Explore the challenges and strategies for maximizing flow in IT operations through this GOTO 2013 conference talk. Delve into the operational, architectural, and deployment challenges faced by cloud infrastructure teams, and discover techniques for balancing rapid feature development with stability, reliability, and security. Learn about effective interaction between operations and engineering teams, internal processes, work prioritization, production scheduling, and essential tools. Gain insights into achieving increased stability, improved deployability, faster deployment flows, better releases, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Examine concepts such as DevOps flow, systems thinking, value stream mapping, standardization, Kaizen, efficiency, and lean principles applied to IT operations. Understand the importance of customer focus, quality at the source, and cross-team collaboration in maximizing operational flow.