READING NOTE · UPDATED 2026
Use terms to improve a decision
This short glossary note belongs alongside the fuller Lean glossary. Read definitions with a specific work item in mind: what counts as demand, what is the system boundary, and what evidence would demonstrate value? A shared vocabulary is useful when it exposes disagreement about the work, rather than merely making a meeting sound more technical.
A practical next step
- Choose one unfamiliar term.
- Explain it using an actual team example.
- Check the fuller Lean glossary and the current flow guide.
This 2026 reading note is written by the Durnall editorial team. Richard Durnall’s original text follows below.
Original publication: .
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The original words below retain their period and attribution. The reading note above is the current editorial addition.
Source capture · 2008-01-07 ↗I’ve just added a lean IT glossary to the site containing definitions of some key terms and my view on their application to software development and online product development teams. You can get to the glossary through the link on the main navigation in the top bar of the site or, if you don’t want to travel that far, you could follow this link here “Lean IT Glossary”.
Please let me know if there are any terms that you think should be added or if you think there are any inconsistencies.