[mcshaner1]

I'm sure this isn't what Graeham had in mind with this post, but I'll comment anyway: Steven Spear identifies rapid experimentation as one of Toyota's strengths, not necessarily in product development, but developing how they build the product. An example given in his book was checking to see if adjusting the height of a source of parts. Rather than welding it a new position, bolting it, or even using duct tape, the fastest way to check is to just hold it there. It's cheaper and faster. When you lower the costs (both money and time) of experimentation, learning happens more quickly. Or as this post puts it: "the more you can build quickly, the faster you can find what you don’t know"

Rapid prototyping/experimentation leads to rapid feedback, which in turn can lead to rapid learning.

[graeham]

Well put. Toyota's lean manufacturing was in fact what I had in mind when referring to the origins of the term. I wasn't familiar with that particular example, but was referring in general to Toyota's reputation for trying to reduce various forms of "waste" in their production.