Lean is a project management methodology that emphasizes rapid iteration in the product development process and the elimination of waste. This systematic approach to business is rooted in the lean manufacturing techniques developed at Toyota in post-war Japan, and the“Toyota Production System” was critically important in enabling the efficiency gains that transformed that company into one of the world’s largest automakers.
This philosophy has since been adapted to the needs of companies all over the world and across a wide range of industries. In manufacturing, the “Six Sigma” approach has emerged to apply a lean approach to process improvement, seeking to use statistics and data analysis to minimize variation in output to six standard deviations (or sigmas) from the control. And in software development, agile methods use lean-derived approaches like “just enough” planning to quickly prototype and bring products to market that meet user needs.