Lars Vonk recently posted this comment on Joshua’s talk about Lean Startup: Why It Rocks Far More Than Agile Development
So I listened 30 minutes and stopped because I am thinking if this leanstartup is really an ugly baby? I heard a couple of things which feels like an agile rebranding thing:
- The example on the 9 months building and then launching. What book tells you that? How about Principle #1 from the Manifesto: Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
- Are you doing customer tests in the definition of done? Then it is the leanstartup definition of done. What is that about?
Should I continue and read the book or is it a waste of time? What does it really add?
The first thing I need to get off my chest however is that it is not Lean Startup vs Agile. It is Lean Startup & Agile. It is like Extreme Programming and Agile. On the surface they are similar, but with a small twist. And once you dig deeper you find elements in both that feed of each other. And today almost all decent Agile teams are using both Extreme Programming techniques with Agile.
The short answer to question 1 is: You should certainly continue and read the book.
The longer answer to question 2:
For me the best summary is Agile is the right way to build software. Lean Startup is about finding out what the right software is to build in environments of extreme uncertainty.
Continue reading →