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Introduction To Kanban

What is kanban

Adopted by millions of teams across the world, kanban can help any team manage complex projects.

  • Kanban is an agile framework that helps your team visualize work and continuously improve. In Japanese, kanban roughly translates to "visual signal."

  • Kanban is a more flexible approach than scrum. It suggests you build a process starting from what you currently have.

Kanban Principles

Kanban has four principles.

  • Visualize your workflow using a kanban board to make work items visible to everyone. This allows team members and stakeholders to have constant insight on work progress.

  • Set limits on your works in progress (WIP), the number of work items that can be "in progress" at any given time. This helps your team reduce workloads, improve flow, and deliver in shorter increments.

  • Manage the flow of work with a system that flows freely and is as predictable as possible. Address blockers immediately, so you can reduce lead times and deliver maximum value to customers.

  • Continuously improve by reviewing and monitoring your system frequently. Prioritize small improvements that make the biggest impact on outcomes.

How do different teams use kanban?

Any team in any industry can use kanban.

  • While the framework was originally created to improve manufacturing practices, kanban has been adopted by all types of business teams, from software development to marketing.

Understanding from Examples

Example1: Software Development Team

  • Payton is a software developer at NotDog, LLC. They make an iOS app where users can vote if an image is a hotdog or not a hotdog.

  • Payton is on a support team that fixes bugs submitted by customers. Tickets are submitted every few minutes, so the support team has a long backlog of bugs to fix.

    KANBAN_sw_dev

  • To keep the tickets organized, Payton's team uses a kanban board. Their workflow is: New Request, In Progress, Code Review, Complete.

  • A customer just submitted a bug about an error message blocking the hotdog photos. When submitted, a new card is created in the New Request column. The work item gets assigned to Payton. He reads the details, begins the work, and moves the card to In Progress on the board.

  • After a few hours, Payton fixes the bug! He pulls the card to Code Review so another team member can check the work. Once approved, the team member moves the card to Complete. Payton is ready to pull his next card from the backlog.

Example2: Marketing team

  • Camila is a graphic designer at Rental Chickens, Inc. They supply rentable backyard chickens and coops to aspiring farmers.

  • With National Chicken Month coming in September, Camila's marketing team is launching a campaign to help boost chicken rentals.

    KANBAN_marketing

  • The team has tasks such as: create a social media strategy, conduct keyword research, write copy, and design the artwork. Their tasks are organized on a kanban board with the workflow: To Do, In Progress, Waiting Approval, Complete.

  • Camila's task is to design the artwork based on the social media strategy. As soon as she begins the work, she moves her card from To Do to In Progress.

  • She creates a set of farm-inspired art for the social media campaign and pulls the card into Waiting Approval. Camila pulls a new card from the backlog to keep her work flowing as she waits. Once the social media artwork is approved, Camila's task is complete! She can now focus her energy fully on her new item.

Getting Started with Kanban And Terminologies

  1. Understand Kanban Basics

    • Knowing the fundamentals of the framework gives you a significant advantage as you start working on a kanban team.

    • Make sure you know why your team uses kanban and how your team is organizing the work.

  2. Know your team's workflow

    • As you saw in the examples above, every team has a different workflow. So as you get started in kanban, make it a priority to understand your team's workflow

    • Knowing your workflow will help you plan your daily work and understand how you fit into the bigger picture.

  3. Don't work on too many things at once

    • One of the big ideas behind kanban is to focus your work on just a couple of tasks at one time.

    • It's easy to slip into bad habits of multitasking. To follow the kanban framework properly, always remember to minimize the number of tasks you have in progress. It's often better to complete one task before moving on to the next.

  4. Communicate Often

    • The benefit of a visual system is that everyone across the team can see the work. It's your job to update your work on the board and add relevant information for your teammates and stakeholders.

    • Always opt for over-communication, especially as you get started. Many teams schedule a daily meeting to go through their board and discuss blockers. Add comments and mention relevant people when you have questions or updates.

  5. Know your team's working agreements

    • Every team has different processes and best practices. You'll be most successful if you focus on understanding what your team has agreed upon.

    • Having a firm grasp of your team's working agreements will help you better prioritize your work and collaborate more effectively with the group.

  6. Use your agile mindset

    • The best way to provide long-term value to your team is to approach your work with an agile mindset.

    • As you go through your daily work, challenge yourself to pause and consider how best to shift your mindset toward flexibility, efficiency, and openness.