The machine that changed the world
by James P. Womack · first published 1990
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Detailed, research-based comparison of Toyota's lean production with American and European auto manufacturing, covering just-in-time and avoiding rework. Suits anyone who wants the manufacturing roots of agile.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Explains lean production and its global implications in the auto industry.
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Mentions per year
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Definitely "The Machine That Changed the World" by Womack, Jones, and Roos [0]. This is "the first book to reveal Toyota's lean production system." Before reading it, I had never imagined just-in-time production or value chain mapping, or vehicle…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗After reading "The Machine that Changed the World," by Womack, Jones, and Roos, all product management paradigms besides Just-In-Time seem irredeemably sub-optimal, almost provably so. The book is about the Toyota Production System, and how Toyota's…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…mistakes. As you said, actual data will bubble-up to the surface eventually. From an engineering standpoint (and as a passenger!!!) I'd love to understand what happened. A while ago I enjoyed reading "The Machine That Changed the World": http://www.amazon.com/The-Machine-That-Changed-World/dp/0060... It was interesting to learn about the evolution of manufacturing and management practices that made a huge impact on the automobile…
on “The 787's Problems Run Deeper Than Outsourcing” ↗…decades. The others can provide more hands on experience on the topic and if you can mentally translate manufacturing principles to software construction techniques, everything will start to make sense. The Machine that Changed the World https://www.amazon.com/Machine-That-Changed-World-Revolution... Toyota Production System Beyond Large Scale https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Production-System-Beyond-Large... The Toyota Way https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Way-Management-Principles-Manu...…
on “Applying Lean Startup Principles in Organizations of All Sizes” ↗…lot of really good ideas embedded in it. I'm sure you can take it and distort it and come up with a monstrosity (like people do with "Agile") but the core stuff is really good. As noted by lemax, The Machine That Changed The World is a really good book on this topic. It's also interesting to note that a lot of the "Toyota" system was inspired by the teachings of an American, W. Edwards Deming. If I recall the story correctly,…
on “The Toyota Way” ↗…Secrets of Consulting. 7. How to structure organisations and processes to deliver maximum value: Reinertsen, Principles of Product Development Flow. Ward, Lean Product and Process Development. Womack, Machine That Changed the World. 8. How to innovate cheaply: Westrum, Sidewinder. 9. How to estimate things properly: Hubbard, How to Measure Anything. Tetlock, Superforecasting. Savage, The Flaw of Averages. 10. How to train people…
on “How I operated as a Staff engineer at Heroku (2020)” ↗With NUMMI closing down any day now, "The Machine that Changed the World" by Womack, et al (1990) is almost as relevant now as it was then. The book describes the management and product development techniques used in the Japanese-owned auto industry and how they contrast(ed)…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗…it that someone has read the primary sources or even referenced them. As a gentle introduction to the impact of engineering for quality, I give people copies James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones's The Machine That Changed the World : The Story of Lean Production. If this leads to questions for further study, I point them to Ohno and Deming. As for the topic of this thread, Root Cause analysis is only one method of problem solving…
on “The Cult of the Root Cause” ↗…print, is short, accessible, and enormously enlightening. Likewise, a comparative study of why the Toyota system works in comparison with other manufacturing approaches is the 2nd edition of Womack's "Machine that Changed the World". Also, other books by Shingo, Imai, Deming et al. have lots of good information.
on “Toyota's Takaoka #2 Line: The Most Flexible Line in the World” ↗Instead of (or possibly in addition to) "The Toyota Way", which seems to be listicle-fied, read "The Machine that Changed the World" by James Womack, Daniel Jones and Daniel Roos. It goes into deep detail and analysis of the way that the Toyota management principles infuse across the entire business.
on “Software engineering books” ↗Here are some histories of specific industries I've read recently and supremely enjoyed: - The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger - The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production-- Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry - Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the…
on “Ask HN: Good Books on the History of Technology?” ↗…for people calling workers "oxen". I feel I seldom hear in tech circles (on the internet at least) the empirical evidence around the Toyota Production System. Maybe I didn't either until I read "The machine that changed the world" by Womack, Jones, and Roos. It is a historical fact that Toyota produced higher quality with lower cost all through the 1980s vs their American competitors. In the same era at General Motors, CEO Roger…
on “America's advanced manufacturing problem and how to fix it” ↗…"you can't be everything to everyone". The authors push a model of choosing a market discipline to appeal to a certain type of customer, and making that discipline the core of your business. 8. The Machine That Changed The World. http://www.amazon.com/Machine-That-Changed-World-Revolutioni... Have you ever wondered what this "lean" stuff is all about? Or why Toyota is so revered by business leaders? Here's a good place to…
on “Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?” ↗I highly recommend the books "Toyota Production System" and "The Machine That Changed The World" for a background on the manufacturing cousin/ancestor of agile software development. I wish there were newer studies though that cover the rise of Hyundai/Kia quality in the last two decades. If you…
on “The Toyota Production System (2013)” ↗> I couldn’t help check off the sins against the “Toyota Bible”, prescriptions for car manufacturers that are lucidly detailed in The Machine That Changed The World (a great and, in parts, sad read). In particular, one mustn’t stockpile parts on the floor, they must be fed in small quantities at small time intervals. If a part has a problem, only a small quantity…
on “Tesla’s New Car Smell” ↗