Kanban is a visual project management method designed to help teams optimize their workflow, improve efficiency, and ensure a smooth delivery of tasks. It originated from lean manufacturing techniques used by Toyota and has since been widely adopted in various industries, particularly in software development and agile project management.

• Visualizing Workflow:
  • The core of Kanban is the Kanban board, which provides a visual representation of tasks.
  • It typically consists of columns representing different stages in the process, such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Testing,” and “Completed.”
  • Tasks are represented by cards (usually sticky notes or digital cards) that move across the board as they progress through the stages.

• Limiting Work in Progress (WIP):
  • Kanban emphasizes setting limits on how many tasks can be in progress at each stage of the workflow.
  • This avoids bottlenecks, overburdening team members, and ensures that tasks are completed before new ones are started.
  • WIP limits are often visualized directly on the Kanban board (e.g., a maximum of 5 tasks can be in the “In Progress” stage).

• Managing Flow:
  • Teams focus on maintaining a steady flow of tasks from start to finish.
  • By constantly monitoring how tasks move through the stages, teams can identify bottlenecks or delays and address them.
  • Kanban encourages regular reviewing of the process to ensure continuous improvement.

• Making Process Policies Explicit:
  • In Kanban, it’s important to have clear, explicit rules for how tasks move from one stage to another.
  • These policies help ensure that everyone on the team understands the workflow, reducing confusion and miscommunication.

• Continuous Improvement:
  • Kanban is not static; teams are encouraged to continuously refine their processes based on feedback and observation.
  • Retrospectives or reviews can help identify areas for improvement, ensuring the workflow evolves as the team and project needs change.

• Feedback Loops:
  • Regular reviews and stand-up meetings are encouraged to discuss the status of tasks and make adjustments if necessary.
  • This can be done daily (daily standups) or at the end of each iteration to ensure that issues are identified and resolved quickly.

• Metrics and Measurement:
  • Kanban uses metrics like Lead Time (the total time it takes for a task to go from start to completion) and Cycle Time (the time it takes for a task to go through a specific part of the workflow).
  • These metrics help teams analyze their performance and efficiency, allowing them to make data-driven improvements to their workflow.

• Flexibility: Unlike Scrum, which requires fixed-length sprints and pre-planning, Kanban is more flexible. Teams can pull tasks from the backlog as needed, without the need for a sprint cycle.
• Improved Workflow: The emphasis on visualizing work and limiting WIP reduces bottlenecks and helps teams prioritize work effectively.
• Efficiency: By focusing on continuous delivery and flow, teams often find they can complete tasks faster and with less wasted effort.
• Transparency: The visual nature of the Kanban board ensures that everyone can see the current state of tasks, making it easier to communicate progress.

Tasks (like Task 1, Task 2) move from left to right as work progresses. The board might have WIP limits to ensure no more than 3 tasks are in “In Progress” at a time, preventing team overload and encouraging completion before new tasks are started.

• Ongoing projects with no fixed deadlines: Kanban is ideal for continuous delivery projects where tasks or customer requests come in steadily and need to be handled efficiently.
• Teams seeking flexibility: Since it doesn’t enforce time-boxed iterations (like Scrum sprints), Kanban works well for teams that prefer a flexible, non-iterative approach.
• Teams focused on improving flow: When the main focus is to keep the work moving smoothly through the process with minimal disruptions, Kanban is effective.

Kanban is a popular method in project management, particularly within Agile practices. It focuses on visualizing work, limiting work in progress (WIP), and maximizing workflow efficiency. Kanban originated from lean manufacturing, developed by Toyota, and is now widely used in various industries, including software development and project management.

• Visualize Work
  • The central aspect of Kanban is to visualize the workflow, typically through a Kanban board. The board is divided into columns representing different stages of work (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done).
  • Each task or work item is represented by a card, and as the task progresses, it moves from one column to the next, giving a clear visual overview of the current project status.

• Limit Work in Progress (WIP)
  • Kanban emphasizes limiting the number of tasks in progress. Too many tasks in progress can lead to bottlenecks and reduced productivity.
  • WIP limits encourage the team to finish tasks before starting new ones, promoting a steady, continuous workflow.

• Manage Flow
  • Kanban focuses on optimizing workflow and ensuring a smooth process. Teams monitor the movement of tasks to identify and remove bottlenecks.
  • Key flow metrics, such as cycle time (the time it takes to complete a task), are tracked to enhance speed and efficiency.

• Make Process Policies Explicit
  • Teams should clearly define their process rules and make them visible. This ensures everyone understands how work is handled, and deviations from the process can be identified and improved.

• Implement Feedback Loops
  • Regular feedback loops, like daily stand-ups and retrospectives, are used to discuss progress, remove obstacles, and continuously improve the workflow.

• Collaborate for Continuous Improvement (Kaizen)
  • Kanban promotes Kaizen (continuous improvement). Small, incremental changes to the process are made to improve efficiency and productivity over time.

• Set Up the Kanban Board:
  • Create a board with columns representing the stages of the workflow, such as Backlog, To Do, In Progress, and Done.
  • Each task is represented by a card, starting in the Backlog or To Do column.

• Prioritize and Pull Tasks:
  • Team members “pull” tasks from the To Do column as they have capacity to work, respecting the WIP limits. They move the card to the In Progress column.
  • Members work on tasks until completion before pulling new ones.

• Monitor Workflow and Identify Bottlenecks:
  • As tasks move across the board, managers can visualize where bottlenecks occur, if team members are overloaded, or if there are inefficiencies.

• Review and Reflect:
  • Teams should hold regular review meetings to reflect on the workflow, identify issues, and discuss ways to improve the process.

• Flexibility: Kanban does not prescribe fixed iterations (like Scrum), making it adaptable and allowing for quick changes in priorities.
• Improved Efficiency: Limiting WIP ensures focus on task completion, reducing delays and increasing efficiency.
• Better Collaboration: A Kanban board enhances transparency, helping teams collaborate more effectively.
• Continuous Delivery: Kanban supports a continuous flow of work, allowing for more frequent and incremental project updates.
• Identifying Bottlenecks: The visual nature of Kanban makes it easier to identify delays and bottlenecks in the process.

Several digital tools can help implement Kanban boards, including:

• Trello
• Jira
• Asana
• Monday.com
• Microsoft Planner

While both Kanban and Scrum are Agile methodologies, they have key differences:

• Scrum: Uses fixed-length sprints, has defined roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner), and sets a fixed scope of work for each sprint.
• Kanban: Focuses on continuous delivery, with no fixed roles or time-boxed iterations. It allows flexibility in prioritization based on the flow of tasks.

In conclusion, Kanban is a flexible, efficient project management method that focuses on optimizing workflow and enabling continuous improvement, making it ideal for dynamic, fast-paced environments.