In this paper, we examine the applicability of lean production to knowledge work by investigating the implementation of a lean production system at an Indian software services firm. We first discuss specific aspects of knowledge work—task uncertainty, process invisibility, and architectural ambiguity—that call into question the relevance of lean production in this setting. Then, combining a det...

BACKGROUND Lean thinking as a quality improvement approach is introduced in hospitals worldwide, although evidence for its impact is scarce. Lean initiatives are social, complex and context-dependent. This calls for a shift from cause-effect to conditional attributions to understand how lean works. In this study, we bring attention to the transformative power of local translation, which creates...

When looking at the term "continuous requirements engineering", there is a limited number of sources using this term in different collections of scientific papers. However, while the term is not so often used, still the ideas with respect to different issues of continuous requirements engineering are discussed in papers on enterprise architecture, business process management, and adaptive infor...

This paper reviews the literature on the association between lean production and performance. From this, propositions on the integration and evolution of operation and human resource management practices associated with the lean production concept are developed. Using 24 years of data on the use of seven core OM and HRM practices in British manufacturing firms, the potential link between integr...

Software process improvement methods help to continuously refine and adjust the software process to improve its performance (e.g., in terms of leadtime, quality of the software product, reduction of change requests, and so forth). Lean software development propagates two important principles that help process improvement, namely identification of waste in the process and considering interaction...

Collecting, understanding, and managing requirements is a critical aspect in all development methods. This is true for Agile Methods as well. In particular, several agile practices deal with requirements in order to implement them correctly and satisfy the needs of the customer. These practices focus on a continuous interaction with the customer to address the requirements evolution over time, ...

Expert systems are the most important part in the field of artificial intelligence. This universal technology for representation expert knowledge into valuable computer program may be implemented in different scientific fields such as engineering, law, economy etc. Knowledge engineering has to elicit knowledge from domain expert and transform it in shape applicable for languages of artificial i...

Abstract Learning factories are realistic manufacturing environments built for education; many universities have recently introduced learning in engineering programs to tackle real industrial problems; however, statistical studies on its effectiveness still scarce. This paper presents a study the impact of students’ process, when teaching lean concepts an assembly environment. The analysis is c...