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Implement Lean Management Practices That Work

Increase transparency, alignment, team engagement, and customer satisfaction with a few simple Lean concepts.

  • Service delivery teams do not measure, or have difficulty demonstrating, the value they provide.
  • There is a lack of continuous improvement.
  • There is low morale within the IT teams leading to low productivity.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Create a problem-solving culture. Frequent problem solving is the differentiator between sustaining Lean or falling back to old management methods.
  • Commit to employee growth. Empower teams to problem solve and multiply your organizational effectiveness.

Impact and Result

  • Apply Lean management principles to IT to create alignment and transparency and drive continuous improvement and customer value.
  • Implement huddles and visual management.
  • Build team capabilities.
  • Focus on customer value.
  • Use metrics and data to make better decisions.
  • Systematically solve problems and improve performance.
  • Develop an operating rhythm to promote adherence to Lean.


Implement Lean Management Practices That Work Research & Tools

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out how a Lean management system can help you increase transparency, demonstrate value, engage your teams and customers, continuously improve, and create alignment.

1. Understand Lean concepts

Understand what a Lean management system is, review Lean philosophies, and examine simple Lean tools and activities.

2. Determine the scope of your implementation

Understand the implications of the scope of your Lean management program.

3. Design huddle board

Examine the sections and content to include in your huddle board design.

4. Design Leader Standard Work and operating rhythm

Determine the actions required by leaders and the operating rhythm.


Workshop: Implement Lean Management Practices That Work

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Understand Lean Concepts

The Purpose

Understand Lean management.

Key Benefits Achieved

Gain a common understanding of Lean management, the Lean management thought model, Lean philosophies, huddles, visual management, team growth, and voice of customer.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Define Lean management in your organization.

  • Lean management definition
1.2

Create training materials.

  • Customized training materials

Module 2: Understand Lean Concepts (Continued) and Determine Scope

The Purpose

  • Understand Lean management.
  • Determine the scope of your program.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Understand metrics and performance review.
  • Understand problem identification and continuous improvement.
  • Understand Kanban.
  • Understand Leader Standard Work.
  • Define the scope of the Lean management program.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Develop example operational metrics

  • Understand how to use operational metrics
2.2

Simulate problem section.

  • Understand problem identification
2.3

Simulate Kanban.

  • Understand Kanban/daily tasks section
2.4

Build scoping tool.

  • Defined scope for your program

Module 3: Huddle Board Design and Huddle Facilitation Coaching

The Purpose

Design the sections and content for your huddle board.

Key Benefits Achieved

Initial huddle board design.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Design and build each section in your huddle board.

  • Initial huddle board design
3.2

Simulate coaching conversations.

  • Understanding of how to conduct a huddle

Module 4: Design and Build Leader Standard Work

The Purpose

  • Design your Leader Standard Work activities.
  • Develop a schedule for executing Leader Standard Work.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Standard activities identified and documented.
  • Sample schedule developed.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Identify standard activities for leaders.

  • Leader Standard Work activities documented
4.2

Develop a schedule for executing Leader Standard Work.

  • Initial schedule for Leader Standard Work activities
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About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

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Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 10 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Understand Lean concepts
  • Call 1: What is Lean management?
  • Call 2: Review Lean philosophies and concepts.
  • Call 3: Review Lean tools and activities.

Guided Implementation 2: Determine the scope of your implementation
  • Call 1: Discuss challenges and advantages of scaling Lean management.

Guided Implementation 3: Design huddle board
  • Call 1: Discuss how to use the design canvas and visual design considerations.
  • Call 2: Determine details for each section.
  • Call 3: Identify problems and tasks.
  • Call 4: Evolve your board.

Guided Implementation 4: Design Leader Standard Work and operating rhythm
  • Call 1: Discuss typical activities of Leader Standard Work.
  • Call 2: Design your Leader Standard Work and operating rhythm.

Author

Tony Denford

Contributors

  • Steven Leuschel, Improvement Coach, Agile Kaizen LLC
  • Jason McWilliams, Lean Black Belt
  • Ken Eakin, Author, Lean Coach, EDC
  • Richard Steel, Management Consultant, Richard Steel Consulting
  • Deneb Milano, Senior Manager, Scotiabank
  • Bob Emiliani, Professor, Central Connecticut University
  • Cassandra Koitsopoulos, Senior Manager, RBC
  • Joakim Hillberg, Lean transformation, Revere AB
  • Helen Wang, VP, Scotiabank
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