May 2009

Smart Insights by Peter Ghavami

Peter Ghavami

IT executives are always looking to simplify and streamline processes and operations. A growing number are embracing lessons learned from the manufacturing industry, where practices such as Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma quality control have proven quite effective. Whether these methods are implemented individually or used together, advocates say they can help IT infuse a rigorous and pervasive engineering mindset into its operations and ultimately, throughout the organization.

All of these practices aim to cut costs while substantially improving the quality of services that IT delivers to internal customers. Improved productivity results from enforcing rigorous design and testing of all IT processes — from planning, designing and building new systems, to running them day by day, according to proponents.

In his recent book, Lean, Agile and Six Sigma Information Technology Management (2008, CreateSpace), Peter Ghavami offers a reference manual for IT executives who want to understand and adopt the methods. He also encourages readers to persuade other departments in their enterprises to implement the practices.

Ghavami writes that IT organizations employing Lean, Agile and Six Sigma methods "are on all measures of quality, delivery time, customer satisfaction, strategic achievement and return on investment (ROI) at least four to nine times more productive and effective than traditional IT organizations."

Ghavami is Director of Informatics at University of Washington Medicine - Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and a blogger on Lean-related topics. He recently spoke with Smart Enterprise Exchange about IT productivity.

Q: What do Lean and Agile manufacturing, and Six Sigma quality control, aim to accomplish and how might each be applied to enterprise IT?

A: Each practice has its own focus, but in general, they aim — in a rigorous, engineering-minded way — to improve the quality of finished products, or IT services, and thereby increase the value delivered to customers. The essence of this strategy is a determination to continually improve design, fabrication and maintenance processes, with the help of everyone involved.

As originally conceived by Toyota several decades ago, Lean manufacturing sought to identify and eliminate wasteful activities and idle inventory on the factory floor, which resulted in improved efficiency, increased product quality and lower costs. Today, IT executives need to do much the same thing.

IT's version of idle inventory consists of unfinished development projects that have consumed resources — a carrying cost — but have not yet yielded business value. Project delays are another source of waste, and so are the repeated trouble tickets for apps that were poorly designed in the first place. Lean methods encourage IT to seek out the root causes of these problems so that it can deliver the business value customers want.

IT executives are always looking to simplify and streamline processes and operations. A growing number are embracing lessons learned from the manufacturing industry, where practices such as Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma quality control have proven quite effective. Whether these methods are implemented individually or used together, advocates say they can help IT infuse a rigorous and pervasive engineering mindset into its operations and ultimately, throughout the organization.

All of these practices aim to cut costs while substantially improving the quality of services that IT delivers to internal customers. Improved productivity results from enforcing rigorous design and testing of all IT processes — from planning, designing and building new systems, to running them day by day, according to proponents.

Q: Can you provide a specific example of how work might change under Lean practices?

A: As in making cars, the processes of IT encompass many roles. One of the most important developments at Toyota was the work cell — a team of two or more people with crucial expertise who work together on a common work task or project. Chief among Lean's benefits are consistent, repeatable processes that yield predictable results. IT can follow this approach this, too. The key is not to change creative IT work into something mundane, but to change the concept — making the process repeatable. Standard tools, for instance, mean better processes.

Another example is MOP, or method of procedures, a Six Sigma technique developed in the telecommunications industry. A MOP is a one- or two-page instruction document that describes exactly how to perform a software patch or upgrade. Having this documentation helps to standardize the tasks.

Q: Can you cite an example of a business that's already using these methods in IT?

A: When Texas Instruments (TI) noticed it had 14 ERP systems around the world, it applied Lean practices to consolidate all of these into one ERP system and also to standardize more IT activities. TI settled on English as the standard language for its ERP, for instance, and adopted common part numbers worldwide. These things are not traditionally "IT work," but they are organizational, process-improvement work, and IT has to be at the table, working with the business to implement such drastic changes and productivity improvements.

Q: What about overhead? Will IT need additional resources to yield benefits from these practices?

A: No. In fact, these practices free up resources by eliminating wasteful activity. In the long run, you will actually gain quite a bit. Improved quality and productivity through Lean and Six Sigma reduce the amount of time spent on fixing problems and fighting fires. Without good documentation of processes, IT is wasting time looking around for things and shooting in the dark.

Q: What types of organizations will benefit the most?

A: Every size of IT organization can benefit from having someone on board who is familiar with design-for-quality and process control — a green belt or perhaps a full black-belt professional. Typically, large organizations running legacy apps will benefit most from Lean and Agile. Newer organizations starting on new projects will benefit from Agile and Six Sigma.

See related material: "Twelve Axioms of Lean, Agile and Six Sigma IT Management" and "The Methodologies in Brief" by Paula Klein.

Ask the Expert

Peter Ghavami
peter.ghavami@smartenterpriseexchange.com

Peter Ghavami is Director of Informatics, University of Washington - Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He has 20 years' experience in software and product development and in managing projects and development teams. He blogs at ITManagementResearch.com and is the author of, Lean, Agile and Six Sigma Information Technology Management (2008, CreateSpace).

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