In part 1 of this series, we described the fundamentals of the Lean Startup approach and how it can be applied to creating digital twins. In this article, we’ll look at the practical application of this approach to develop a Lean Digital Twin.
The first phase of the approach minimizes development effort as it focuses on identifying key business issues that can be addressed with a digital twin by describing the overall solution in an easy-to-understand manner. It is referred to as the problem/solution fit phase of the Lean Startup methodology.
The second phase of the approach defines a minimum viable digital twin (MVDT) based on the problem/solution statement from the previous phase. The MVDT is used to validate and verify assumptions and hypotheses made during the problem/solution assessment. The MVDT may undergo multiple iterations to demonstrate a digital twin/business fit. This is derived from the product/market fit in the Lean Startup approach. This is best accomplished with agile development tools that allows subject matter experts to quickly change elements of the MVDT.
Once an MVDT hypothesis has been validated and verified, the digital twin can be scaled for full production applications and lifecycle.
These first two phases are focused on validated learning based on iterations and potentially pivoting the digital twin application as new learning emerges.