Kanban project management

Kanban is a visual project management framework used to implement agile and encourages small, step-by-step updates to your project or system. This article describes the history of Kanban, what a Kanban board is, and the five basic principles of this simple project management method. In addition, it details the strengths and weaknesses of Kanban, provides comparisons with Scrum techniques, and provides useful resources such as free templates and guides for creating your own Kanban board.

What is the history of Kanban?

The name Kanban means “visual sign” or “card” in Japanese and is derived from the Toyota and Lean manufacturing systems of the late 1940s. Toyota has improved the process by emulating how supermarkets stock shelves.

Engineer Taiichi Ohno realized that supermarkets focus on stocking enough goods on the shelves to meet demand and are only required to replenish if there is free space on the shelves. rice field. This shift streamlines the flow between supermarkets and customers and improves the efficiency of inventory management. Toyota brought this concept to the factory floor. The team created a visual signal, a kanban, to convey that they were ready to pull out more material to complete the task.

What Is Kanban Board?

The Kanban process is based on pulling work from the backlog and completing each work only when needed. This method is also known as the Justin Time approach. Kanban board is at the heart of this process.

A simple board can contain three columns or lanes that represent To Do, Doing, and Done tasks. You can also add columns for other steps in the workflow (design, development, testing, etc.). Team members move cards that represent a single task or unit of work from left to right to reflect the stage of each task. This visual clue provides an overview of the status of individual tasks.

Kanban boards allow teams to collaborate on projects in different locations and track and manage progress in real time, from a physical board where team members move real cards and sticky notes from one row to the next. It can be anything, even an online digital board.

5 basic principles of Kanban

Kanban is a simple framework that requires no special setup or procedures and is often easy for teams to get started with or to override existing workflows. Many teams try Kanban project management to see if it lives up to its reputation for delivering higher productivity, higher quality, and less waste.

As a best practice, Kanban projects should incorporate the following five core principles:

1. Visualize the workflow: In order to manage work effectively with Kanban, you need to be able to visualize it. With the latest real-time Kanban boards, you can quickly visualize work and resolve issues early.
2. Limit Work in Process (WIP) Limits: Work in Process (WIP) limits determine the amount of work a team can complete for each stage and workflow tracked on a board. Kanban focuses on reducing WIP to increase speed and throughput.
3. Manage and improve workflow: The movement of work on a Kanban board or workflow needs to be monitored and improved. To do this, it is necessary to measure and track performance indicators, such as the number of work in process and the number of projects completed, to calculate the average completion rate and total cycle time.
4. Clarify the workflow: To improve the efficiency of the workflow, you need to ensure that the entire team understands the processes and procedures. Regularly review the steps in your workflow to ensure they are as efficient as possible.
5. Continuous Improvement: Once your team has a Kanban system up and running, they should be able to identify issues and provide feedback on the process to ensure maximum throughput.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Kanban

The visual nature of Kanban provides unique value in determining whether it is the right project management method for the team. Here are some additional strengths and weaknesses of choosing a Kanban to manage your project:

Advantage

• Increased flexibility: Kanban is a fluid model because there is no fixed phase period, and it re-evaluates priorities as new details become available.
• Waste Reduction: Kanban focuses on reducing waste by keeping teams from spending time on unnecessary work.
• Easy to get started: The visual nature of Kanban makes it intuitive and easy to understand, so teams don’t have to learn a whole new methodology.
• Workflow Improvements: Kanban focuses on a just-in-time value-creating approach and providing work with regular rhythms.
• Minimize Cycle Time: Kanban helps your entire team focus on reducing bottlenecks and keep your work going quickly.

Disadvantages

• Overly complex board: The beauty of Kanban is its simplicity, so the board should be clean and easy to read.
• Outdated Board: Teams need to emphasize the importance of keeping the board up to date. Otherwise, you risk processing inaccurate information.
• Lack of Timing: Columns are labeled with only stages (completed, in progress, completed), so it can be difficult to determine when processing was completed.

When to Use Kanban

While Kanban was originally established in the physical goods industry, it is now used for intangible goods such as merchandise. B. Software development and use. Depending on your workflow, Kanban can be the right project management method to implement or override an existing process.

However, given the limited ability to predict delivery times, consider the following factors when evaluating whether Kanban is right for your team:

• You need a flexible system to dynamically add or remove elements
• No need to estimate
• you don’t have a set deadline
• Continuous improvement is already a priority
• You want to be able to share anytime
• Your team doesn’t respond well to big changes
• The system must be easy to understand
• You want to improve your delivery process

Kanban vs. Scrum

Both Kanban and Scrum are types of agile project management, but they have the following differences:

• Scrum requires specific roles, while Kanban does not.
• Scrum is based on timebox iterations for planning, process improvement and release. Kanban does not include required activities or schedules.
• Scrum focuses on limiting WIP per iteration, while Kanban limits WIP per workflow.
• Scrum is more rigid and resistant to changes like adding or removing elements. Kanban is easy to adapt and embrace change.
• Scrum boards are reset after each sprint, while Kanban boards are used continuously.

In addition, Scrum and Kanban have the following similarities:

• They are empirical. The process needs to be tested to see what works for your team.
• Team members can work on multiple projects at the same time.
• Both limit WIP (though they limit it differently).
• They use pull scheduling.
• They focus on delivering software early and often.
• Both use transparency to improve processes.