Lean IT: Enabling and Sustaining Your Lean Transformation

Book Review by: Steven Bonacorsi, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, ITIL Master, Honorary Advisor to the International Six Sigma Council, Agilest, and Founder of the Lean Six Sigma Group. Chapter 1: Why Does Lean IT Matter? The authors outline the key disconnects in areas such as the lack of iIntegration and synchronization between IT and the business as caused by unnecessary complexity. I cannot agree more, as the business complexity increases with supply chains, mergers and acquisitions;, various as changes in customer and employee needs increaseaccelerate, soas does the complexity of information systems increase. Lean IT engages people, using the framework of lean principles, systems, and tools, to align and synchronize the IT Organization with the business to provide quality information, supported by fast and effective information systems that are accurate and complete. Lean IT outlines how Information Technology systems can change quickly to respond to rapidly changing customer and business requirements. Chapter 2: Foundations of Lean The authors outline three ages of Lean: bBeginning in 1890 with the Age of Scientific Management and Frederic Taylor, Henry Ford, then on to The Age of Engagement following World War 2 with Edward Deming, Joseph Juran, Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, and the Toyota Production System, thru 1995 to the Age of Integration with the evolution of Lean and Six Sigma. The Authors clearly cover the Lean Principles, in that they are about fixing processes, not people, for fact-based improvements. Kaizen, culture, Value Stream Mapping (using IT Examples), A3 thinking, and the 7 Wastes are all covered in addition to many other Lean tools and methods, specifically used in IT. Chapter 3: The Lean IT and Business Partnership The Authors recognize that Traditional IT organizational practices typically move slowly and carefully to avoid instability and business disruption, while Lean encourages every individual to notice and fix problems by making small improvements each and every day. System life cycle and legacy systems are compared to a maturity model such as CMMI, ISO, ITIL, Prince 2, or SCOR. Information Waste and Quality is explored and the Authors clarify ways to identify and measure the waste, including how to identify Green Lean and IT and how environmental consequences can be minimized. An extensive list of Information Wastes is provided in the appendix, which may be useful to the reader to spot such wastes within their own environment. Chapter 4: Lean IT and Business Process Improvement Information Technology’s role as a catalyst in business process improvement to bridge functional silos is discussed in detail, with the convergence with of strategy, IT Systems, and Lean Thinking. The balance between Efficiency and Agile flexibility is reviewed so that information is provided at the right time, in the right format, to the right audience. Leveraging best practices and benchmarking aide in comparing current processes using effective and compliant measurements. Business Process Management (BPM) is reviewed but a real gem in the book is the prioritizing process improvement with strategy, including Innovation processes that reinvent the business and establish differentiation in the eyes of the customer. Chapter 5: Lean IT Lessons Learned from Lean Manufacturing: Flow and Pull This is a deep dive into the Lean tools and methods, such as Information Kanban, Demand planning and Management, Scheduling, Line Balancing, Constraints in flow, and workflow capacity. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) are is outlined with examples on how to respond when demand exceeds capacity. Chapter 6: Lean Management Systems The authors point out that most Lean transformations efforts are unable to sustain themselves over time as organizations lose momentum and regress to familiar, wasteful behaviors. The success of a Lean management system relies on collaboration and a smooth flow of quality information. The section on Communication and Knowledge management