In the ideal case, in manufacturing, we repeat the same set of tasks to manufacture identical goods.
In software development, we have the same stages (development, code review, testing, etc.), but every task going through the workflow will be different. Depending on how these tasks are defined, the effort, interdependencies, etc., might vary wildly.
Both types of work, of course, will have variability related to the complexity of the process. And that variability will be correlated with the size of workflow, people and/or machines involved, etc.
It's just the knowledge work adds another dimension. By the way, that's why, in knowledge work, we rather talk about accepting variability instead of controlling it (which was the focus in Lean Manufacturing).
I recommend Don Reinertsen's work on that, since he worked in both contexts. While his book (Principles of Product Development Flow) is not an easy read, it's absolute gold.
In the ideal case, in manufacturing, we repeat the same set of tasks to manufacture identical goods.
In software development, we have the same stages (development, code review, testing, etc.), but every task going through the workflow will be different. Depending on how these tasks are defined, the effort, interdependencies, etc., might vary wildly.
Both types of work, of course, will have variability related to the complexity of the process. And that variability will be correlated with the size of workflow, people and/or machines involved, etc.
It's just the knowledge work adds another dimension. By the way, that's why, in knowledge work, we rather talk about accepting variability instead of controlling it (which was the focus in Lean Manufacturing).
I recommend Don Reinertsen's work on that, since he worked in both contexts. While his book (Principles of Product Development Flow) is not an easy read, it's absolute gold.