as value streams and value-stream mapping, Lean IT is, on a higher level, a philosophy rather than a prescribed metric or process methodology. In this way, Lean IT is pragmatic and agnostic. It seeks incremental waste reduction and value enhancement, but it does not require a grand overhaul of an existing process, and is complementary rather than alternative to other methodologies. Agile, Scrum and lean software development Agile software development is a set of software development methods that originated as a response for the indiscriminated use of CMMI, RUP and PMBOK creating fat and slow software development processes that normally increased the lead time, the work in progress and non-value added/value added activities ratio on projects. Agile software development methods include XP, Scrum, FDD, AUP, DSDM, Crystal, and others. Scrum is one of the more well known agile methods for project management, and has as one of its origins concepts from Lean Thinking. Scrum also organizes work in a cross-functional, multidisciplinary work cell. It uses some form of kanban system to visualize and limit work in progress, and follows the PDCA cycle, and continuous improvements, that is the base of Lean. Six Sigma Whereas Lean IT focuses on customer satisfaction and reducing waste, Six Sigma focuses on removing the causes of defects (errors) and the variation (inconsistency) in manufacturing and business processes using quality management and, especially, statistical methods. Six Sigma also differs from Lean methods by introducing a special infrastructure of personnel (e.g. so-called “Green Belts” and “ Black Belts”) in the organization. Six Sigma is more oriented around two particular methods (DMAIC and DMADV), whereas Lean IT employs a portfolio of tools and methods. These differences notwithstanding, Lean IT may be readily combined with Six Sigma such that the latter brings statistical rigor to measurement of the former's outcomes. Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) from the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a process improvement approach applicable to a single project, a division, or an entire organization. It helps integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a benchmark or point of reference for assessing current processes. However, unlike Lean IT, CMMI (and other process models) doesn't directly address sources of waste such as a lack of alignment between business units and the IT function or unnecessary architectural