New Book Provides the First Comprehensive and Definitive Resource on Lean IT

Sept. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- An IT organization is expected to "align with the business." That is, IT is supposed to enable business performance and innovation, improve service levels, manage change, take advantage of emerging technologies, and maintain quality and stability, all while steadily reducing operating costs. Yet when an enterprise begins a Lean transformation, too often the IT department is either left out or viewed as an obstacle. What is to be done? This book shares practical tips, examples, and case studies to help you establish a culture of continuous improvement to deliver IT operational excellence and business value to your organization.

•   Provides the first comprehensive and definitive resource on Lean IT
•   Offers tools, methods, and metrics supported by practical examples and case studies
•   Addresses the intersection of Lean, Six Sigma, and Information Systems
•   Illustrates how to apply the principles of Lean to IT operations to achieve improved quality and performance

Endorsements

“...will have a permanent place in my bookshelf. In my ten-year study of high performing IT organizations, I’ve found that businesses rely on IT far more than they think. The impacts of poor flow from application development into IT operations can be devastating: ever-increasing cycle times and amounts of rework, and an ever-increasing amount of heroics required in IT operations to preserve the illusion of stability and reliability.”
—Gene Kim, Chief Technology Officer, Tripwire, Inc.  

“There has never been a more critical time to improve how IT integrates with the global business enterprise. This book provides an unprecedented look at the role that Lean IT will play in making this revolutionary shift and the critical steps for sustained success.”
—Steve Castellanos, Lean Enterprise Director, Nike, Inc.

“Twenty years from now the firms which dominate their industries will have fully embraced Lean strategies throughout their IT organizations. Ten years from now those organizations will have started pulling ahead of their competitors as the result of Lean IT. Today this book will show those organizations the path they need to start out on. Will your organization be one of them?”
—Scott W. Ambler, Chief Methodologist for Agile and Lean, IBM Rational

“This book goes both wide and deep in its exploration of Lean IT… a great survival manual for those needing nimble and adaptive systems.”
—Dr. David Labby, MD, PhD, Medical Director and Director of Clinical Support and Innovation, CareOregon

“… makes a major contribution in an often-ignored but much-needed area. It ranges over a huge area – including excellent case studies – that will bring IT professionals into the Lean fold while enabling Lean managers to reach out to the IT organization.”
—John Bicheno, Program Director MS in Lean Operations, Cardiff University

About the Authors

Steve Bell, CFPIM brings over twenty years' experience in finance, operations management and information systems. He is the author of Lean Enterprise Systems, Using IT for Continuous Improvement. (2006)

Mike Orzen, CMA, CFPIM, PMP delivers a unique blend of IT, operations management, Lean, Six Sigma, and project management. With a BA from Stanford University in economics and an MBA from the University of Oregon, Mike has been consulting, coaching, and teaching for over 20 years.

Steve and Mike are faculty members of the Lean Enterprise Institute. Together, the authors combine their experience in information systems and process improvement to share their lessons learned.

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Productivity Press is a premier source of authoritative information on organizational development offering the broadest selection of books and learning tools about lean methodologies, based on the Toyota Production System. http://www.productivitypress.com