Kaizen
In 1986, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka published an article in the Harvard Business Review titled: “The New New Product Development Game” which is often considered one of the most explicit precursors of agile frameworks and lean product development.
Many of the concepts absorbed by the Lean philosophy and Agile mindset have a Japanese origin.
I wrote already about Kanban and East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, and now I would like to explore now another foundational concept at the base of Agile: Kaizen.
Kaizen
The Japanese word kaizen (from 改 kai — change, revision; and 善 zen — virtue, goodness) can be translated with ‘improvement’ or ‘change for better’. It is commonly used to indicate small and continuous improvement. Kaizen includes the idea that ongoing positive changes can reap significant improvements. A consistent 1% increment a day is easier to achieve, bringing higher and better results at the end of the year, and each improvement is more consolidated when compared to attempts to make bigger and sudden changes.
There are different types of Kaizen, some of which depend on the number of dimensions you direct your improving efforts.
Point kaizen happens very quickly and usually without much planning. As soon as something is found broken or incorrect, quick and immediate measures are taken to correct…
