Table Of ContentContents Contents
The Lean IT Expert
Leading the Transformation
to High Performance IT
The Lean IT Expert
Leading the Transformation
to High Performance IT
By
Niels Loader
A PRODUCTIVITY PRESS BOOK
First edition published in 2019
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© 2019 by Niels Loader
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Names: Loader, Niels, author.
Title: The lean IT expert : leading the transformation to high performance IT
/ Niels Loa.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York : Taylor & Francis, [2019] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018030495 (print) | LCCN 2018034202 (ebook) | ISBN
9780429506369 (e-Book) | ISBN 9781138549524 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Total quality management. | Information
technology--Management. | Six sigma (Quality control standard)
Classification: LCC HD62.15 (ebook) | LCC HD62.15 .L64 2019 (print) | DDC
004.068/4--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018030495
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
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Contents
Foreword ................................................................................................ix
Preface ....................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments ................................................................................xv
Introduction: Transformation ...........................................................xvii
PART I The Goal
Chapter 1 Lean IT ................................................................................3
Chapter 2 The IT Context ...................................................................7
Chapter 3 Lean IT Transformation ..................................................17
Chapter 4 The Basics of Lean. ...........................................................21
Lean Principles – Part 1 ............................................................24
Waste ...........................................................................................26
The Value of Activities ..............................................................27
Lean Principles – Part 2 ...........................................................28
Jidoka ......................................................................................29
Just-In-Time ..........................................................................30
Kaizen .....................................................................................31
Respect for People .................................................................32
Chapter 5 Lean IT and Its Relations. ................................................35
Chapter 6 Becoming Lean .................................................................43
v
vi • Contents
PART II Starting Out
Chapter 7 The First Steps ..................................................................49
Chapter 8 Ways to Start.....................................................................55
Visual Management in Teams..................................................55
Problem-Solving .......................................................................64
Training ......................................................................................66
Chapter 9 Leadership Awakens.........................................................69
Performance ...............................................................................69
Commit .......................................................................................76
Chapter 10 Transformation Plan ........................................................81
Leadership Transformation ......................................................82
Team Transformation ...............................................................83
Continuous Improvement .......................................................86
Roles .............................................................................................87
Chapter 11 Transforming to Lean IT .................................................91
Stages of Transformation ..........................................................95
Chapter 12 Change Story ....................................................................99
PART III Leadership Transformation
Chapter 13 The Challenge for Leaders .............................................105
Chapter 14 Before Starting the Leadership Transformation ...........111
Chapter 15 Change Story: Revisited .................................................115
Chapter 16 Fulfilling the Commitment ...........................................133
Contents • vii
Chapter 17 Go See .............................................................................149
Chapter 18 Control ............................................................................163
Chapter 19 Organizing for Flow ....................................................... 181
Chapter 20 Leadership Kaizen ..........................................................191
Chapter 21 High Performance Team ................................................197
PART IV Team Transformation
Chapter 22 Getting Teams Prepared ................................................207
Chapter 23 Analyzing a Team. .......................................................... 213
Week 1 .......................................................................................213
Week 2 .......................................................................................232
Week 3 ......................................................................................247
Week 4 ......................................................................................266
Chapter 24 Implementing .................................................................277
PART V Continuous Improvement
Chapter 25 Improving .......................................................................303
Communicating .......................................................................314
Chapter 26 Investigating Problems ..................................................323
Defining the Problem ..............................................................323
Measuring the Problem...........................................................336
Finding the Cause ...................................................................345
viii • Contents
Chapter 27 Embedding Solutions .....................................................357
Getting to Solutions .................................................................357
Embedding the Improvements .............................................363
Chapter 28 The Road Goes On .........................................................373
References. ...........................................................................................375
Glossary ...............................................................................................377
Appendix A: Lean IT Foundation Syllabus ......................................391
Appendix B: Lean IT Kaizen Syllabus ...............................................397
Appendix C: Lean IT Leadership Syllabus. .......................................405
Index ....................................................................................................411
Foreword
When I first coauthored the book Lean IT: Enabling and Sustaining
Your Lean Transformation, I could never have imagined the impact the
application of Lean thinking might have on IT professionals around the
world. Today Lean IT is well known and embraced alongside Service
Management, Agile and DevOps. At the core of these disciplines are the
ideas and methods of Lean Manufacturing, which can be traced back
hundreds of years.
An early mentor of mine once said to me, “All of Lean can be summarized
as follows: to create and manage the flow of customer value.” As a practitioner
of Lean in the IT space for over 25 years, I have come to understand the
great wisdom in these simple words. But understanding concepts such as
customer value and flow do not always position us to effectively manage or
drive enterprise-wide transformation. Often the challenge is on our focus:
when we lead with tools (e.g., value stream maps, A3s, leader standard
work, visual boards, etc.) we lose focus on what we are trying to create and
why we are creating it. But continuous improvement methods and tools
are not enough to create an authentic, lasting change in an organization’s
culture. So what is needed? At its heart, Lean IT is about People, Process
and Technology in that specific order.
Countless Lean IT, Service Management, Agile and DevOps initiatives
have overpromised and underdelivered because too much emphasis was
placed on tools and bottom-line results around cost reduction. True
transformation emphasizes the journey as much as the finish-line results.
In fact, there is no end point. I like to say, “Transformation is a verb, not a
noun!” A key takeaway of this book is the emphasis on behavior and the
critical importance of reinforcing the change you are trying to achieve.
This seems like an obvious point, but it is often missed as we grasp the
shiny new ideas and tools of Lean.
A Lean IT transformation is really a misnomer because an IT
transformation is a business transformation. IT impacts every element of
the value stream including stakeholders, the business, partners, vendors,
suppliers, internal users, external customers and customers’ customers.
Radical changes to the way we approach the work of IT mean radical
changes to the way everyone works.
ix
