188 ◾ Making IT Lean: Applying Lean Practices to the Work of IT
While we can insert the right language into our discussions, and perhaps
also into the fabric of the organization, by having Lean activities as part of
project templates, for example, we know that it is in practice where cultural
outcomes are best realized. It is in this way that practice of the philosophy
of Kaizen, or Continuous Improvement, becomes imprinted as a cultural
footprint. As we build out Lean capabilities over time, they become the
routine for how work is done and this is the best expression of embedding
practice in culture.
Metrics and Measurement
We haven’t talked a lot about metrics throughout the book, except to suggest
that data collection to validate obser