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Kanban

Kanban is an agile framework used for project and task management. At its core are continuous improvement and just-in-time development, which allows teams to stay on top of any changes and updates. This also results in better alignment between estimated requirements and actual capabilities.

The primary medium that Kanban methodology uses is a Kanban board — this visualization tool enables project members to quickly understand what is happening throughout the process. Cards (representing individual tasks) are placed on the board and moved across columns as work is completed or changed.¹

Main Kanban Terms

• Kanban board: A Kanban board is one of the Kanban method’s key components and is where you visualize all work items. It should be divided into a minimum of 3 columns – Requested, In Progress, Done, representing different process stages;
• Kanban card: Kanban cards represent the different work items moving through a Kanban board. They contain important details about the tasks, such as description, deadline, size, assignees, etc;
• Cycle Time: Cycle time begins at the moment when a new task enters the “in progress” stage of your workflow, and somebody is actually working on it;
• Lead Time: Lead time starts at the moment a new task is being requested (it doesn’t matter if somebody is actually working on it) and ends with its final departure from the system;
• Throughput: The number of work items passing through (completed) a system or process over a certain period. The throughput is a key indicator showing how productive your team is over time;
• Work in Progress (WIP): This is the amount of work you are currently working on, and it is not finished yet;
• WIP limits: Limiting work in progress means limiting the number of tasks your team can work on simultaneously to avoid overburdening and context-switching.

The 6 Core Kanban Principles

The Kanban method is based on six foundational change management and service delivery:

• Start with what you do now: Kanban is about continuous improvement, but it starts with an understanding of the current processes and workflows;
• Agree to pursue incremental, evolutionary change: Rather than attempting a large-scale transformation all at once, Kanban advocates for small, incremental changes that build on each other over time;
• Encourage acts of leadership at all levels: Kanban is not just for managers or team leads but for everyone involved in the work. Anyone can take leadership and suggest improvements based on their observations;
• Focus on customer needs and expectations: Kanban promotes understanding the needs and expectations of your customers to elevate the quality of the provided services and the value it creates;
• Manage the work, not the workers: Kanban respects the existing roles and responsibilities of team members and empowers people’s abilities to self-organize around the work;
• Regularly review the network of services: Kanban encourages collaboration and encourages team members to share their observations, ideas, and feedback for improving the work through regular reviews of the entire network of services.

Kanban Practices

For a successful Kanban implementation, the method relies on six essential practices:

• Visualizing the workflow: Creating a visual representation of the workflow helps to identify bottlenecks, visualize the flow of work, and make the work more transparent;
• Limiting work in progress: Limiting the amount of work in progress helps to prevent multitasking and improve focus on completing one task at a time, thereby improving efficiency and reducing lead time;
• Managing flow: Kanban aims to help in optimizing flow which can be achieved by monitoring flow metrics, identifying and addressing bottlenecks, and continuously improving the workflow;
• Making process policies explicit: Defining and communicating process policies clearly helps to ensure that everyone understands how work is supposed to be done, which reduces misunderstandings and promotes consistency;
• Implementing feedback loops: Kanban emphasizes the importance of getting feedback from customers, stakeholders, and team members as a way to identify areas for improvement;
• Improving collaboratively: Kanban is a continuous improvement process that encourages collaboration and experimentation to identify and solve problems, improve continuously, and evolve their processes to better meet the needs of their customers.

Benefits of the Kanban process

The primary benefits of the Kanban methodology are:

• Flexibility. Kanban doesn’t dictate which work occurs when, simply, how many tasks are allowed in each phase at once. This approach makes it incredibly easy to reshuffle work as priorities change;
• Fewer bottlenecks. Kanban boards help you quickly identify bottlenecks in the process so you can discover and resolve what’s slowing down your team;
• Increased efficiency. While Kanban doesn’t have a set schedule, a key metric is often the average time it takes for a task to complete the workflow. This emphasis on how quickly or slowly tasks move through phases can help increase efficiency and speed up output;
• Better quality. By limiting the number of tasks your team can work on at once, you help improve their focus and the quality of their work;
• Faster adoption. Kanban encourages starting with your current processes and roles and making small changes. This approach helps teams embrace the change more easily;
• Visibility. Anyone can look at your Kanban board and quickly see what stage a task is in and who is working on it.

Links

Kanban Methodology Guide & Explainer

What Is Kanban? Manage the Work, Not the People

What Is Kanban? The Ultimate Guide to Kanban Methodology

Further reading

What is Kanban? A Beginner’s Guide!

Kanban Project Management: Implementing Kanban Methodology

credit goes to @swayangjit