The bullet list above is not magic. It's just a summary of thinking at the time. Ten years after lean first came to the software community, we see new tools emerging that allow teams to reduce waste further. Automatic build tools, cloud computing and software as a service can all reduce time spent waiting and allow the team to make forward progress. Over time we should expect to see many lean software implementations, ones tied not to the rules of Toyota in 1986 but instead to the critical success factors of the organization from which they sprang.

As Poppendeick says, it's not a thing you do. It's a way of thinking; for some, perhaps, a way of life.

The author would like to thank Joseph Ours and Bob Corrick for their assistance in producing this article.

Matthew Heusser is a consulting software tester and self-described software process naturalist who develops, tests and manages software projects. Matt is a contributing editor for Software Test & Quality Assurance Magazine and his blog "Creative Chaos" focuses on software writing. An elected member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Software Testing, Matt recently served as lead editor for "How to Reduce the Cost of Software Testing" (Taylor and Francis, 2011). You can follow Matt on Twitter @mheusser or him.

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