Identifying Lean Waste in the Development Pipeline of an In-game 2D Map

Sammanfattning

Lean software development is an approach that focuses on identifying and removing unnecessary processes that occur within a pipeline that add no value to the end product. It adapts ideas from lean manufacturing and the Toyota production system for use within the software space, and is ideal for streamlining pipelines. In this paper, the development pipeline of a two-dimensional in-game map is analyzed through the lens of the first principle of lean software development, ’eliminate waste’. Lean waste is identified and measured in order to identify problem areas within the pipeline that can be improved upon in order to streamline the pipeline and highlight issues. Additionally, value stream mapping is used to aid in the visualization of the pipeline and waste identification. The integration of in-game maps within video games serves as an integral component for navigation and gameplay enhancement, assisting the player with identifying their location and marking crucial locations. As the map functions as a relatively contained element of the gameplay, the development of video game maps parallels a small-scale version of the overall game development pipeline. The map development pipeline can be summarized with the following seven subtasks; add features to the prototype tool, export heightmap and watermask, generate map using the prototype tool, render map in game, connect map to UI, export road information, and add roads to map. Throughout development, three types of lean waste were identified: waiting, defects, and motion. Of these, defects proved to be the most significant, accounting for 48% of development time, while motion and waiting consumed 9% and 7% of pipeline time, respectively. The suggested solutions to decrease waste in this pipeline involve testing and improving important tools frequently, writing better and more coherent documentations, as well as removing documents of poor quality.