Introduction to LEAN Culture and Techniques in IT and Testing

Course Objectives

LEAN manufacturing has surpassed mass production techniques with higher quality, reduced costs and faster time-to-market. LEAN started in the automobile industry with Toyota spearheading the techniques and specific company behaviour required. LEAN has more recently shown similar positive results in other manufacturing organisations, retailers and service organisations, and is now enjoying great interest in IT-serviced companies as it is more commonly being used to improve software development and testing activities.

In this one day overview you will be introduced to LEAN techniques and concepts by taking part in a simple, interactive classroom manufacturing exercise. These principles will then be applied to software development processes, quality, speed and behaviour in order for the candidates to understand how these lead to greater efficiency, effectiveness and cost saving.

Who Will Benefit

This course will benefit project managers, testers, developers and business analysts who wish to improve delivery on IT projects. Development teams already using an Agile software development approach will also benefit, as they will see where Agile should be heading! Teams using a V-model development and testing life cycle will discover how LEAN techniques can drive delivery improvements and positive cultural changes in an organisation.

This course is of particular benefit to teams who attends as a whole.

Skills Gained

An overview of LEAN’s origins in Toyota where candidates learn behaviour that support LEAN’s emphasis on continuous improvement.
An opportunity to get familiar with key LEAN techniques including value stream analysis and mapping, measurement of cycle time, standard work, flow and pull, voice of the customer and visual management.
A comparison of LEAN versus Agile and more traditional software development practices, with guidelines of how to benefit from LEAN practices in both environments.
A brief discussion on LEAN and Six Sigma.
A hands-on experience from an interactive manufacturing exercise.

After completing this course candidates will be able to:

Recognise and experiment with key LEAN techniques on their projects.
Understand the relationships between LEAN, Agile and V-Model software development life cycles and Six Sigma.
Apply LEAN thinking in their day-to-day work environments to support higher quality, reduced costs and faster time-to-market for software releases.
Improve team behaviour in order to make them more conducive to a learning organisation.

Course Assessment

Although there is no exam, there will be an assessment based on classroom exercises completed during the course. Each candidate will receive a certificate on passing this assessment. The pass mark is 50%.

Course Details

Prerequisites
Academic and / or experiential knowledge in any IT discipline.

Course presentation and duration
The course is presented by an experienced, qualified software testing practitioner. The course duration is one day. The course runs from 8:30 to 16:00 and includes lunch and two tea breaks daily.

Training style
The course is conducted in a friendly classroom style. Candidates use practical tasks or written class exercises to learn theoretical concepts.

Training Venues
Test and Data Services presents courses at several well-established training facilities in Midrand (near Johannesburg and Pretoria), Cape Town and Durban. Training can be arranged at the client’s premises subject to adequate facilities and candidate numbers. Training courses can also be provided internationally.

Contact

	Gauteng	Cape Town	All Other Areas
Telephone	(011) 848-7600	(021) 447-1147	(011) 848-7600
Fax	(011) 848-7611	(021) 447-1148	(011) 848-7611
Physical Address	Tuscan Gardens Office Park 1740 14th Street Noordwyk	A308 Gate House Black River Office Park Fir Street Observatory
Postal Address	P O Box 14138 Lyttelton 0140	P O Box 12968 Mowbray 7705	P O Box 14138 Lyttelton 0140
Training Enquiries	training@testdata.co.za (011) 848-7600	training.ct@testdata.co.za (021) 447-1147	training@testdata.co.za (011) 848-7600
General Enquiries	info@testdata.co.za (011) 848-7600	info.ct@testdata.co.za (021) 447-1147	info@testdata.co.za (011) 848-7600
Test Focus Magazine	info@testfocus.co.za (011) 848-7600	info@testfocus.co.za (011) 848-7600	info@testfocus.co.za (011) 848-7600