> Also I think the comparison to lean manufacturing has always been very shallow. I get the metaphor, I just don't think that human resources in engineering can be optimized like manufacturing processes.
Agile and Lean are empirical process controls, they are based on the same concepts. Ken Schwaber explains all this on the first chapter of his book "Agile Software Development with SCRUM":
Defined process control: same inputs always result in same output (manufacturing widgets on a production line).
Empirical process control: same inputs not always result in same output.
Schwaber conceived SCRUM (and was among the founders of Agile) after realizing software development required an empirical process control: give 2 dev teams same specs, 2 different apps will come out (they might do the same thing, but in different ways)
Agile and Lean are empirical process controls, they are based on the same concepts. Ken Schwaber explains all this on the first chapter of his book "Agile Software Development with SCRUM":
Defined process control: same inputs always result in same output (manufacturing widgets on a production line).
Empirical process control: same inputs not always result in same output.
Schwaber conceived SCRUM (and was among the founders of Agile) after realizing software development required an empirical process control: give 2 dev teams same specs, 2 different apps will come out (they might do the same thing, but in different ways)