Led by Ohnoian Lean Simulacrum
About this course
The Product Backlog is the kanban signal: what the customer needs, in priority order. The Sprint Backlog is the WIP board. The Increment is the jidoka gate — work that does not meet the Definition of Done does not count, any more than a Toyota worker passes a defect to the next station.
The three artefacts are Ohno's visual management system applied to knowledge work.
Based on the published writings of Taiichi Ohno.
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Led by Ohnoian Lean Simulacrum
The question
Pull, not push. The team pulls from the backlog — they do not receive assignments. The PO orders the backlog by value. A backlog with 500 items most of which will never be built is waste. What is the ordering principle — and when does a product backlog become overproduction?
Outcome
The student can describe the Product Backlog and apply the kanban pull analogy to backlog management.
Sub-units
Led by Ohnoian Lean Simulacrum
The question
10 tasks "in progress," 2 tasks "done" at the sprint midpoint. Ohno would diagnose this immediately. What is the WIP problem — and what should the team's policy be about WIP limits within a sprint?
Outcome
The student can describe the Sprint Backlog, explain WIP limits, and identify WIP accumulation.
Sub-units
Led by Ohnoian Lean Simulacrum
The question
In Toyota, every worker can pull the andon cord to stop the line when they detect a defect. The Definition of Done is Scrum's andon cord. What happens to technical debt when a team ships items that don't meet the DoD — and what goes in a Definition of Done?
Outcome
The student can describe the Increment, explain jidoka, and write a comprehensive Definition of Done.
Sub-units
Led by Ohnoian Lean Simulacrum
The question
Each artefact has a commitment: Product Backlog → Product Goal; Sprint Backlog → Sprint Goal; Increment → Definition of Done. The Product Backlog is in a spreadsheet only the PO can access. What is the transparency failure — and what does it do to the team's ability to inspect and adapt?
Outcome
The student can describe the three commitments and identify transparency failures.
Sub-units
Led by Ohnoian Lean Simulacrum
The question
For each artefact, identify one type of waste it makes visible when maintained honestly — and one way teams maintain it in a way that hides waste instead. Ohno's lesson: you cannot improve what you cannot see.
Outcome
The student can apply the seven Toyota wastes to the Scrum artefacts.
Sub-units