LAI Lean Program Management Community of Practice

The LAI Lean Program Management Community of Practice met for the first time in January 2011 at Boeing in Seal Beach, CA. The group's objective is to develop recommendations for improving program management performance through the application of lean techniques. The process involves collecting common program management pitfalls and lean enablers to overcome these pitfalls. Our goal is to produce a guidebook on lean program management to be released in January 2012.

Several LAI members are involved in the community, including Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell Collins, Boeing, Raytheon, Siemens, BAE Systems, and ULA. We are also planning to collaborate closely with INCOSE, PMI, and DAU.

Please contact Dr. Josef Oehmen ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) for more detail and for access to the group's website and mailing list.

Lean Program Management Community of Practice Charter

Mission Description

• Improve program management performance by the application of lean enablers: tools, practices, skills & mindset
• Demonstrate the value of lean techniques to program management by collecting examples of success
• Output is ready-to-implement

Problem Statement

• An increasingly demanding competitive environment requires that we improve our ability to manage programs and consistently deliver (on time and on budget) high-quality products that meet performance requirements with low risk.
• Programs are not yet taking full advantage of the benefits that lean management offers.
• The lack of clearly defined lean enablers for program management is an issue.

Scope

• Focus on lean program management  enablers, i.e., tools and practices.
• Define the challenges that enablers address.
• Complement existing frameworks with new enabling content.

Impact

• Programs will better meet cost, schedule, and performance requirements.
• Programs will become more responsive to change, i.e., resilient to risks.

Approach

• Identify lean program management pitfalls and enablers in the literature.
• Engage the program management community (aerospace and defense companies, other industries, industry associations, and government program management community).
• Share knowledge and best practices within the community of practice via email, phone conferences, and meetings.

Outputs

• Common program management pitfalls
• Lean enablers for program management success
• Map lean enablers to pitfalls and lean principles
• Key (performance) indicators for enablers and pitfalls

Members

• Industry chair Mark Bowie (Boeing)
• Academic chair Josef Oehmen (LAI at MIT)
• LAI members
• Government representatives, professional societies, and other academic partners