Lean work station

As lean manufacturing has become more widely implemented, the extension of lean principles is beginning to spread to IT (and other service industries).[3] Industry analysts have identified many similarities or analogues between IT and manufacturing.[3][4] For example, whereas the manufacturing function manufactures goods of value to customers, the IT function "manufactures" business services of value to the parent organization and its customers. Similar to manufacturing, the development of business services entails resource management, demand management, quality control, security issues, and so on.

Lean work station (also known as demand) systems are themselves closely related to the aforementioned flow concept. They contrast with push or supply systems. In a pull system, a pull is a service request. The initial request is from the customer or consumer of the product or service. For example, a customer initiates an online purchase. That initial request in turn triggers a subsequent request (for example, a query to a database to confirm product availability), which in turn triggers additional requests (input of the customer's credit card information, credit verification, processing of the order by the accounts department, issuance of a shipping request, replenishment through the supply-chain management system, and so on).

Having identified and described a value stream, implementation usually proceeds with construction of a value stream map — a pictorial representation of the flow of information, beginning with an initial demand request or pull and progressing up the value stream. Although value streams are not as readily visualizable as their counterparts in lean manufacturing, where the flow of materials is more tangible, Lean work station engineers and IT consultants are practiced in the construction of schematics to represent information flow through an IT service. To this end, they may use productivity software such as Microsoft Visio andcomputer-aided design (CAD) tools. However, alternatives to these off-the-shelf applications may be more efficient (and less wasteful) in the mapping process.

 Opportunity to apply Lean IT exists in multiple other areas of IT besides ADM. For example, service catalog management is a Lean IT approach to provisioning IT services. When, say, a new employee joins a company, the employee's manager can log into a web-based catalog and select the services needed. This particular employee may need a CAD workstation as well as standard office productivity software and limited access to the company's extranet. On submitting this request, provisioning of all hardware and software requirements would then be automatic through a lean value stream. In another example, a Lean IT approach to application performance monitoring would automatically detect performance issues at the customer experience level as well as triage, notify support personnel, and collect data to assist in root-cause analysis.[4] Research suggests that IT departments may achieve sizable returns from investing in these and other areas of the IT function.


Waste reduction directly correlates with reduced energy consumption and carbon generation. Indeed, Lean work station that IT and energy costs can account for up to 60% of an organization's capital expenditures and 75% of operational expenditures.[26] In this way, identification and streamlining of IT value streams supports the measurement and improvement of carbon footprints and other green metrics.[27] For instance, implementation of Lean IT initiatives is likely to save energy through adoption of virtualization technology and data center consolidation.


The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) — a series of books published by the United Kingdom's Office of Government Commerce — contains concepts, policies, and recommended practices on a broad range of IT management topics. These are again entirely compatible with the objectives and methods of Lean IT. Indeed, as another best-practice framework, ITIL may be considered alongside theCMMI for process improvement and COBIT for IT governance.