Improve software development speed beyon...

Until the end of 2011, Theodo was a classic software consulting company proposing fixed-fee projects in waterfalls methods. During 2012 and 2013, we introduced the principles of agility and lean both in our core business activity and in our organisation as a company. And to say the least, we had some outstanding results which we are happy to share. Some of the key results presented: lead time on projects, client satisfaction, operational margin. For each indicator, I will describe what we did, what actually did not work … and of course what worked. ...

Lean and ITIL: reaching to the (hidden f...

ITILv2 certifies people, not organizations. Yet it’s a library of good practices that organizations are supposed to follow (or even be certified on under ISO 20,000). So, with predefined processes as a North Star to reach for, it’s very attractive to wanting to use Lean to improve them. Yet, when you first grasp the situation, you soon discover that the shiny, fixed, paper Moon map is nowhere to be found in reality. The further you look, the more you understand that there’s something else to that, and that you need to go on the other side of it to discover what’s...

Toyota Kata – habits for continuous impr...

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle What are the habits, or routines, you need to put in place to continuously strive for excellence? How do we create a culture of continuous improvement? In this session you will learn about continuous improvement routines that help you close the gap between your current condition and you desired future state. You will learn how you can probe through the unknown in small deliberate steps. You will also be introduced to the leadership routines to build a continuous improvement...

What information system for the lean com...

Pierre Delort will present the outcome of the study “What IS for the lean company” the CIGREF recently produced. CIGREF brings together 130 French companies and organisations from all sectors with three aims: bring together major companies using information systems, to support CIOs in their jobs and develop a long-term vision of the impact of information systems and technologies on the enterprise, the economy and the society at large. Through this report, the association looks into the benefits of lean management applied to the information systems, it presents...

From concept to social impact (and cash)...

We developped and launched an innovative crowdfunding platform based on 0% loans within 6 months time. hellomerci.com, borrow from those who care, helps people with personal or entrepreneurial projects get loans and energy from their community and the people. How a 4-people team has built and is now running such a complex system? How we managed (and sometimes failed) to connect a highly productive team with a much slower external environment? What are the cultural conflicts that arise when people with a “minimum marketable feature” vision meet people with an...

From push to pull in IT: learning to cre...

Pushing tools to users and complaining that they didn’t use them was easy enough. But when we started asking ourselves whether we were solving the right problems, and how to create value and measure this value creation, it turned out to be a rough path. Learn from Faurecia IT’s experience on this matter, and how IT can progressively move away from being a commodity provider to become a business partner. Faurecia is the 6th automotive equipment supplier worldwide and IT has to support Just in Time plants, Product launches, Month end closes, Purchasing processes...