Lean and IT-working together? An exploratory study of the potential conflicts between lean thinking and the use of information technology in organisations today

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to carry out an initial investigation into the relationship between Lean Thinking and the use of business applications in contemporary organisations. Although both are arguably critical to business success today, traditionally the two fields have often been thought to be in conflict. A review of the available literature identified a number of potential Lean-IT conflicts, and a survey was used to validate if those conflicts exist in organisations today, if they have an impact on successful lean transformation, and whether or not the relationship is changing. The research findings indicate several potential relevant conflicts between Lean and IT. Those conflicts having the most impact on lean transformation all relate to business process management, and include: the introduction of too much complexity, automating processes where it does not make sense, and the automation of poor processes. Conflicts where improvement effort should be focused were also considered, based on a combination of high impact and poor current state. The top areas highlighted in this category were again the need to avoid complexity, the need to ensure that automation does not inhibit learning, and the importance of adopting an incremental rather than a 'major event' change culture. The objective of understanding whether the situation is improving or otherwise generated only limited findings.