Perhaps one of the biggest fallacies in organizing work is the idea that schedules or “plans” lead to predictable performance. Just break work down into tasks, schedule the tasks, and viola! you know when the work will be done. Of course, people must dedicate themselves to following the plan exactly – any deviation will throw everything out of whack.

The fact is, handing down a deterministic schedule to a process with any amount of variability is in exercise in futility that leads to unpredictable, sub-optimal performance. And this is well known. Predictability in the face of variability comes from establishing a reliable workflow and coupling it with pull scheduling. It comes from creating an adaptive, learning system, not a planned system.

A flow system requires that we focus on reliable handoffs and system throughput, not on utilization. It requires creative people who vigilantly address problems and improve the workflow. It requires a leadership team that understands “Results are Not the Point” – the real point is to create a system and grow people who are capable of delivering excellent results over the long term.

Mary Poppendieck has been in the Information Technology industry for thirty years. She has managed solutions in software development, supply chain management, manufacturing operations, and new product development.
She spearheaded the implementation of a Just-in-Time system in a video tape manufacturing plant, resulting in dramatic improvements in the plant's performance.

Mary’s team leadership skills were honed in 3M, where new product development is a core competency. Her teams commercialized products with embedded software three times faster than normal, partnering with small suppliers in the process.

A popular writer and speaker, Mary’s classes apply lean principles to Software Development problems and offer a fresh perspective on software development processes. Her book Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit was awarded the Software Development Productivity Award in 2004. Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash, was published in 2006, and Leading Lean Software Development was published in November, 2009.