Waste Self-reporting for Software Development Productivity Improvement

Marc Sallin, Martin Kropp, Craig Anslow, Robert Biddle

Abstract: Little research has been done on enabling software development teams to self-report waste to assist in productivity improvement. This study created a waste categorization and survey for teams to identify and quantify wasteful activities. Developers from a Swiss company used the survey for three weeks. Participants found the survey helpful for identifying waste but there was little evidence that self-reported waste correlated with improved performance.