Handbook
Lean ceremonies → ceremony foundation
**Purpose:** Map **Lean Software Development** practices and improvement rituals to methodology-neutral **intent types** in [`ceremony-foundation.md`](ceremony-foundation.md).
Lean ceremonies → ceremony foundation
Purpose: Map Lean Software Development practices and improvement rituals to methodology-neutral intent types in Ceremony foundation (methodology-neutral).
Canonical Lean narrative: https://forgesdlc.com/methodology-lean.html · Wikipedia — Lean software development
Note: Lean does not mandate a fixed ceremony calendar. It provides improvement practices that teams schedule based on need and cadence. Below maps typical Lean practices to foundation intents.
Practices / meetings × intent types
| Common practice | Foundation intents (primary → secondary) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Value-stream mapping | C1 Align → C5 Improve | End-to-end flow analysis; identify waste and improvement opportunities. |
| Pull-based selection (replenishment) | C2 Commit | Items pulled when capacity allows; commitment is flow-based, governed by WIP limits. |
| Stand-up / flow sync | C3 Sync | Board walk focused on flow, blockers, and aging items — not individual status. |
| Gemba walk | C3 Sync → C4 Inspect | Management observes actual work; builds understanding, surfaces impediments. |
| Customer feedback / delivery review | C4 Inspect | Validate that delivered value matches customer need; measure outcomes. |
| Kaizen event | C5 Improve | Time-boxed improvement sprint on a specific waste or bottleneck. |
| A3 problem-solving review | C5 Improve → C6 Assure | Structured root-cause analysis and countermeasures; knowledge capture. |
| Retrospective (Lean-flavored) | C5 Improve | Data-driven reflection using flow metrics; improvement experiments. |
| Built-in quality practices | C6 Assure (embedded) | TDD, CI, pairing, automated deployment — quality is a practice, not a phase. |
C6 in Lean is typically embedded in engineering practices rather than a separate ceremony. Release readiness is a policy (automated gates, DoD), not a meeting.
Tracking
Lead time (demand → delivery) and cycle time (start → done) are the primary Lean metrics. Git shows activity timestamps, not queue time or blocked time — use board/tracker data for accurate flow measurement. See https://forgesdlc.com/methodology-lean.html.
Suggestions (Lean-specific)
| Practice | Suggestions |
|---|---|
| Value-stream mapping | Do this before adding ceremonies — you may discover the existing calendar is part of the waste. Revisit quarterly or when lead times drift. |
| Stand-up | Walk the board right-to-left (closest to done first); focus on flow and aging, not yesterday's activity. Keep under 15 min. |
| Kaizen | Pick one measurable target; implement during the event, not after. Measure before/after. Standardize what works. |
| A3 | Use for complex problems (not everything). The review validates thinking quality, not just the conclusion. |
| Retrospective | Bring data (cycle time, defect rate, WIP age). Frame improvements as experiments with a target condition and check date. |
Crosswalk to other methodologies: Methodology bridge — foundation intents ↔ named ceremonies.
Canonical source
Edit https://github.com/autowww/blueprints/blob/main/sdlc/methodologies/ceremonies/lean.md first; regenerate with docs/build-handbook.py.