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Waste identification and elimination in information technology organizations

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Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new model to classify wastes in IT organizations. In the beginning, we discuss the potential reasons behind the relatively low success rate of lean initiatives in knowledge-based industries in general and in IT organizations in particular. The virtual nature of business processes in IT organizations calls into question the applicability of Toyota’s categorization of physical wastes in IT settings. Then, through a real-life project, we develop a new model of waste categorization for the operation of a “medium-sized” IT department. In addition to the new classifications specific to IT, we discuss suitable elimination strategies and how they have improved the daily operations of the organization by reducing the lead-time by 56–60 %, increasing customer satisfactions by 15.7 %, and saving hundreds of thousands of the operational cost. Finally, we emphasize the need to think lean when developing the waste elimination strategies by eliminating the root cause of the waste and not the subsequent wastes.

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Notes

  1. The identity of the organization under study is kept anonymous and is explicitly omitted from this paper. This is an agreement by the organization and the research group. Hence, for the remainder of the paper, we will refer to the company by an arbitrary name ORGUS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Osama Al-Baik & James Miller

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  1. Osama Al-Baik
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  2. James Miller
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Correspondence to James Miller.

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Communicated by: Nachiappan Nagappan

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Al-Baik, O., Miller, J. Waste identification and elimination in information technology organizations. Empir Software Eng 19, 2019–2061 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-014-9302-3

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