With Industry 4.0, the time previously spent developing new solutions has been drastically reduced. At the same time, outdated research methodologies and methodologies for developing products and services have been constantly updated. Wasting time means wasting money, and good businesses do not survive.
And from these updates, new strategies have emerged that enable the adoption of more agile processes. This implies alternatives to traditional project management, such as agile methodologies. Among the most common, we can mention: Lean Manufacturing, Agile and Scrum.
Below are the main features of each of them and their benefits for the business. Enjoy reading!
Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing is inspired by practices and results from the Toyota System, becoming a reference especially for startups and start-up companies. This management philosophy aims to make an organization's processes are carried out as quickly and with as little waste as possible. In other words, in a lean way.
It is important to emphasize that increasing productivity does not mean compromising the quality of work. On the contrary: high performance and quality are fundamental in the Lean industry. It is also based on the elimination of all waste that does not add value to the product or service offered to the customer, which involves:
Rework;
Wait;
Movement;
Transport;
Stock;
Excessive production;
Overprocessing.
In a more modern view, we also understand talent as a waste when it is poorly used. For example, companies that do not collect the perceptions of people who are directly involved in a certain job. It is the employees who are on the “front line” who know the problem best and can bring creative solutions for the business.
In companies with different departments, the purchasing department is one of the main bottlenecks when it comes to wasted supplies. In this case, the excessive production described above. How can we ensure, in practice, that purchases do not generate excess raw materials or overstocking?
For this specific case, the concept of Just in Time methodology. It foresees that the purchasing department coordinates the continuous flow of supplies in order to meet production demands. This makes it possible to buy better quality materials at better prices.
For this method to be effective in your company, it is essential to have qualified suppliers, capable of meeting your demand, respecting your deadlines and pre-defined specifications, guaranteeing stability and frequency in the supply of materials.
Agile
The Agile methodology is not called that for nothing: it was born from Agile Manifesto, a document released by a group of software developers tired of outdated and inefficient classical methodologies. The problem is that such philosophies were not able to meet certain particularities of their projects.
The most important thing is that this method can be applied today to any type of project, not just software. Thus, it has helped companies in different segments to increase their productivity and shorten delivery cycles.
In practice, Agile is a way of buy solutions according to expected results rather than a specific specification. With this methodology, the company discusses its needs with the most suitable suppliers for that demand, seeking flexibility and knowing the resources that are in line with its needs.
Furthermore, the challenge proposed by the Agile Manifesto is to meet customer needs more quickly while maintaining the quality of the product or service. There are 12 principles of the agile methodology, plus four key foundations, which are:
Communication: individuals and interactions over processes and tools;
Practicality: working product above comprehensive documentation;
Alignment: collaboration with the consumer/client over contract negotiation;
Adaptation: respond to transformations/changes rather than following a plan.
The Agile method has some very particular characteristics: it favors the real-time integration of production systems and other areas of the company, such as finance, purchasing, sales, among others.
The methodology also encompasses a skill set to meet a wide variety of customer requirements in terms of price, specifications, quality, quantity and delivery.
Scrum
Created by Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber, Scrum is increasingly embedded in the industry. Because it works with progress measurement, it makes teams know whether they are making progress on their work or whether the process will be delayed. In other words, at the end of the day, the organization will know how to identify bottlenecks and will be able to eliminate them.
In the book Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, launched in Brazil in 2016 by Editora Leya, Jeff Sutherland states that the methodology achieves more results with fewer people, time and resources — but with better quality.
It arose from the need for a more grounded approach to human reality and product development. It also brought benefits in communication, process transparency and the ability to adapt and overcome difficulties.
In practice, the Scrum methodology works in a simple and dynamic way. The process begins with the initial vision of the product and planning carried out by the Product Owner. Afterwards, this planning is separated into a list, called Product Backlog, highlighting what is a priority.
After this definition, the objective is separated into cycles — called sprints, which is the period of time to put the activities into practice. At the beginning of each sprint, the team meets to plan the tasks to be implemented, have a clear vision of the priorities and what is expected of the cycle. During this period, the teams must hold a daily meeting in which each employee must point out what they did the previous day, what they will do today and what impediments exist.
And so the process continues until the end of the Sprint, when a meeting is held to review the implemented features in order to validate the product. This cycle is repeated until the final product is delivered to the customer. After the final review, a meeting is held to revisit the methodology used during the Sprint, seeking to improve it for the next cycle.
Therefore, this framework (basic concepts that will guide your work) suggests that the project or objective to be achieved is divided into small cycles of activities. This includes frequent alignment meetings, which coordinate the responsibilities of each team member.
In this space, what needs to be corrected is highlighted so that the result can be achieved. The main idea is to always seek a faster and more efficient solution, with the vision and thinking of more people involved with the same demand.
Prioritizing creativity and fluidity in processes, Scrum follows six principles:
Flexibility of results;
Flexible deadlines;
Small teams;
Constant reviews;
Collaboration;
Object orientation.
Conclusion
In other words, these are concepts that are increasingly aligned with Industry 4.0. Their foundations have several points in common, such as efficiency gains, time optimization and cost reduction.
To do this, it is important to build a strategy within your company that considers processes, new concepts and a change in thinking about how the agile cycle within your company can be advantageous. Another good methodology is the LIFO and FIFO principles, Click here to know!
