Book excerpt: Winner of a Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award Information Technology is supposed to enable business performance and innovation, improve service levels, manage change, and maintain quality and stability, all while steadily reducing operating costs. Yet when an enterprise begins a Lean transformation, too often the IT department is either left out or viewed as an obstacle. What is to be done? Winner of a 2011 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award, this book shares practical tips, examples, and case studies to help you establish a culture of continuous improvement to deliver IT operational excellence and business value to your organization. Praise for: ...will have a permanent place in my bookshelf. —Gene Kim, Chief Technology Officer, Tripwire, Inc. ... provides an unprecedented look at the role that Lean IT will play in making this revolutionary shift and the critical steps for sustained success. —Steve Castellanos, Lean Enterprise Director, Nike, Inc. Twenty years from now the firms which dominate their industries will have fully embraced Lean strategies throughout their IT organizations. —Scott W. Ambler, Chief Methodologist for Agile and Lean, IBM Rational ... a great survival manual for those needing nimble and adaptive systems. —Dr. David Labby, MD, PhD, Medical Director and Director of Clinical Support and Innovation, CareOregon ... makes a major contribution in an often-ignored but much-needed area. —John Bicheno, Program Director MS in Lean Operations, Cardiff University ... a comprehensive view into the world of Lean IT, a must read! —Dave Wilson, Quality Management, Oregon Health & Science University