Dec 4th - Rolling Rocks Downhill: Using Goldratt's Theory of Constraints to Turbo-Charge your Software Development Engine - by Clarke Ching

Hi Everyone,

I'm pleased to announce that the next AgileScotland meeting will be held this Monday 4th of December at 7:30PM:

Rolling Rocks Downhill: Using Goldratt's Theory of Constraints to Turbo-Charge your Software Development Engine
by Clarke Ching .

This may come as a surprise, but the chap with the foreign sounding name who sends out these AgileScotland notes ( i.e. me, Clarke Ching) is a world-class expert in the application of Goldratt's Theory of Constraints (TOC). Clarke's specialises in the application of TOC to Software Development, although he has also applied TOC thinking within Telecoms, Banking and Health. He is currently three quarters of the way through writing a business novel about the subject.

What is TOC?

• TOC is a close cousin of Lean Thinking and (depending on the circumstances) is used either as a compliment or as an alternative to Lean.
• TOC is used by giants such as Intel, NHS, parts of Ford, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, BAE, Lucent Technologies and Cadillac (amongst many others) to manage their product development and manufacturing capabilities.
• Goldratt first introduced TOC to the wider world 20 years ago in his Business Novel "The Goal" which has now sold over 3 million copies.
• Like Lean thinking, TOC is mostly known as a manufacturing solution but is widely used across many industries and business functions.

Come to this session to learn how to :

1. Deliver 50% more projects in the same time, with the same resources, by appling Goldratt's manufacturing system. According to Industry Week magazine, three-quarters of the world's top 25 manufacturing plants use the system. But very few organisations have translated the techniques to software development. The solution is surprisingly easy. Clarke will show you how to do this. It is so simple that you can apply the techniques when you get back to the office on Tuesday.
2. Consistently deliver projects in half the time by avoiding two almost ubiquitous "best practices" - multitasking and keeping everyone busy. You'll learn just why these behaviours are costing your projects so much ... and what to do about it. You've got to see this one to believe it.
3. Solve problems faster by using Goldratt's greatest contribution to the world - a delightfully simple thinking tool called the "cloud". School kids around the world use the "cloud" to solve problems, Goldratt used it to develop his Critical Chain project management system, and it is the key problem solving tool used in Clarke's book.

This is the first public viewing of the work from Clarke's book.

Clarke Ching is a New Zealander who now calls Scotland home. He is a passionate advocate of agile software development and is chairman of AgileScotland special interest group. He is a frequent speaker and part-time lecturer on agile methods. Clarke has an MBA specialising in Technology management and is a senior consultant with VISION Consulting. He is currently writing a "business novel" - download the first 30 chapters from www.RollingRocksDownhill.com - which shows how Lean, Quality and Constraints Management thinking SHOULD be applied to software and product development organisations.

Please join us at VISION Consulting's offices, Fettes Park, 496 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DL at 7:30pm.

Call me on 07919403972, if you need any further information.