ABSTRACT
Overview It was mentioned in earlier chapters that a major goal of this book is to provide tools and methods to enable Lean practitioners to support the application of information technology (IT) projects within Lean systems. Although there is a great deal of similarity between Lean and software project management methodologies, there are also significant differences. As an example, software development practitioners have created their own specialized tools and methods to simplify, standardize, and mistake-proof their specialized work. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss several important concepts that have proven to be useful in creating software and providing support to its development, release, installation, activation and deactivation, maintenance, and removal. These concepts are important because Lean systems rely on the efficient deployment of software systems to reduce process cycle time and cost as well as improve quality. The application of IT is very important in the design and improvement of service systems as well as in highly automated manufacturing systems.
