<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
the	O
extension	O
of	O
lean	O
manufacturing	O
and	O
lean	O
services	O
principles	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
and	O
management	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
products	O
and	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
poses	O
significant	O
challenges	O
for	O
practitioners	O
while	O
raising	O
the	O
promise	O
of	O
no	O
less	O
significant	O
benefits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
whereas	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
initiatives	O
can	O
be	O
limited	O
in	O
scope	O
and	O
deliver	O
results	O
quickly	O
,	O
implementing	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
a	O
continuing	O
and	O
long-term	O
process	O
that	O
may	O
take	O
years	O
before	O
lean	O
principles	O
become	O
intrinsic	O
to	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
culture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
the	O
migration	O
by	O
businesses	O
across	O
virtually	O
every	O
industry	O
sector	O
towards	O
greater	O
use	O
of	O
online	O
or	O
e-business	B-Application
services	O
suggests	O
a	O
likely	O
intensified	O
interest	O
in	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
as	O
the	O
IT	O
function	O
becomes	O
intrinsic	O
to	O
businesses’	O
primary	O
activities	O
of	O
delivering	O
value	O
to	O
their	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consultants	O
and	O
evangelists	O
for	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
identify	O
an	O
abundance	O
of	O
waste	O
across	O
the	O
business	O
service	O
“	O
production	O
line	O
”	O
,	O
including	O
legacy	O
infrastructure	O
and	O
fractured	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
reducing	O
waste	O
through	O
application	O
of	O
lean	O
Enterprise	B-Application
IT	I-Application
Management	I-Application
(	O
EITM	O
)	O
strategies	O
,	O
CIOs	O
and	O
CTOs	O
in	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Tesco	O
,	O
Fujitsu	O
Services	O
,	O
and	O
TransUnion	O
are	O
driving	O
IT	O
from	O
the	O
confines	O
of	O
a	O
back-office	O
support	O
function	O
to	O
a	O
central	O
role	O
in	O
delivering	O
customer	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
promises	O
to	O
identify	O
and	O
eradicate	O
waste	O
that	O
otherwise	O
contributes	O
to	O
poor	O
customer	O
service	O
,	O
lost	O
business	O
,	O
higher	O
than	O
necessary	O
business	O
costs	O
,	O
and	O
lost	O
employee	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
these	O
ends	O
,	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
targets	O
eight	O
elements	O
within	O
IT	O
operations	O
that	O
add	O
no	O
value	O
to	O
the	O
finished	O
product	O
or	O
service	O
or	O
to	O
the	O
parent	O
organization	O
(	O
see	O
Table	O
1	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
+Table	O
1	O
–	O
Targets	O
of	O
waste	O
in	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
Waste	O
element	O
Examples	O
Business	O
outcome	O
Defects	O
Unauthorized	O
system	O
and	O
application	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
faulty	O
load	B-Application
balancer	I-Application
(	O
waste	O
element	O
:	O
Defects	O
)	O
that	O
increases	O
web	B-Application
server	I-Application
response	O
time	O
may	O
cause	O
a	O
lengthy	O
wait	O
for	O
users	O
of	O
a	O
web	O
application	O
(	O
waste	O
element	O
:	O
Waiting	O
)	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
excessive	O
demand	O
on	O
the	O
customer	O
support	O
call	O
center	O
(	O
waste	O
element	O
:	O
Excess	O
Motion	O
)	O
and	O
,	O
potentially	O
,	O
subsequent	O
visits	O
by	O
account	O
representatives	O
to	O
key	O
customers’	O
sites	O
to	O
quell	O
concerns	O
about	O
the	O
service	O
availability	O
(	O
waste	O
element	O
:	O
Transportation	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
meantime	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
most	O
likely	O
responses	O
to	O
this	O
problem	O
—	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
introducing	O
additional	O
server	O
capacity	O
and/or	O
redundant	O
load	B-Application
balancing	I-Application
software	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
hiring	O
extra	O
customer	O
support	O
agents	O
—	O
may	O
contribute	O
yet	O
more	O
waste	O
elements	O
(	O
Overprovisioning	O
and	O
Excess	O
Inventory	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
IT	O
,	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
are	O
the	O
services	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
IT	O
function	O
to	O
the	O
parent	O
organization	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
customers	O
,	O
suppliers	O
,	O
employees	O
,	O
investors	O
,	O
regulators	O
,	O
the	O
media	O
,	O
and	O
any	O
other	O
stakeholders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
services	O
(	O
primary	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	O
services	O
(	O
secondary	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
distinction	O
between	O
primary	O
and	O
secondary	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
is	O
meaningful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
's	O
objective	O
of	O
reducing	O
waste	O
,	O
where	O
waste	O
is	O
work	O
that	O
adds	O
no	O
value	O
to	O
a	O
product	O
or	O
service	O
,	O
IT	O
services	O
are	O
secondary	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
IT	O
services	O
are	O
tributaries	O
that	O
feed	O
and	O
nourish	O
the	O
primary	O
business	O
service	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
,	O
like	O
its	O
lean	O
manufacturing	O
counterpart	O
,	O
involves	O
a	O
methodology	O
of	O
value-stream	O
mapping	O
—	O
diagramming	O
and	O
analyzing	O
services	O
(	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
)	O
into	O
their	O
component	O
process	O
steps	O
and	O
eliminating	O
any	O
steps	O
(	O
or	O
even	O
entire	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
)	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
deliver	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
server	O
provisioning	O
process	O
may	O
carry	O
little	O
or	O
no	O
inventory	O
(	O
a	O
waste	O
element	O
in	O
Table	O
1	O
above	O
)	O
with	O
labor	O
and	O
materials	O
flowing	O
smoothly	O
into	O
and	O
through	O
the	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
if	O
that	O
language	O
lacks	O
an	O
API	B-General_Concept
standard	O
by	O
which	O
business	O
partners	O
may	O
access	O
the	O
code	O
,	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
mura	O
will	O
expose	O
this	O
otherwise	O
hidden	O
source	O
of	O
waste	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Implementation	O
begins	O
with	O
identification	O
and	O
description	O
of	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
IT	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
aided	O
by	O
use	O
of	O
interviews	O
and	O
questionnaires	O
,	O
the	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
for	O
a	O
primary	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
such	O
as	O
a	O
point-of-sale	O
business	O
service	O
may	O
be	O
described	O
as	O
shown	O
in	O
Table	O
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
identified	O
and	O
described	O
a	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
,	O
implementation	O
usually	O
proceeds	O
with	O
construction	O
of	O
a	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
map	O
—	O
a	O
pictorial	O
representation	O
of	O
the	O
flow	O
of	O
information	O
,	O
beginning	O
with	O
an	O
initial	O
demand	O
request	O
or	O
pull	O
and	O
progressing	O
up	O
the	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
are	O
not	O
as	O
readily	O
visualizable	O
as	O
their	O
counterparts	O
in	O
lean	O
manufacturing	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
flow	O
of	O
materials	O
is	O
more	O
tangible	O
,	O
systems	O
engineers	O
and	O
IT	O
consultants	O
are	O
practiced	O
in	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
schematics	O
to	O
represent	O
information	O
flow	O
through	O
an	O
IT	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
this	O
end	O
,	O
they	O
may	O
use	O
productivity	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Visio	I-Application
and	O
computer-aided	B-Application
design	I-Application
(	O
CAD	B-Application
)	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
alternative	O
is	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
configuration	B-Application
management	I-Application
database	I-Application
(	O
CMDB	B-Application
)	O
,	O
which	O
describes	O
the	O
authorized	O
configuration	O
of	O
the	O
significant	O
components	O
of	O
an	O
IT	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workload	O
automation	O
software	O
,	O
which	O
helps	O
IT	O
organizations	O
optimize	O
real-time	O
performance	O
of	O
complex	O
business	O
workloads	O
across	O
diverse	O
IT	O
infrastructures	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
application	O
dependency	O
mapping	O
tools	O
can	O
be	O
an	O
additional	O
help	O
in	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
mapping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
mapping	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
,	O
engineers	O
and	O
consultants	O
analyze	O
the	O
stream(s )	O
for	O
sources	O
of	O
waste	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
likely	O
outcomes	O
are	O
methods	O
such	O
as	O
process	O
redesign	O
,	O
the	O
establishment	O
of	O
“	O
load-balanced	B-Application
”	O
workgroups	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
cross-training	O
of	O
software	O
developers	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
diverse	O
projects	O
according	O
to	O
changing	O
business	O
needs	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
performance	O
management	O
“	O
dashboards	O
”	O
to	O
track	O
project	O
and	O
business	O
performance	O
and	O
highlight	O
trouble	O
spots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
can	O
expect	O
to	O
garner	O
support	O
during	O
economic	O
downturns	O
as	O
business	O
leaders	O
seek	O
initiatives	O
that	O
deliver	O
more	O
enduring	O
value	O
than	O
is	O
achievable	O
through	O
reactive	O
and	O
generalized	O
cost-cutting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
initiatives	O
are	O
accordingly	O
becoming	O
less	O
of	O
a	O
peripheral	O
interest	O
and	O
more	O
of	O
an	O
interest	O
that	O
is	O
intrinsic	O
to	O
the	O
core	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
not	O
born	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
motivations	O
,	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
initiatives	O
are	O
congruent	O
with	O
a	O
broad	O
movement	O
towards	O
conservation	O
and	O
waste	O
reduction	O
,	O
often	O
characterized	O
as	O
green	O
policies	O
and	O
practices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
identification	O
and	O
streamlining	O
of	O
IT	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
supports	O
the	O
measurement	O
and	O
improvement	O
of	O
carbon	O
footprints	O
and	O
other	O
green	O
metrics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
implementation	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
initiatives	O
is	O
likely	O
to	O
save	O
energy	O
through	O
adoption	O
of	O
virtualization	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
and	O
data	B-Application
center	I-Application
consolidation	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
lean	O
manufacturing	O
,	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
principles	O
and	O
methods	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
derive	O
,	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
depends	O
upon	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
that	O
are	O
digital	O
and	O
intangible	O
rather	O
than	O
physical	O
and	O
tangible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
renders	O
difficult	O
the	O
visualization	O
of	O
IT	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
and	O
hence	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
practitioners	O
of	O
lean	O
manufacturing	O
can	O
apply	O
visual	O
management	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
kanban	O
cards	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Toyota	O
Production	O
System	O
,	O
practitioners	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
must	O
use	O
enterprise	B-Application
IT	I-Application
management	I-Application
tools	O
to	O
help	O
visualize	O
and	O
analyze	O
the	O
more	O
abstract	O
context	O
of	O
IT	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
an	O
emerging	O
area	O
in	O
IT	O
management	O
(	O
see	O
Deployment	O
and	O
Commercial	O
Support	O
)	O
,	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
has	O
relatively	O
few	O
reference	O
implementations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
conclusions	O
or	O
recommendations	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
initiatives	O
are	O
likely	O
to	O
demand	O
organizational	O
,	O
operational	O
,	O
and/or	O
behavioral	O
changes	O
that	O
may	O
meet	O
with	O
resistance	O
from	O
workers	O
,	O
managers	O
,	O
and	O
even	O
senior	O
executives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
recommendation	O
to	O
introduce	O
flexible	O
staffing	O
whereby	O
application	O
development	O
and	O
maintenance	O
managers	O
share	O
personnel	O
is	O
often	O
met	O
with	O
resistance	O
by	O
individual	O
managers	O
who	O
may	O
have	O
relied	O
on	O
certain	O
people	O
for	O
many	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unfortunately	O
,	O
fragmented	O
efforts	O
at	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
contribute	O
little	O
benefit	O
because	O
they	O
lack	O
the	O
integration	O
necessary	O
to	O
manage	O
cumulative	O
waste	O
across	O
the	O
value	O
chain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
this	O
end	O
,	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
consultants	O
have	O
recently	O
proposed	O
so-called	O
lean	O
consumption	O
of	O
products	O
and	O
services	O
as	O
a	O
complement	O
to	O
lean	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Deployment	O
of	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
has	O
been	O
predominantly	O
limited	O
to	O
application	O
development	O
and	O
maintenance	O
(	O
ADM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
light	O
,	O
the	O
potential	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
to	O
increase	O
productivity	O
by	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
40%	O
while	O
improving	O
the	O
quality	O
and	O
speed	O
of	O
execution	O
makes	O
ADM	O
a	O
primary	O
target	O
within	O
the	O
IT	O
department	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Opportunity	O
to	O
apply	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
exists	O
in	O
multiple	O
other	O
areas	O
of	O
IT	O
besides	O
ADM	O
.	O
For	O
example	O
,	O
service	B-Application
catalog	I-Application
management	O
is	O
a	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
approach	O
to	O
provisioning	O
IT	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
particular	O
employee	O
may	O
need	O
a	O
CAD	B-Application
workstation	I-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
standard	O
office	O
productivity	O
software	O
and	O
limited	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
extranet	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
submitting	O
this	O
request	O
,	O
provisioning	O
of	O
all	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
requirements	O
would	O
then	O
be	O
automatic	O
through	O
a	O
lean	O
value	B-Architecture
stream	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
another	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
approach	O
to	O
application	O
performance	O
monitoring	O
would	O
automatically	O
detect	O
performance	O
issues	O
at	O
the	O
customer	O
experience	O
level	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
triage	O
,	O
notify	O
support	O
personnel	O
,	O
and	O
collect	O
data	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
root-cause	O
analysis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
notable	O
corporate	O
examples	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
adopters	O
is	O
UK-based	O
grocer	O
Tesco	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
entered	O
into	O
strategic	O
partnerships	O
with	O
many	O
of	O
its	O
suppliers	O
,	O
including	O
Procter	O
&	O
Gamble	O
,	O
Unilever	O
,	O
and	O
Coca-Cola	O
,	O
eventually	O
succeeding	O
in	O
replacing	O
weekly	O
shipments	O
with	O
continuous	O
deliveries	O
throughout	O
the	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
also	O
attracting	O
public-sector	O
interest	O
,	O
in-keeping	O
with	O
the	O
waste-reduction	O
aims	O
of	O
the	O
lean	O
government	O
movement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
City	O
of	O
Cape	O
Coral	O
,	O
Florida	O
,	O
where	O
several	O
departments	O
have	O
deployed	O
lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
typically	O
entails	O
particular	O
principles	O
and	O
methods	O
such	O
as	O
value	B-Architecture
streams	I-Architecture
and	O
value-stream	O
mapping	O
,	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
,	O
on	O
a	O
higher	O
level	O
,	O
a	O
philosophy	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
prescribed	O
metric	O
or	O
process	O
methodology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
pragmatic	O
and	O
agnostic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agile	O
software	O
development	O
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
software	O
development	O
methods	O
that	O
originated	O
as	O
a	O
response	O
for	O
the	O
indiscriminated	O
use	O
of	O
CMMI	O
,	O
RUP	B-Application
and	O
PMBOK	O
creating	O
fat	O
and	O
slow	O
software	O
development	O
processes	O
that	O
normally	O
increased	O
the	O
lead	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
work	O
in	O
progress	O
and	O
non-value	O
added/value	O
added	O
activities	O
ratio	O
on	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
focuses	O
on	O
customer	O
satisfaction	O
and	O
reducing	O
waste	O
,	O
Six	O
Sigma	O
focuses	O
on	O
removing	O
the	O
causes	O
of	O
defects	O
(	O
errors	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
variation	O
(	O
inconsistency	O
)	O
in	O
manufacturing	O
and	O
business	O
processes	O
using	O
quality	O
management	O
and	O
,	O
especially	O
,	O
statistical	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Six	O
Sigma	O
is	O
more	O
oriented	O
around	O
two	O
particular	O
methods	O
(	O
DMAIC	O
and	O
DMADV	O
)	O
,	O
whereas	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
employs	O
a	O
portfolio	O
of	O
tools	O
and	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
differences	O
notwithstanding	O
,	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
may	O
be	O
readily	O
combined	O
with	O
Six	O
Sigma	O
such	O
that	O
the	O
latter	O
brings	O
statistical	O
rigor	O
to	O
measurement	O
of	O
the	O
former	O
's	O
outcomes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
unlike	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
,	O
CMMI	O
(	O
and	O
other	O
process	O
models	O
)	O
does	O
n't	O
directly	O
address	O
sources	O
of	O
waste	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
alignment	O
between	O
business	O
units	O
and	O
the	O
IT	O
function	O
or	O
unnecessary	O
architectural	O
complexity	O
within	O
a	O
software	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
again	O
entirely	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
objectives	O
and	O
methods	O
of	O
Lean	B-Application
IT	I-Application
.	O
</s>
