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Ci&T had the honor of recently speaking with Jim Luckman, partner, at the Lean Enterprise Institute. Luckman talked about the roots of his advocacy of lean and discussed best practices applied to Information Technology. He also discussed common mistakes companies encounter when undergoing a lean transformation.

1) How long have you personally been an advocate of lean?
My journey started when I was a plant manager 14 years ago.

2) Tell me about your earliest experience with lean. How did you first come to understand the application and value of lean principles?
Delphi was rolling out their version of the Toyota Production System the same year that the book “Lean Thinking” was published. I became very interested in what I understood at that time and began to make small changes, particularly with regard to engaging associates. I saw some remarkable improvements when the people became proactive.

3) Are there specific business areas and functions for which lean is better suited (e.g., manufacturing, IT) than others?
Many people think of lean as a set of tools. With that mindset, the most appropriate area is manufacturing. Since I have a view of lean that is about creating a problem solving and learning culture, the model of improvement is equally important for all functions.

4) What’s your experience with lean applied in an IT organization?
I have been able to work with several companies at applying lean to IT. My attempt was at coaching an internal IT team with application of SAP in their manufacturing area. The lead time was cut in half. Since then, I have worked with an IT company that provides data to big banks, a high technology company, and a finance company. All were engaged in trying to understand Agile vs. Waterfall.

5) Why, in your estimation, is lean an effective approach for IT and software development?
I have focused much of my effort on applying lean to product development. IT and PD share the same problem of creating the understanding that their primary value stream is about creating knowledge, as fast as possible. Because of this, there are some unique techniques that need to be applied. Agile is conceptually compatible with Lean, but what we do is make sure everyone is learning daily about the product (software) and process every day.

6) What are some of the biggest challenges companies face in applying lean principles?
Lean is a different mindset. Getting all people to recognize that they are operating inside a different paradigm and need to question their current assumptions is the most difficult part.

7) Do you view lean as more effective when used on its own, or in conjunction with other approaches?
Since lean is about creating a more effective way to solve problems, it is best thought of as an umbrella and the other approaches are potential tools to assist in problem solving.

8 ) How do you view lean when compared to and/or used in tandem with approaches like agile or RUP?
I had the opportunity to conduct a value stream improvement project for a company where they were developing software with both Agile and Waterfall. They designed a future state that was above both processes and implemented the best of both. It was very successful.

9) What are some of the common mistakes companies make when undergoing a lean transformation?
The most common mistake is to view lean as simply another project rather than something that is about changing the mindset of the organization. Many companies use lean for cost savings only.

10) What would be your advice for a company that is interested in executing a lean transformation, but doesn’t know where to begin?
It is best to begin the effort by defining a business problem at a leadership position, something that “keeps you awake at night”. Then, select an area for making improvement based on the problem. Use this as an opportunity to scope a project, have a value stream mapping workshop, and then implement the change through multiple learning cycles in order to embed the thinking of problem solving and learning. Organizational learning has begun and additional efforts can easily be defined.

By Rogerio Hervatin, project manager at Ci&T

What are the advantages of using BPM applied to logistics?

BPM techniques and tools help a lot in understanding, mapping and optimizing logistics processes. To optimize is to increase efficiency and decrease continuously (with the objective of eliminating) waste, which is aligned to the concept of Lean IT practiced by Ci&T. The key to logistics is seeking maximum efficiency: the right thing, at the right place, at the right time, at the lowest possible cost. Everything along the supply chain depends on this. In the search for maximum efficiency, all areas of business are involved, and BPM is the best technique to map the business processes correctly, and integrate it consistently.

There are two basic ways to design and build a great project to automate logistics processes. The first is to break the system into modules, define and implement what each area wants, in logical sequence in which the process is, and incrementing new modules as they are ready. This model is widely used in the market, although not the most efficient. The other way is to map the entire business process using BPM techniques, working on optimization and efficiency of processes, and planning to build a framework by applying rigorous value engineering, based on the sequence to go to automation. This is the model that Ci&T leverages for its customers.

With BPM companies can work on the current process, optimizing and simulating each step, until reaching the most efficient process. This simulation allows the evaluation of concrete gains in operational efficiency of logistics, from the documentation until delivery at final destination.

The BPM techniques and tools applied to logistics enable an increase in volume and business results. The search for efficiency is not simply to reduce costs, or staff, or time. Efficiency maximizes the use of available resources to generate greater financial results and market recognition of the quality of services. But if BPM is so good, why hasn’t the market significantly invested in its techniques and tools? Perhaps, because companies are still skeptical or because there are few experts in BPM – or at least few who understand the principles of mapping and process optimization and value engineering. Ci&T, however, has professionals with expertise in logistics. The goal of BPM is to seek what has more value to the customer, and deliver that value quickly. This is Ci&T’s goal.

Paulo Seixas, a graduate from FGV-SP in public administration, has more than 10 years of experience in strategic project management and information systems implementation. He was formerly a director at VisionOne and a founding partner at BI-One. Take a look at the interview below where Seixas addresses the importance of Business Intelligence in today’s world.

With BI-One’s acquisition, what are the competitive advantages this new Business Intelligence (BI) unit brings to Ci&T?
I think it’s our focus on the results we achieve by implementing a Business Intelligence (BI) culture, versus a BI software implementation. In the last three years we’ve been developing a new methodology for management. Its premise is a differentiated strategy for projects which focus on the benefits, demanding a new professional profile. We see BI as a capability that must be developed in a systemic fashion by aligning corporate strategy, processes, people and systems.

What’s the importance of investing in a company’s BI management, apart from using BI tools?
More than a simple software implementation, an IT project must be understood as a period of organizational change. For BI projects, this notion is even more relevant. The concept of the intelligence we’ve adopted (i.e., the ability to identify and solve/ take advantage of problems or opportunities) demands a position that goes beyond a simple software implementation. It demands the development of new organizational and personal strategies that take us back to the four pillars cited previously: strategy, processes, people and systems. In times like these when the business environment is packed with challenges, developing this ability is really considered a competitive advantage.

How does BI Management align IT and the Business?
The alignment of IT and the business is the foundation of this new value proposition. Without it, BI would be a mere report aggregator with a high risk of producing zero results. On the other hand, leveraging our methodology ensures BI is fundamentally an alignment tool for developing new capabilities thus creating innovation and learning cycles with continuous feedback.

What’s the Necessary Knowledge Needed to Provide BI Consulting Services?
The IT professional profile must be different from the one we often see. He must have not only an excellent technical knowledge and business expertise, but he must also excel with people management. Consider the challenges this professional faces: though his main goal is achieving business results, the person won’t be the only one responsible for the project. He will need to coordinate with all the areas involved in the project without having a direct functional link to them. This requires the management of both processes and people. It must be done in tandem – and successfully.

Eaton, the American multinational company, offers a portfolio with over 40 thousand products, generating annual revenue of about 13 billion dollars. It is the main producer of systems and products for the automotive, hydraulic, electric, industrial filtration and aviation industry in Brazil. In this exclusive interview, Jedey Miranda, Eaton’s Global Telecom Director, overseeing IT-Latin America, discusses the importance of innovation and investment in Information Technology as a supporting area to the creation and sustainability of the company’s value.

(International Webnews) Recently, you were “called up” by Headquarters and moved to Cleveland, OH, where you took on a few more responsibilities, especially in the infrastructure area. Many – and ever so more frequent - are the cases of IT executives “made in Brazil” receiving worldwide recognition.
(J Miranda) In the past years, the Brazilian IT professionals have been developing skills and competences that are highly valued. Among them, we can point out leadership (especially in hard times), strategic thinking, result-driven focus and team-building skills. The Brazilians’ professional qualification is very competitive, what can be confirmed by the fact that many multinational companies have chosen Brazil as part of a career plan development for some of their high-potential executives.

(IW) Eaton arrived in Brazil in 1957 – in fact, it was the first plant outside the United States. Now, it is the subsidiary exporting technology. How do you see this evolution?
(J Miranda) I think that, in general, Brazil is experiencing very positive momentum, so we at Eaton’s Information Technology area have decided to pioneer the first phase of this Horizontalization process by leading the creation of Centers for Excellence. While some people view this process as a threat, our team saw it as an opportunity, what ended up being confirmed by time.

(IW) Are the certifications – including the ones for outsourcing services – a clear sign of maturity?
(J Miranda) Consistent approach, effective metrics and continual improvement are key factors for success in any organization. Our professionals’ and partners’ ITIL certification, reliable project and portfolio management methodology coupled with management and governance are some of the factors helping our organization to demonstrate its maturity. As a result, we are able to produce deliverables within the agreed scope, timeframes and costs, in addition to our clients’ greater satisfaction.

(IW) Can the focus on Project Management best practices and IT governance be a decisive factor in a company’s strategy?
(J Miranda) I’m absolutely convinced of this correlation. Our results directly reflect the investment put into our professionals’ and partners’ development. This shared-governance model where management is done in partnership with the client has resulted into a solid alliance of all the divisions where both results and concerns are shared in such a unique way.

(IW) Can IT as the supporting area for the creation and sustainability of the company’s value summarize the spirit of modernity?
(J Miranda) The great challenge is to change this equation, namely reducing the time spent on maintaining and operating, investing most of that time just in development and innovation. Initially, we spent approximately 85% of our time maintaining the current applications and environments, with only 15% in innovation. With a model of efficient governance between IT and business units, we began to change this relationship. The partnership with the business resulted in efficient portfolio management. We invest time in solutions that will bring the greatest impact and result for the business. Our partners have also assumed a role of utmost importance to the maintenance of our current environment, freeing our internal resources to activities of higher value. From this stage, we created an internal group with the sole focus on innovation, proving in practice our commitment.

(IW) How are Brazil and its global IT services perceived by Cleveland?
(J Miranda) Brazil has taken the leadership role in the creation of our Centers for Excellence, receiving a very positive response from the whole organization in Cleveland. Currently, we’re working towards bringing some of our global services to Brazil, not only in operations, but in the added-value services area as well. This initiative has been very well received and supported by the whole global Eaton organization.

(IW) If the IT evolution in the last 10 years could be divided into phases, which one would we be entering now?
(J Miranda) I would describe the first phase of this transformation as an intense search for cost reduction, with sudden moves towards outsourcing, low focus on SLA (Service Level Agreements) and a consistent process approach and continual improvement. On a second phase, we can see a consistent movement in the market in search of operations and services quality improvement, with, for instance, SLA’s, processes in alignment with ITIL and project management methodology. Currently, most of the companies have a very stable operational environment, though still using a utility-provider model, focusing most of the resources on maintenance and operations. The biggest challenge lies in leaving this model behind. This is not only an incremental move, but in fact, it is revolutionary as to the company’s resources positioning and investment.

(IW) Is the idea of “low-cost solutions” compatible with quality? And what are the major competitive advantages that can transform an IT service provider into a player in the global market?
(J Miranda) I believe that most of the large service providers have a good maturity level regarding processes, metrics and services. Therefore, I think that the savings versus services quality ratio is quite attainable, provided the service scope is well detailed and the service levels/metrics are defined and properly followed-up throughout the project. I believe that the ideal IT partner is the one who will help transform your business, moving from the utility provider model to that of strategic partner, bringing innovation and helping sales increase and contribution margins.

(IW) What does the automotive sector look for in its IT service partners?
(J Miranda) I believe that the whole sector, not only the automotive, is searching for vendors who act as an agent of change, breaking taboos, innovating, reinventing the business, rather that raising obstacles and difficulties before new opportunities and challenges.

The future points to Web 3.0, where people not only contribute to content but also subscribe to relationship sites. The next phase in this revolution has users contributing to the development of tools and products. In this interview, Fábio Boucinhas, Yahoo!’s Product Director for Brazil, talks about some of its major highlights

Ci&T Webnews - “Relationships” and “content” are some of the key-words in the Web 2.0. Are we well served in these areas?
Boucinhas - User-generated content is one of the major milestones of this era. Allowing people to communicate with each other and to exchange information in generic or vertical communities was a real revolution. Many sites were created to provide relationship environments. Flickr, which not only allows relationships among people, but more specifically, photo-sharing is a good example of this trend. The site was initially used by photographers who became famous for their quality photos and images. However, it is now largely used by the general public. This is a model of a verticalized community with user-generated content. We are now experiencing an Internet where it is possible to provide different venues and options for people who want to express themselves.

Ci&T Webnews - Is the type of information people share becoming more sophisticated too?
Boucinhas – Certainly! Yahoo! Answers is another good example of user-generated content, not necessarily geared to communities but to knowledge sharing. When you are looking for the best travel route for instance, in a traditional search site you may not get an exact answer. Since there are different routes for different profiles, in a relationship environment it is possible to get to what you want by using hints offered by an infinite number of people. Yahoo! Answers alone has over 7 million users – all thanks to the Web 2.0 trend.

Ci&T Webnews - And where is this universe going to?
Boucinhas - The next step is Web 3.0, where people not only contribute with content, but also to the evolution of tools and products. This is another revolution in the making. Mash, Yahoo!’s new social networking, in the near future will be opening its platform so can develop modules they truly enjoy. Games like kaleidoscope or sudoku, for example, will be modules users can “pickup” and use in their own pages. Of course, in an environment where users will be starting to develop their own systems, an issue that may occur refers to patents. I believe this is a question that will end up being regulated by the community itself. Sites such as blogs or Flickr are already self-regulated as to content authorship. Users are aware of these rules and are accountable to legal actions.

Currently, Ci&T is developing a series of solutions for Yahoo! “We initiated a partnership with Ci&T so we could support our talents, with the agility in terms of scale and required skills. These talents can be organized in independent teams either dedicated to managing projects or to working in direct collaboration with Yahoo!’s internal teams”, states Rodolfo Calil, Yahoo!’s Outsourcing Partnerships Manager. Our portal has used Ci&T’s services to develop hotsites and provide support to certain services and platforms, not only with products in Brazil, but overseas as well. Recent examples of developments supported by Ci&T’s services are Argentina Elections, Argentina Rugby and Argentina Auto sites. “Such services include both front- and back-end development activities. Some extensions in the integration of content providers are just an example of their involvement”, says Calil.

Fernando Birman has recently moved to Lyon, France. His mission: to become the global director of CRM and strategic IT planning at Rhodia. Graduated in production engineering, the executive has been with the company for over 21 years. In this exclusive interview Birman tells us how he transformed the Brazilian unit of the company into an IT service provider for the entire corporation.

Ci&T Webnews - How was the persuasion process at Rhodia to turn the Brazilian unit into an IT provider for the entire company?
Birman - It was a long term work that started a long time ago. First, we designed a plan and began to promote Brazil. We gave emphasis to the Brazilian IT quality and what was being developed at the Rhodia unit in Brazil. We showed, mainly, our history of successful projects. Proving our competence takes very long and we have to do it step by step, little by little.

Ci&T Webnews - For a multinational company that is concentrating the IT service and development of applications in a local unit, why could the choice be specifically Brazil?
Birman - Rhodia has a history in Brazil of over 90 years with a tradition of generating businesses and being a pole of resources and know-how. Starting from this business basis you try to include the IT generation and it is crucial to have the CIO as a driving motor in this process. He has to fight against the ideas in the corporation that restricts this type of movement. Therefore, you need some factors, not to say many factors, which allow this movement towards a country like Brazil.

Ci&T Webnews - Are our costs competitive?
Birman - The costs are competitive, no doubt. But our differentials are the results, ability and capacity.

Ci&T Webnews - Rhodia´s Brazilian subsidiary is the largest IT complex besides the headquarters office?
Birman - Definitely. In the past years we have grown over 10% a year and can increase 15% to 20%. We launched a service, taking advantage of an opportunity and grow from that, with a lot of patience.

Ci&T Webnews - Are these services exported to other countries? Do they comply with global processes?
Birman - In most cases we are meeting the needs of all countries. We talk a lot about technology information at Rhodia Brazil, but it is not that simple. It is Rhodia´s worldwide technology that came to Brazil. Actually, our international IT team was already a unique team, introducing more resources in Brazil. It is not a game between countries; it is a game within an international area that is betting in a country that has good competence and a competitive cost.

Ci&T Webnews - The Brazilian professionals in IT are known for their engagement with the business. To what point this is a determining factor?
Birman - That is true, but I don’t think that it is our differential. Technical competence is stronger than a behavior factor.

Ci&T Webnews - You recently moved to Lyon, where you became the international director of CRM and strategic IT planning. How will be this new challenge at Rhodia, in an international level this time?
Birman - It is a matter of a continuous and planned process. In the past years, I worked to transform an IT based in countries and continents into an IT with a global team. This way, other colleagues and I had our roles changed, expanded and globalize. For me, it will also be an opportunity to learn in depth the culture of the country were our group will be located.

Ci&T Webnews - How was this process, where the regional IT leadership positions were extinct?
Birman - It was a well planned transition. We started with a dual connection, with a local and a global control. Later on, we eliminated the local one and maintained the global leaderships. The process requires behavioral change, knowledge of languages and cultures, traveling and, most importantly, adequate governance.

Ci&T Webnews - Having a Brazilian in the headquarters is always a good sign for our IT service providers. What are the main challenges?
Birman - Yes, I have been defending Brazil as a services platform. We are doing our part, now I hope that the vendors offer good services and evolve to meet the demand of the international companies by developing their teams, maintaining up to date, and being familiar with the best practices in the IT market.