In previous posts I’ve written about reports that are meaningless, misleading, and even damaging. (Yes, the last one actually causes your projects to...
In previous posts I’ve written about reports that are meaningless, misleading, and even damaging. (Yes, the last one actually causes your projects to...
In a previous blog post I explained (and hopefully convinced you) that measuring “percent complete” literally causes your projects to take longer.
Would you believe that a 10% increase in the workload on your teams could double the length of a project?
Most companies are trying hard to achieve predictable end dates.
Not that long ago multitasking used to be considered a valuable skill. Thankfully that belief has been proven wrong, but for some reason a lot of...
One of the most difficult things about making process improvements is knowing where to start. Doing the wrong thing is a waste of time and money, and...
In general, companies can take two approaches to calculating risk exposure, a quantitative approach and a qualitative one. There are pluses and...
Resource loading is a critical project metric. Get it wrong and you could inadvertently commit to a seriously unrealistic project launch date....
In life, sometimes it just seems easier to continue doing things the way we are used to instead of seeking new approaches that may cause the...
Running a daily standup meeting seems pretty simple right? After all it’s just another meeting. Well not really. The daily stand-up process is...
Here is a simple formula for quickly estimating Cost of Delay: the profit lost per-month of delay.
Total COD = Lost Month Cost + Peak Reduction Cost.
Yes, Agile principles can be applied with benefit in hardware product development (Agile hardware development). However, Agile's...
In the next three posts we discuss Agile principles and how to apply the principles in hardware development. In this post we look at delivering...
In order to examine risk exposure and uncertainty in greater detail, let's look at the different types of risks --uncertain events...
We begin the analysis phase and look at risk drivers and the 5 Whys technique - a simple and powerful technique for discovering the root of the...
Agile principle 2: Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.
Software and hardware product development teams share important...
Can you answer the question, did your project slip yesterday? If so, do you know why? What about knowing the status of...
Are you on track to hit your next project milestone?
Most project teams hold status meetings once every two weeks. But have you ever considered that...
Tired of useless project management metrics? Good metrics mean better project outcomes. However, standard project reporting templates don’t provide...
In 1925, Hubble was the first astronomer to prove that the universe was expanding. The reason for the expansion, Hubble explained, was dark matter....
Hardware development companies that have moved from manual project boards and sticky notes to Agile project management software or electronic Kanban...
At Playbook, our purpose is to ensure that you reach your goal of being on-time. In fact, Playbook Methods and our supporting software have been...
Here is an easy quiz.
Two teams are going to race on the same project. One team planned their work for 90% loading (36 hours per...
In a time beset by challenges, it’s important to celebrate successes. This week Smart Wires, a Playbook customer that has gone from win to win, was...
Recently, we had the fortunate opportunity to talk to our second Playbook customer about the successful completion of their large and complex...
As engineers, we are adaptable by nature. We solve problems — that’s our job! And as we adapt to the new normal, we are all adopting new online tools...
At Playbook we’ve been working remotely since day one. But for some teams and team members--working remotely is uncharted waters.
So, we've put...
Having a working knowledge of the core principles of Lean Agile product development is critical to your project's success. For example, do you know...
Golf. It’s a wonder anyone ever keeps playing. Sure, the greens are often in captivatingly beautiful locations. The views, fresh air and time with...
A couple of weeks ago we discussed Rolling Wave Planning, what it is, and what the benefits are. This week we are going to discuss how to implement...
If you want your product development projects to run smoothly, you need to have a regular cadence for long-term planning, short-term planning, and...
Accelerating product delivery has a direct impact on the profitability of your business. And because our number one raison d'etre is to get you to...
A couple of weeks ago we shared some Lean and Agile case studies that demonstrated how the benefits of implementing Playbook methods and tools far...
Finding your way through the sea of information about what differentiates project management and collaboration tools can be daunting. Which tool is...
A fundamental principle of Lean is smooth, continuous flow. Turbulence is caused any time that the flow of work is interrupted by something in its...
It's always a good thing to remind ourselves of the basics -- efficient development processes come from the foundation of Lean management!
Hardware product development is different than software. Both types of products go through a build-test-learn cycle, but the most obvious difference...
Getting your team up to speed on Lean? We have a number of free resources to support you, including a downloadable guide to Lean Project Management...
Self-empowered teams is a common goal for many companies. But most of the people we talk to feel it’s only a dream, or requires too much work to...
Product development is hard, but with the right short and long-term planning in place, launching ahead of...
Have you seen The Martian? In this movie, Matt Damon is an astronaut stranded on Mars. He wants to get home, but...
Mitigating a risk essentially means deliberately doing something to reduce risk exposure - to burn down the...
Managing resources effectively is one of the primary problems confronting project teams. As projects change quickly and required skill sets are...
Projects are late one day at a time. So, ask yourself, do you and your team know the number one priority for today? Why does speed matter? Because...
You pretty much have to have your head in the sand not to notice the changes in hardware product design innovation and new product development that...
In a previous post we discussed that there is no doubt project management methods have evolved and...
Milwaukee Valve won big implementing Playbook software and Lean project management. This Lean case study demonstrates how Lean transformation can...
Recently we’ve had a number of questions regarding the management of critical resources across multiple projects. Here are some tips for ensuring...
A daily standup meeting or scrum meeting is a daily 15-min long meeting where each person spends a few minutes preparing, a few minutes discussing...
Here is our combined list of the three topic areas. More details are below.
Risk management has four steps. It is cyclical, and each risk, issue, question, and opportunity is put through the process as quickly as possible....
What is a shared project buffer?
To accommodate for the uncertainty in the work estimates and the resource’s availability to do the work, the...
A lot has been said over the last several years about the fallacy of increased productivity when a person multitasks. Lean, Agile, and the Theory of...
The first step in risk management is identifying risks and capturing them in a risk management spreadsheet. In risk identification and capture teams...
This is the ninth part in our in-depth series on Lean Agile project management.
We've covered a variety of Lean principles that have a direct impact...
Product development is a risky business. So how do you effectively minimize the impact of risks on your project? In short, you...
About 10 years ago, very few companies that we talked to knew what Cost of Delay was, much less what their own number was for any of their products....
What is the difference between push vs pull?
In a pull system, teams pull tasks from the backlog. As opposed to a push system where work is pushed...
Let’s face it, life is busy — at home and at work. Figuring out what tasks take priority can be a real challenge. The battle for our attention is...
This is the fifth part of our series on Lean Project Management. In this post, we look at resource management.
Change is hard. There is no doubt about that. However, if you want to create flow among new product development teams, and ultimately speed up...
A fundamental principle of Lean is smooth, continuous flow. Flow is achieved by eliminating turbulence caused when the flow through any process is...
The best project managers know the devil is in the details and communication between team members is the oil in the engine that makes project...
This is the third part of our series on Lean project management.
In this post we discuss visual management’s and Kanban's role in Lean and Agile...Our mission is to help engineers love their jobs. It’s what we do. So what makes people love their jobs?
Gallup gathered data from over a million...
This is the second part of our series on Lean Agile Project Management.
In Part 1 we recognized that one of the primary drivers of success in product...
In our experience, engineers like to stretch their minds beyond the limits of what's possible, solving problems and bringing ideas to life. In fact,...
Feeling like you are using the wrong tools to achieve your product development goals?
This is Part 1 of a series of posts on Lean Project Management
Communication across complex project teams can be challenging. Having said this, clear and timely communication is the most critical ingredient to...
So how do you increase certainty in project decisions. In part we can increase certainty by increasing the accuracy of our impact estimates.
The Return on Investment in project risk management is high, and therefore worth the effort.
Shipment delays in product development happen. Packages get lost or dropped off at the wrong location. As a result projects can get delayed more than...
How do you make project decisions based on their impact on profit? Here are some...
In order to make project decisions such as whether or not to add a new feature, we need an economic model. Cost of Delay is one input into this...
The project team is falling behind schedule at a rapid rate. The major milestones and planned launch date are becoming further out of reach. You are...
Why is Gantt and Kanban such a killer combination in hardware development for accelerating projects? Some of you may instantly recoil at the mere...
The purpose of visual work management software is, among other things, to make knowledge work visible so that it can be effectively managed.
In...
In this post I want to step back from the details in the series on the underlying principles and why they are so important and instead take a quick...
The goal of developing new products is profit. And even though we intuitively know it's important to get to market sooner, do you really understand...
Looking to deepen your understanding of Lean Agile project management?
At Playbook we have a number of free resources available in the Knowledge...
Taking a product from idea to launch is not a simple task. Projects are complex and when you are dealing in the world of hardware development, you...
Feeling like you are using the wrong tools to achieve your product development goals?
This is Part 2 of a series of posts on Lean product...
Feeling like you are using the wrong tools to achieve your product development goals?
This is Part 1 of a series of posts on Lean Project Management...
We created a 9 minute video that shares two paradigm shifting ideas around what causes late projects. Here is the video, and why we did it...
What is time-blocking? Time-blocking is effectively blocking time in your calendar dedicated to getting your work done. ...
Did you know traditional methods of project management supported by software products like Microsoft Project have been around for over 50 years?...
If you work in product development, the Internet of Things and connected devices are top of mind. The impact of the IoT transcends industry borders...
While on a recent trip to New Zealand to ramp up a new client, I took a little time after work to see some sights. Coincidently, I was also...
I recently read the new book Team of Teams – New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, by General Stanley McChrystal. I’d like to share some of my...
What are the key principles of Lean product development? Here are seven, that if applied correctly, can transform your product development process.
Achieving project flow is what enables project teams to have greater confidence task completion and launch dates. At Playbook, we have found that...
At PLAYBOOK it's our mission to help you change the world faster! So, we have a number of free resources available on our website to help you on your...
At Playbook it's our mission to help you change the world faster! So, we have a number of free resources available on our website to help you on your...
At PLAYBOOK it's our mission to help you change the world faster! So, we have a number of free resources available on our website. Many of you have...
Designing a new product with an architectural runway means supporting the business' ability to "land" new features...
Got time to read a book? Lately, neither do I. That's why I was very excited to find these 8 short video interviews with Don Reinertsen. In minutes,...
Elon Musk wants you to be inspired. He wants you to be inspired by the future. To him, an inspired future means we are a multiplanet species...
Remember when you wanted to be a super hero?
Not like Superman, but someone who changed the world with great ideas that became cool products. A...
Where is my Model 3? Apparently Tesla customers are still asking Elon Musk this very question. (He just released the keys to new 30 owners 4 days...
Welcome to our Top Lean Reads series of posts. In this week's post, we share our top books on setting a record pace for product delivery by managing...
Technology and innovation is alluring, mystical. And as such, once you’ve worked in an innovative company, with the innovative people that come with...
Welcome to our Top Lean Reads series of posts. In this week's post, we share our top books on cost of delay and project economic modeling. So,...
News flash. A Harvard Business Review study confirmed what we already knew--team collaboration is hard.
Yes we knew that. But the study also confirms...
Know your current product development process could use a few tweaks or maybe a total overhaul, but don’t know where to start?
We’ve pulled together...
Is this the Renaissance of invention? Have engineers moved from geekdom to superhero status? We think so.
The first attempt to implement Lean product development is critical. If you don’t get it right, there will be more resistance on the next attempt....
I often hear companies use the excuse that their culture is preventing them from adopting Lean product development, or making other positive changes....
In my previous blog post I introduced two of Don Reinertsen’s books and explained how they contained dozens and dozens of great ideas around Lean and...
My last blog post was about an example of great packaging design from Girl Scout Cookies, and I pointed out that we can learn Lean and Agile lessons...
Effective product development teams are proactive learners. They thrive on change and active discovery and problem solving. In this environment, the...
In the previous two blogs I made a compelling case for Lean Product Development being the business opportunity of the century, and then gave an...
So how do the most innovative companies foster innovation? Google, Amazon and IDEO share their recipes for success here...
In this post, I want to share an incredible case study that demonstrates the unexpected results that can be achieved when you apply the proper set of...
14 tips for calculating cost of delay. Implementing cost of delay and ultimately creating a project economic model for basing project decisions on is...
"...Playbook added that catalytic capability to use all the other pieces in the right way."
This is Part 7 in a series of posts discussing Cost of Delay and making objective decisions in new product development, based on economic analysis.
...
People sometimes tell me they’re having trouble getting their company interested in applying Lean and Agile concepts to...
The most obvious difference between hardware and software is that hard goods cannot be undone, twisted, adapted and adjusted at the same rate, or...
You probably weren’t surprised last week when we shared lean product design examples from Elon Musk. But did you ever think you would learn about...
One of the topics that frequently arises when I'm talking to someone about lean product development is the concept of failing fast. They usually tell...
New product development and innovation are the lifeblood of your company. This series explores innovation and what can happen when project teams...
Creating great products involves problem-solving at every stage of development.Sometimes the barriers faced by the team seem insurmountable and the...
As engineers we are empowered to create great things - develop innovations that change the world. In order to make these innovations a reality, we...
This is a guest post by Kathy Morrissey from Strategy 2 Market, a Playbook partner that specializes in new product development consulting for medical...
There seems to be some confusion about which works best for the hardware development process. This makes...
This series is a comprehensive review of Agile and how to apply Agile to hardware product development.We look...
At the end of each year we compile our list of the top ten Lean and Agile posts. Here’s 2016’s.
So grab a glass of egg nog, make your way to your...
So how do you make hardware development more Agile? In this part, part 5, we examine Agile's 3 and...
Welcome to Playbook’s Three Lean Product Development Links. Why are projects late? We spend a lot of time thinking about this very question at...
Component procurement time, component cost, and the variety of skills needed on most hardware development projects are greater and represent in our...
Lean methods and Agile principles recognize that it’s almost impossible to get anything absolutely right the first time. Testing and iterating are...
We agree. Hardware product development is different than software. So when we apply Agile principles, we need a different approach.
At PLAYBOOK we spend a lot of time thinking about how to speed up Lean product development projects. In fact, that’s mostly what we do. We take this...
In a previous blog post, I mentioned how electronic lean/agile/kanban visual project management...
We had a chance to talk to Robert Pendergrass, Engineering Manager, about SensorLink's experience with Playbook.
SensorLink develops advanced...
Making the trade-off between scope, schedule, and cost, and making decisions that maximize the top-level goal of making a profit is at the heart of...
Have you ever imagined what it would be like working in a company where you were literally supporting 3 to...
Visual management allows you to have tangible everyday conversations about the work in progress -- it makes work visible. It's such...
Welcome to Playbook’s Three Lean Links. Innovating quickly is on the top of everyone's agenda. But streamlining your hardware development process to...
Looking to refine your hardware development process? Here are 7 Lean and Agile principles to refine your process and deliver projects faster...
What is Lean Product Development? The Lean landscape is confusing because there are many flavors of Lean. But here is our definition...
What is Lean project management?
Lean is any process improvement that substantially improves the throughput of your system, sustainably.
So, it is...
What is cost of delay? Understanding Cost of Delay is the key to making product development decisions based on economic loss or gain. In fact, the...
Resource leveling is the process of using a company's resources in the most efficient way possible. To some, high efficiency is the same as high...
Welcome to Playbooks’s three Lean Product Development links. Innovation is on everyone's minds. It's a primary driver of company profit. Here are...
Let’s face it. No one likes change. Lean and Agile transformation isn’t for the weary or weak. It goes way beyond investing in Visual Project...
In the spirit of celebrating the best of the best, here are our top six gold medal blog posts of 2016. Happy reading...
It's critical to capture the objects impacted by a risk in order to understand risk exposure, as well as...
Great teams deliver great products. To win the game of product development, you need methods that inspire team thinking and teams that know how to...
Looking to create flow and improve your delivery timelines? In this post we share 3 free Lean training resources, including our on-demand webinar...
This post is a bit off the topic of Lean, but totally on topic for everyone interested in integrated product development. The changes taking place...
Whether you’re trying to quit biting your nails, snacking late at night, or transforming your culture to Lean, change is tough. For the latter it...
Let’s face it, Lean project management isn’t a topic that drums up a whole lot of interest in social settings.
This is generally what happens when I...
Welcome to Playbook’s Three Lean Product Development Links. Can Agile be applied to hardware development? It can. Here are three Lean links that...
Does this sound familiar? Intuitively you know visual project management software is worth the investment, but how do you effectively communicate the...
At Playbook we are always looking for innovative ways to make projects move forward faster, while increasing project...
So what makes a great product development team? Here are three Lean links that will make you rethink your approach to "team!"
Visual project management is critical for creating flow in your Lean product development projects. If you are working with manual project boards,...
Looking for some new material on Lean thinking? This week we have a smorgasbord of big ideas from Don Reinertsen, Michael Balle and the Lean...
This is a guest post by Richard Lindstrom from eBOM, a Playbook partner based in Sweden. Richard attended the LPPDE conference in Raleigh, North...
Playbook has several FREE resources available for rapid Lean product development training. On-demand webinars, eBooks, templates, training courses...
Manufacturers have known for years that one of the primary tenets of Lean is to identify what the customer...
This is a guest post by Richard Lindstrom from eBOM based in Sweden. eBOM provides cutting edge Lean consulting for R&D companies like SenSair,...
Due to the popularity of our blog series on Applying Agile to hardware new product development projects, we decided to create an easily shareable...
Evaluating risks starts by defining and understanding a project’s objectives. If there aren’t any objectives,...
This week we look at project risk and embracing uncertainty. Is a project team's ability to embrace uncertainty the key to success? After reading...
Recently I came across an article on the Dummies.com website comparing the traditional Waterfall method (Phased and Gated) to the...
In this post we explore why it's time to do product development differently and introduce you to an apporach that works, Exploratory PD® (ExPD). ExPD...
Are you firefighting and multitasking to stay on top of your work? Are you wondering how to establish clear, correct and common priorities in your...
At Playbook, creating velocity in product development projects has been our passion for 18 years. As a result, we’ve analyzed Agile and other product...
Looking to stimulate more innovation and agile problem solving in your organization? This week we explore methods for...
There is no doubt project management methods have evolved and the traditional Phase Gate or...
It makes sense that if you increase speed to market, you increase profit. Unfortunately, organizations are struggling to move hardware development...
Welcome to PLAYBOOK’s blog series: Three Lean Product Development Links. This week we cut straight to the chase with the three most popular blog...
Welcome to PLAYBOOK’s blog series: Three Lean Product Development Links. To deliver a great product, you need a great team. This week's Lean Links...
Davy, the project manager sat alone. Distressed. He leaned over the project plan as he had done so many meetings before, squinting, trying to read...
Welcome to PLAYBOOK’s blog series: Three Lean Product Development Links. One of the key Principles of PLAYBOOK’s Lean Project Management method is to...
This is a guest post by Therese Graff from Strategy 2 Market, a Playbook partner about the importance of planning in Lean product development....
Welcome to PLAYBOOK’s blog series: Three Lean Product Development Links.
Welcome to PLAYBOOK’s blog series: Three Lean Product Development Links. This week we focus on great reads - our favorite lean product development...
Welcome to Fall and to PLAYBOOK’s Three Lean Project Managment Links blog series.
We curate Lean project management links from around the web and...
Welcome to Fall and to PLAYBOOK’s Three Lean Project Managment Links blog series.
We will be curating Lean Project Management links from around the...
I heard recently some people in software development were proposing that there be ‘no projects’, because ‘projects’ create batches and stifle project...
David Paulson, our CEO was recently interviewed by Chad McAllister on his blog, "The Everyday...
We are looking forward to the LPPDE Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, September 23-24 next week! For those of you that can't make it we will be...
Our value added reseller, eBOM, based in Sweden is attending LPPDE Europe and has shared some interesting images and insights into what’s happening...
This is a guest post from Strategy 2 Market, a Playbook partner based in Chicago. Strategy 2 Market provides Lean New Product Development consulting...
This is a guest post by Mary Drotar from Strategy 2 Market, a Playbook partner that specializes in new product development consulting for medical...
Playbook is excited to be a sponsor of LPPDE North America. Today we will be live blogging much of the conference. LPPDE showcases thought leaders in...
Our value added reseller, eBOM, based in Sweden is attending LPPDE Europe and has shared some interesting images and insights into what's happening...
The series explores the relationship between Lean Startup Principles, Knowledge Based Product Development, and Project Risk Management, and how they...
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