Enabling digitization by implementing Lean IT: lessons learned
ISSN: 1754-2731
Article publication date: 27 June 2018
Issue publication date: 24 September 2018
Abstract
Purpose
With the rise of digitization, IT organizations are challenged to provide efficient service delivery and offer innovative digital solutions while maintaining a constant resource capacity. To address this challenge, some IT organizations have adopted Lean Management (LM). Although LM is a standard production mode in manufacturing, it is less familiar to IT organizations. The purpose of this paper is to identify 12 lessons learned from companies who implemented LM in their IT organization (Lean IT) to free up their IT resource capacity from existing day-to-day operations so they could use it to enable their digitization strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study of two major international companies from different industries. Data were collected from 25 structured interviews.
Findings
The lessons learned provide insights into how these companies implemented Lean IT, the potential outcomes they aimed for, what they did to achieve those outcomes, how they facilitated the implementation of Lean IT, and restrictions they encountered during the implementation.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on a limited range of IT organizations.
Practical implications
The lessons learned inform those implementing Lean IT because they explain how companies have implemented Lean IT to facilitate digitization and the benefits and pitfalls they encountered. A comparison of Lean IT and Lean Production shows that LM is transferable to IT organizations if domain specific requirements are respected.
Originality/value
This paper reports the unique experience of companies implementing Lean IT, which can inform other companies in a similar situation.
Keywords
Citation
Kobus, J., Westner, M., Strahringer, S. and Strode, D. (2018), "Enabling digitization by implementing Lean IT: lessons learned", The TQM Journal, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 764-778. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-02-2018-0026
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited