Integration of Production Management Into Software Development

Abstract

The application of the five production management levers addresses software projects as production systems, allowing for the application of well-established operations science techniques to improve throughput and predictability throughout the project life cycle. Traditional project management triple constraints of cost, schedule, and performance have long been the cornerstone of Department of Defense (DoD) software project management. Often, these constraints are managed independently, using past performance data to assess and predict future project performance, leading to highly variable outcomes. Traditional waterfall models for software project delivery exacerbate this variability and limit the ability to delivery capability at the speed of relevance. By treating projects as a production system, a deeper understanding of planning variables (product design, process design) and execution variables (capacity planning, limiting work in process, and variability) can be achieved and close the gap on project delivery performance. Further, the study connects industry best practices across software, manufacturing, and construction to improve DoD software project delivery. Operations science and production management principles and techniques are foundational to the agile and lean movement. The software industry has already adopted many of the operations science and production management techniques (such as limiting work in process, capacity-based sprint planning, software factories, etc.). A succinct process to apply, monitor, control, and report out on the five levers can encourage adoption and clarify execution of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework, DoD Instruction 5000.02, Software Acquisition Pathway.