally, due to the transition towards software in the cloud, organizations have to streamline the development processes and the organization. Release cycles are reduced from months to weeks and days, which requires novel ways of assuring quality, organizing the development and management. Agile approaches have been used to accomplish that dream partly. Recently, there has been serious thinking on adopting lean principles to accomplish cheaper-faster-better software. Through Cloud SW programme and particularly through Lean related research work, we will closely examine this very issue in more detail.
The overall objective is to maximize the systematic automation of routine tasks, scale agile development to a multi-site level and offers new means for global collaboration. Technologies should be developed to enable the management of large legacy assets and enable to systematically remove problematic or under-utilized functionality. The aim is to go beyond agile to take into account the whole value chain. This requires lean enterprise thinking and an approach.
There are four key tasks in this work package as shown below. The first two focus on crystallizing, analyzing and provide concrete means to transform to Lean Software Enterprise in a top-down fashion. Third key task strives to significantly improve the core software R&D engine and the fourth task integrates user experience and security into the approach.
- Developing a framework for applying the lean principles towards an enterprise transformation.
- Conducting Lean Enterprise Transformation. Making lean applicable in cloud software organizations.
- Scaling Agile Software Development. Perfecting & automating the cloud software R&D engine.
- Developing Integrated Software R&D Approaches. Seeking for competitive edge.