Rebecca Duray

This book is for IT practitioners who are looking for a basic and fundamental introduction to use of Lean concepts and practices. It provides practical guidance on how these challenges and issues can be addressed using Lean and how, in application of Lean practices, you can help to make positive improvements within your organization. To that end, the book is written to be an easy-to-understand introduction to Lean for IT, with practices, tools and techniques that are easy-to-apply in everyday IT operational environments. Specifically, it applies Lean Thinking to problems and challenges frequently encountered in typical IT operations. It is a practical guide that requires no prior understanding of Lean. The authors discuss the use of relatively simple tools and techniques that embrace the principles of Lean Thinking that can be readily comprehended and applied in everyday IT environments. This book helps you understand how Lean practices can improve the work that you do in IT. It is this focus on work, and how to do work, that will help you understand the power of Lean in the service of improving how work gets done. The focus is on work is because it is in the work itself where we create value for customers and, quite often, waste and inefficiency in its performance. In addition, the authors emphasize the importance of identifying, understanding and solving problems you encounter in your IT organizations. Concepts and practices are presented in such a way that you can leverage basic skills and then, through application of Lean Thinking concepts, develop greater confidence in the use of these and other tools to apply in your work environment. In addition , the book addresses how to deal with failure, specifically failure in the attempt to improve work or to implement solutions to problems we encounter. This might also include failure in implementing Lean solutions. By looking at 'how we fail' and 'why we fail,' ill help you to recognize and explain failure, explore how to deal with failure and, most importantly, how to learn from failure. Failure in this sense is a classic learning tool. When a solution fails, it may be that it was a poor solution. But more likely, the solution was solving the wrong problem!

Making IT Lean: Applying Lean Practices to the Work of IT presents Lean concepts and techniques for improving processes and eliminating waste in IT operations and IT Service Management, in a manner that is easy to understand. The authors provide a context for discussing several areas of application within this domain, allowing you to quickly gain insight into IT processes and Lean principles. The text reviews IT Service Management, with reference to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) as a framework for best practices explaining how to use it to accommodate Lean processes and operations. Filled with straightforward examples, it provides enough modeling tools so you can start your Lean journey right away. Examining the work of IT from an IT practitioner perspective, the book includes coverage of: The OM Perspective considers the work of IT from an Operations Management (OM) perspective, showing how many of the concepts that have been successfully applied within manufacturing can be applied to IT The Lean Improvement Model explains Lean concepts and practices and details the authors Lean improvement model Lean Problem-Solving (Identifying and Understanding Problems) considers operational work in IT and explains how to apply Lean practices related to problem identification and root cause analysis Lean Problem-Solving (Identifying and Managing Solutions) describes how to use good problem identification as the basis for identifying the right solutions Lean IT Service Management examines IT work from an IT Service Management perspective, using the ITIL framework as a guide Implementing and Sustaining Lean IT Improvements explains how to implement and sustain Lean IT improvements Throughout the book, the authors use a simple model for Lean Improvement as the framework

Making IT Lean: Applying Lean Practices to the Work of IT presents Lean concepts and techniques for improving processes and eliminating waste in IT operations and IT Service Management, in a manner that is easy to understand. The authors provide a context for discussing several areas of application within this domain, allowing you to quickly gain insight into IT processes and Lean principles. The text reviews IT Service Management, with reference to the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) as a framework for best practices—explaining how to use it to accommodate Lean processes and operations. Filled with straightforward examples, it provides enough modeling tools so you can start your Lean journey right away. Examining the work of IT from an IT practitioner perspective, the book includes coverage of: The OM Perspective—considers the work of IT from an Operations Management (OM) perspective, showing how many of the concepts that have been successfully applied within manufacturing can be applied to IT The Lean Improvement Model—explains Lean concepts and practices and details the authors’ Lean improvement model Lean Problem-Solving (Identifying and Understanding Problems)—considers operational work in IT and explains how to apply Lean practices related to problem identification and root cause analysis Lean Problem-Solving (Identifying and Managing Solutions)—describes how to use good problem identification as the basis for identifying the right solutions Lean IT Service Management—examines IT work from an IT Service Management perspective, using the ITIL® framework as a guide Implementing and Sustaining Lean IT Improvements—explains how to implement and sustain Lean IT improvementsThroughout the book, the authors use a simple model for Lean Improvement as the framework for communicating practical guidance on identifying and understanding problems, as well as identifying, implementing, managing, and improving solutions. Emphasizing alignment with core Lean concepts, such as A3 Thinking and Plan Do Check Act, it introduces concepts in a manner that allows you to take away small bits at a time and immediately apply them in your IT operations. Exploring the notion that any IT organization can benefit from the application of Lean, the text supplies you with virtually limitless opportunities for improvement in your IT organization.