Lean

Question 1

The lean IT association defines Lean IT as:

Answer 1

Lean IT is

the extension of lean manufacturing and

lean services principles to the development and management

of information technology products and services.

Its goal is to continually improve the value delivered bij IT organisations to their customers and the professionalism of people working in IT.

Lean IT focuses on improving people working within IT, IT processes and information technology in order to deliver more value to its customers.

Question 2

Lean traces its roots back to peoples desire te create products.

Lean consists of:

Answer 2

• Continious evolving concepts

- Deeper thinking on business performance.

Question 3

Many of the iconic elements of Lean come from the

Answer 3

Toyota Production System (TPS)

Question 4

Lean history starts

Answer 4

At a time when most production was a matter of craftsmanship (End of the 19th century)

Question 5

Frederick Taylor investiged workplace efficiencies. His ideas included:

Answer 5

• Dividing work and specifying tasks to be performed for workers
• Training workers so the could perform these tasks
• Installing supervisors to ensure that tasks were performed as specified.

Question 6

A supporter of Frederick Taylor, Henry Ford introduced:

Answer 6

• Interchangeable parts with standerd work and moving conveyance to create what he called flow production.

This type of production thrived on the division of labor and specification of tasks.

Question 7

The Toyota Production System was based on two basic principes

Answer 7

• Just in time production

- Jidoka

Question 8

The Toyota Way was published in

Answer 8

2001

Question 9

Today the judoka and just in time principles remain, however the Toyota way philosophy has included the higher principles:

Answer 9

• Respect for people

- Continual Improvement

Question 10

J. Edwards Deming showed

Answer 10

That organisations could increase quality and reduce costs by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation while increasing customer loyalty.

The key was:

To practice continual improvement and think of manufacturing as a system, not as a series of parts to be optimised.

Question 11

J. Edwards Deming is credited with the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) He always referred to it as the Shewhart cycle. The PDCA has a:

Answer 11

Built-in improvement cycle: an iteratieve fourstep management method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products.

Question 12

What do the letters in PDCA stand for:

Answer 12

• Plan: Design or revise business process components to improve results.
• Do: Implement the plan and measure its performance
• Check: Assess the measurements and report the results to decision makers.
• Act: Decide on changes needed to improve the process

The Deming/Sheward cycle creates a feedback loop for management to ensure that improvements are identified and implemented.

Question 13

What is Six Sigma:

Answer 13

Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approached for eliminating variability, defects and waste that undermines customer value and loyalty.

Question 14

Six Sigma improvement projects helpt to:

Answer 14

• Increase performance
• Decrease process variation

Leading to defect reduction and vast improvements in profits, employee morale and the quality of a product.

Question 15

One of the methodologies, inspired by the PDCA cycle is

Answer 15

DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control)

This is an element of Six Sigma, but also used in Lean IT.

Question 16

What are the differences between Lean and Six Sigma.

Answer 16

• Six Sigma is the disciplined, data-driven approach for eliminating variation.
• Lean IT primarily focuses on establishing flow of value, particularly in conjunction with the behaviour and attitude of the people involved.

Question 17

Lean thrives in environments with

Answer 17

Scarcity of resources such as time, money, talent or materials.

Question 18

A scarcity of resources is

Answer 18

• a reason for the development of Lean
• and a reason to apply Lean Principles
• and use Lean tools.

Question 19

Lean is, in essence, a way of thinking and behaving. It revolves around the following key concepts:

Answer 19

• Improving customer value
• Continual improvement in small steps
• Decreasing peaks and thoughts in production.
• Reducting waste
• Involving everybody
• Developing people
• Focusing on long term goals

Question 20

There are a variety of reasons for organisations to be Lean. They revolve around three major categories:

Answer 20

• Customer Satisfaction
• Strategic Value
• Financial Value

Poor quality can also be the driver for adoption of Lean. Poor quality has its effects both within and outside the organisation. Aspects such as reputation damage and loss of customer thrust may cause the organisation to incur large costs or penalties. Also, waste of talent or an unexpected number of defects causes stres within the organisation. Again costs will increase due to inspections, rework or demotivation.

Question 21

In Lean organisations managers:

Answer 21

• Facilitate the workers at the shop floor level.
• They lead as a coach and teacher
• Allow their teams take on the responsibility to figure out how processes are best optimised to deliver results for the customer.

Question 22

Lean organisations focus first on:

Answer 22

Maximising the efficiency of flow. Ensuring that work is moved through the process so as to deliver value to the customer as quickly possible.

Question 23

Lean organisations welcome:

Answer 23

problems and learn from mistakes. They make it a collaborative exercise and share what they have learned across the organisation.

Question 24

Frameworks and standards, particularly in the area for IT service Management, aim to:

Answer 24

Ensure quality.

Question 25

A quality System drives improvement based on the understanding that to improve anything the following logic tree must be understood and executed:

Answer 25

• What is not ‘defined’ cannot be stabilised or controlled (Lean Standard Work)
• What is not ‘controlled’ cannot be measured effectively.
• What is not ‘measured’ cannot be improved.

Question 26

Who is considered of being the father of TPS?

Answer 26

Taiichi Ohno

“If you think the standard is the best you can do. Its all over. The standard is only a baseline for doing further Kaizen.”

Question 27

By using Lean IT we can focus on:

Answer 27

The right processes to deliver the maximum value to customers.

The Lean IT objective is to continuously improve the delivery of value to the customer. For this we apply Lean Principles and techniques to the work of IT>

Question 28

As with Lean, Agile aims to

Answer 28

• ensure that the processes (‘value streams’) work in such a way that software is delivered quickly (flow)
• that teams deliver the software that is required at that moment (pull).
• There is also a clear continuous improvement mindset within Agile, based on the delivery and improvement of a ‘minimum viable product’ that delivers the value that customers are seeking.

Question 29

DevOps

Answer 29

• is actually all about achieving the flow of value to customers of IT.
• Every choice made in DevOps environment is about delivering value as quickly as possible to a customer.

Question 30

The Shingo Institute with its Shingo Model is one of the foremost

Answer 30

Lean Standards.