Kanban is a method for visualizing and controlling work processes. Originally developed in the automotive industry, Kanban has become established in many other areas, particularly in software development and IT. Kanban promotes continuous improvement by enabling teams to make their workflows transparent, identify bottlenecks and optimize the flow of tasks. The focus is on limiting work in progress and managing the flow of work to achieve greater efficiency and productivity. Kanban is flexible and can be easily integrated into existing processes, making it a popular choice for many organizations.
Principles
The Kanban principles form the basis of the method and guide teams in improving their work processes.
Visualize the work (Visualize Work)
- Description: Work is typically visualized using a Kanban board on which all ongoing tasks and their status are displayed. This enables the team to recognize progress and possible bottlenecks at a glance.
- Advantages: Increased transparency, easier identification of problems, better communication within the team.
Limit work in progress (WIP Limit) (Limit Work in Progress)
- Description: Limiting the number of simultaneous tasks (work in progress, WIP) ensures that the team is not overloaded and can concentrate on completing the current tasks.
- Advantages: Avoidance of overload, faster completion of tasks, higher quality of work.
Managing the flow (Manage Flow)
- Description: The workflow is continuously monitored and optimized. The aim is to maximize the flow of tasks and minimize bottlenecks.
- Advantages: Greater efficiency, faster throughput times, early detection and elimination of blockages.
Explicit process definitions (Make Process Policies Explicit)
- Description: The processes and rules according to which the team works are clearly and explicitly defined and communicated. This creates a common understanding and consistency in working methods.
- Advantages: Clarity and transparency, avoidance of misunderstandings, better adherence to processes.
Feedback loops (Implement Feedback Loops)
- Description: Regular feedback loops, such as retrospectives and reviews, are introduced in order to make continuous improvements and learn from experience.
- Advantages: Continuous improvement, adaptation and optimization of processes, increased team satisfaction.
Practices
Kanban practices help to integrate the principles into daily work and to manage the work process effectively.
Kanban board
- Description: A Kanban board is a visual tool that divides the work process into different phases and displays the ongoing tasks. It can be physical (e.g. a whiteboard) or digital (e.g. software tools).
- Advantages: Visual representation of the workflow, easy identification of bottlenecks, support for team communication.
Cards (Cards)
- Description: Each task is displayed as a card on the Kanban board. These cards contain information about the task, such as title, description, person responsible and due date.
- Advantages: Clarity, easy tracking of tasks, clear responsibilities.
Columns
- Description: The columns on the Kanban board represent the different phases of the work process, such as “To do”, “In progress” and “Done”. Tasks are moved from one column to the next to show progress.
- Advantages: Structured presentation of the work process, easy tracking of progress, clear visualization of the current status.
WIP Limits
- Description: The WIP limits define how many tasks can be processed simultaneously in a certain phase of the process. This helps to keep the focus on the current tasks and avoid overload.
- Advantages: Avoidance of multitasking, increased concentration and productivity, faster completion of tasks.
Advantages of Kanban
Kanban offers numerous advantages that contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of teams.
- Flexibility and adaptability: Kanban can be easily adapted to existing processes and is therefore flexible to use.
- Continuous improvement: Regular feedback loops and the visualization of the work process promote continuous improvement.
- Transparency and clarity: Kanban boards provide a clear and visual representation of the work process, which increases transparency and clarity.
- Increased efficiency: By limiting ongoing work and managing the work flow, the efficiency of the team is increased.
- Better communication and collaboration: The visualization and structuring of work promotes communication and collaboration within the team.
