Dr. Allen Ward

"The foremost U.S. expert on lean development." -- James Womack

Although many have studied the Toyota Product Development System, few understood it as well as Allen. It is one thing to identify the characteristics that differ from most other organizations; it is entirely another to understand why those characteristics make the differences they do. And since it is generally not possible (or even reasonable) to duplicate Toyota's Product Development System in every company, it is critical to understand why it works in order to leverage that knowledge in your company. Based on a decade of direct research at Toyota, Allen provided us tremendous insight into what is important and why it works. In that sense, we are standing on his shoulders now.

Beyond that, Allen was a good friend. Our community suffered a great loss when Allen's plane went down in Michigan. We all extend our condolences to Allen's family and his many friends; and we extend our gratitude to him for all he did for the world prior to his departure.