More than XP. More than one day.

Chris Ambler Test Manager for GTO – Europe, Microsoft Games Studios

“Testing Games Is Not a Game – It’s Serious Stuff”

Professor Daniel Jones and Marc Baker Lean Enterprise Institute

Here are Marc Baker’s slides

“Lean Thinking: what is distinctive about it and where it is going? Questions and implications for software development.”

• Where lean came from and how it has developed into a complete business system
• The current frontiers of lean thinking and practice - where next?
• Insights from lean transformations for IT and software development

With a degree in computer science, Chris Ambler has worked in the IT industry for over 27 years, with the last 16 years dedicated to testing. His testing interest started in the defence industry, testing weapons and combat aircraft systems. He has been involved in delivering testing projects at all levels for large blue chip companies such as Seeboard, Lombard Finance and the Home Office. He has built a world wide testing practice for a major American software solutions provider and worked with customers including Sky television and Maersk. He managed an American testing team on the prestigious Ebay project before joining the SIM/SQS Group, where he became a Business Unit manager with on-going projects at organisations such as Lloyds TSB, Daimler Chrysler and Railtrack. He joined Newell & Budge during 2002 as the Head of Testing Architecture and Strategies working with companies like London Underground, Orange, HBOS and NPower. Chris joined Electronic Arts in October 2004 as the European QA Director and is responsible for the quality assurance of the high profile EA Games products. He has also spoken at testing and development conferences all over the world. Chris has a passion for creating new and cutting edge strategies for testing smarter and leveraging the latest development techniques.

Daniel T Jones is a management thought leader and advisor on applying lean, process thinking pioneered by Toyota to every type of business across the world. He is the founding Chairman of the “Lean Enterprise Academy” in the UK, dedicated to pushing forward the frontiers of lean thinking and helping others with its implementation. He is the author with James P Womack of the influential, best-selling management books The Machine that Changed the World, and Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Organisation which describe the principles and practice of lean thinking in production.

Their latest book Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers can Create Value and Wealth Together extends these ideas to consumption, provision and service delivery.

These books have triggered a worldwide movement of lean practitioners and the establishment of the Lean Global Network of Lean Institutes (including the Lean Enterprise Academy) which teach lean locally and have organised over 25 Lean Summits in the USA, UK, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, France, Holland, Denmark, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, India, China and Australia.

Marc Baker started his lean journey as a Process Engineer during the start-up and validation of a new pharmaceutical facility, where he first began applying lean concepts and principles in a regulated industry. He led various Engineering organisations in Research & Development and Operations in a Johnson & Johnson company. He then became Head of Process Excellence (Umbrella term for Lean Thinking and Six Sigma) where substantial increases in sales per employee, market share and profit margins were achieved by applying Lean Thinking and Six Sigma across the whole company.

More recently Marc has been working with companies as an independent Lean coach and Six Sigma Master black belt. His experiences span many types of industries, including, pharmaceuticals, grocery services, medical devices, diagnostics, healthcare, and telecoms.

Marc holds a degree in Process Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer and holds an MBA from Cardiff Business School. He also sits on the Steering committee of the Wales Six Sigma network.

Marc currently divides his time between working for LEA and helping businesses make their own Lean transformations.