A Tale of Two Systems ─ Lean and Agile Software Development for Business Leaders

This business parable reviews two different systems development projects. One project was an abject, expensive failure, while the other succeeded in creating a major new revenue stream, bringing in new customers. By reviewing the tales of these two systems, readers will develop a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the leadership and action steps required to reinvent a company’s procedures to get in step with the times.

CEO Evan Nogelmeyer discovers to his dismay that in today’s business world, technology is not just for technologists. But does he discover this soon enough and once he does, does he have the tools and the business savvy he needs to stave off disaster? Evan and his team are all well-intentioned, successful business leaders with advanced degrees and backgrounds in marketing and business. But, without technical backgrounds, do they have what it takes to manage the technology overhaul so critical to the very survival of their company and the future of their own careers?

A Tale of Two Systems: Lean and Agile Software Development for Business Leaders reviews two fictional systems development projects: Cremins United and Troubled Real Estate Information Management, both launched at the imaginary Cremins Corporation. Cremins is a venerable printing company that must transform itself to survive in the Internet age. One project proves to be an abject and expensive failure, while the other succeeds in creating a major new revenue stream and solving important customer needs. Contrasting the methods employed in a traditional, process-centric 'waterfall' approach, with a lean and agile-inspired approach, this book provides business leaders with a tangible understanding of why lean thinking is so well-suited to contemporary environments requiring flexibility, speed, and the input of specialized knowledge.

At the conclusion of the two tales, author Michael Levine articulates a series of conclusions and principles based on Lean Product Development, Agile, and his 25 years of experience in business systems development.

While the tales told and the companies and employees that inhabit them are pure fiction, the lessons to be learned are very real and very applicable in today’s highly competitive market, where victory goes time and time again to the lean and the agile.

Prelude: January 2008The First 6 Months: September 2005-February 2006Kicking off Project #1—TRIM: The "Troubled Real Estate Information Management" Project Kicking off Project #2: The Cremins United Project Two Different Approaches to the Two Different Projects Understanding Lean & Agile Development The CU Project Team Will Follow "The Process" The CU Project Imposes Technology Architecture from the Top Setting Expectations for the CU Project: How Iron Is the Triangle? Don’t Shoot the Messenger: The CU Project Team Meets with Management Cutting CU Project Development Time—by a YearPlanning the TRIM ProjectPlanning and Managing TRIM’s One-Month SprintsStatus Update for Both Projects The CU Project’s Buy vs. Build DecisionDrawing Boundaries and Tailoring MethodsThe TRIM Project’s 1st Sprint Demo: A Bit behind Schedule, but Catching upThe CU Project Requirements Handoff: An Uneasy TransitionThe 2nd 6 Months: March 2006-August 2006The CU Project Leaders Visit the TRIM Team Checking in on the CU Project’s Development: Green for Go, or Screaming Red? A Status Check: TRIM’s OK, but CU May Be in TroubleYear 2: September 2006-February 2007A Dismal Reality Check for the CU Team The TRIM System Goes Live; Managing Problems & GrowthThe CU Project Is Finally Officially Code CompleteThe CU Project Retrospective: Slipcharts and Some Towering Expertise (Too Late)The Beginning of the End: The Last 6 Months of 2 Years of Work18 Months In: Status Updates for Both ProjectsThe Decision to Go Live with the CU SystemFinal Lessons for LeadersEpilogue: What We Learned from the TRIM and CU Projects