What is Kanban?
Kanban originated in the manufacturing industry and the system controls the value chain from where it begins, most likely with the supplier, all the way through until it reaches the consumer. By doing this, Kanban systems help companies avoid supply disruptions, overstocking and bottlenecks in the supply chain. With constant monitoring, a Kanban system can help achieve lower delivery lead times.
Since its inception, Kanban has expanded from the manufacturing industry to include other production systems, such as software development. With continuous monitoring, developers can control the supply chain from development to production with visual representation of the workflow. The end goal for Kanban in software development is to achieve more efficient delivery times and to avoid disruptions in production.
- Visualise the workflow
To start, the team needs a Kanban board to visualise the workflow and some cards to represent the tasks. To effectively create the board, it’s important to understand what it takes to get from point A to point B. Once the workflow is created, team members can move tasks through the three columns to help represent how the project is progressing. A Kanban board might look different depending on the needs of the company. - Limit WIP
A goal of Kanban is to have only a manageable amount of work in progress to avoid multitasking. Limit how many tasks team members can currently be working on, so there is never too much that is “just started.” If there are no limits to how many tasks can be in the “in progress” column, then it is not Kanban. Constraints can also help illuminate problems that could be missed otherwise. - Manage flow
Managing flow is about managing the work itself without having to manage the people involved. Instead of micro-managing, the focus is on understanding how to move work through the process quickly. - Make process policies explicit
Something can’t be improved if it is not understood. The process should be clearly defined, published and socialised. People would not participate in something they do not believe would be useful. When everyone is familiar with the goal of the project, everyone can use the Kanban process and move the project forward. - Feedback loops
For companies that want to be more agile, feedback loops are a mandatory step. Feedback loops help ensure that organisations are properly responding to changes and that stakeholders are aware of everything they need to be. - Improve collaboratively
Collaboratively implementing changes can help create a culture of continuous improvement. It’s also important to implement changes based on scientifically proven methods, feedback and metrics.
