Manufacturing and Software

<p>This week we continue our journey through Extreme Programming Explained 2nd edition by Kent Beck.</p> <p>I'm trying something a little different though. This week I cover chapter 11 The Theory of Constraints, chapter 18 Taylorism and Software, and chapter 19 Toyota Production System.</p> <p>All three of these are ideas that come from the world of manufacturing and have been applied to creating and deploying software.</p> <p>Taylorism or Scientific Management has fallen out of style, but is still influential in many areas, even if it's no longer called that.</p> <p>The Toyota Production System (TPS) is the inspiration for Lean and focuses on reducing waste.</p> <p>The Theory of Constraints (TOC) works off the premise that there is one step in a process that determines the throughput for the entire process.</p> <p>Beck gives a very relatable example to illustrate this... Laundry.</p> <p>Washing 45 minutes<br /> Drying 90 minutes<br /> Folding 15 minutes</p> <p>Try some thought experiments with this system.</p> <p>How long does it take to process two loads of laundry?<br /> What if washing only took 15 minutes?<br /> What if folding only took 5 minutes?<br /> What if drying only took 60 minutes?<br /> What if you did four loads of laundry?</p> <p>Resources:</p> <ul> <li>Team of Teams (<a href= "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591847486">Amazon</a>)</li> <li>The Goal (<a href= "https://www.amazon.com/The-Goal-audiobook/dp/B00IFGGDA2">Amazon</a>)</li> <li>The Phoenix Project (<a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business/dp/1942788290">Amazon</a>)</li> <li>The Critical Chain (<a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Chain-Eliyahu-M-Goldratt/dp/0884271536/">Amazon</a>)</li> </ul> <p>Happy reading</p> <p> </p>