Lean integration

Lean integration is a management system that emphasizes creating value for customers, continuous improvement, and eliminating waste as a sustainable data integration and system integration practice. Lean integration has parallels with other lean disciplines such as lean manufacturing, lean IT, and lean software development. It is a specialized collection of tools and techniques that address the unique challenges associated with seamlessly combining information and processes from systems that were independently developed, are based on incompatible data models, and remain independently managed, to achieve a cohesive holistic operation.
History.
Lean integration was first introduced by John Schmidt in a series of blog articles starting in January 2009 entitled 10 Weeks To Lean Integration. This was followed by a white paper on the topic in April 2009 and the book "Lean Integration, An Integration Factory Approach to Business Agility" in May 2010.
Overview.
Lean integration builds on the same set of principles that were developed for lean manufacturing and lean software development which is based on the Toyota Production System. Integration solutions can be broadly categorized as either Process Integration or Data Integration.
The book is based on the premise that Integration is an ongoing activity and not a one-time activity; therefore integration should be viewed as a long term strategy for an organization. John Schmidt and David Lyle initially articulated in their book the reasons for maintaining an efficient and sustainable integration team. Lean integration as an integration approach must be "sustainable" and "holistic" unlike other integration approaches that either tackle only a part of the problem or tackle the problem for a short period of time. Lean integration drives elimination of waste by adopting reusable elements, high automation and quality improvements. Lean is a data-driven, fact-based methodology that relies on metrics to ensure that the quality and performance are maintained at a high level.
An organizational focus is required for the implementation of lean integration principles. The predominant organizational model is the Integration Competency Center which may be structured as a central group or a more loosely coupled federated team.
Lean integration principles.
The principles of Lean Integration may at first glance appear similar to that of Six Sigma but there are some very clear differences between them. Six-Sigma is an "analytical technique" that focuses on quality and reduction of defects while Lean is a "management system" that focuses on delivering value to the end customer by continuously improving value delivery processes. Lean provides a robust framework that facilitates improving efficiency and effectiveness by focusing on critical customer requirements.
As mentioned in lean integration there are seven core "lean integration principles" vital for deriving significant and sustainable business benefits. They are as below:
Benefits of lean integration.
The Lean integration practices transforms integration from an "art" into a "science", a repeatable and teachable methodology that shifts the focus from integration as a point-in-time activity to integration as a sustainable activity that enables organizational agility. Once an organization adopts the integration as a science it enhances the organization’s ability to change rapidly without comprising on the IT risk or quality thereby transforming the organization into an agile data driven enterprise. The following are the advantages derived by adopting the lean integration practices: