Kanban

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When it comes to Kanban, you may be familiar with the term and maybe even some of the ways of working, but it’s important to really understand what it is and why it is important.

Firstly, to really acknowledge where Kanban fits into the world of Agile, it’s crucial to have a thorough understanding of ‘What is Agile‘ and the ‘Agile Frameworks and Methodologies‘.

You can also find out more about the ‘Agile Manifesto‘ and where it all began, however we are about to take you down another path, to the concept of Kanban.

So if you’re at the point of wanting to know how Scrum or Kanban can impact your business, or maybe even compare the two, it’s time to take a deep dive into the world of Kanban.

It starts with Scrum

Lots of unknown stuff to get through, lots of ambiguity. Scrum is great for that.

The predictability and ruthless prioritisation that comes as part of the Scrum package blows all but the most valuable bits away. Leaving you with insight on how the thing stays together.

Soon, because your cross-functional team has been talking to each other daily, and perhaps once a week to the person paying for it ensuring you’re heading in the right direction, they say, “Yep! That’s what I want, at the right cost, and in the right timeline!”

The project has passed its first hurdle – the design phase is complete.

The next is the detail and deliver phases which is where Kanban comes in.

You can read about Scrum in detail here.

And then there is Kanban

We know what we want, know the budget, know how much time we have, and we know who we need to call to get it done. Then we need to detail it up and build it.

For these two phases, we can use Kanban.

Kanban borrows much more from manufacturing – it’s where it came from.

It enables high specialisms to run in parallel on timelines that suit the specialism. This creates an environment where team members can focus on their craft, and push the quality of their work up, albeit gradually.

We don’t sprint – we don’t have time-boxed intervals in which to get through ambiguous work as there is no or little ambiguity. In fact, we want to take it steady.

The likes of Taiichi Ohno and W. Edwards Deming – the people who revolutionised the postwar Japanese manufacturing economy. They proved several times over that concentrating on quality (including taking one’s time) results in a shorter project duration. As well as reduced total costs and a more robust outcome.

So what does Kanban (actually) mean?

The word Kanban is a Japanese word that means “signboard” or “billboard”.

It is also the name of a popular project management and process improvement methodology.

Kanban was first introduced by Taiichi Ohno, who is considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System. But we will elaborate on the origins of Kanban shortly.

In the business world however, it means a visual system for managing the flow of work and materials.

It is based on the idea of creating a visual queue (or “board”) of tasks that need to be completed. Tasks are added to the board as they are identified, and then moved through different stages of completion as they are worked on. This allows team members to see exactly what needs to be done and when it needs to be done, which helps to ensure that tasks are not forgotten or overlooked.

Again, we will explore this in more detail soon.

Where did Kanban originate

We could write an entire novel about the origin of Kanban, but for now we will give you a quick overview.

Kanban originated in the early 1940s as a tool used by Japanese automakers to improve the flow of materials and products within their factories.

It was originally called “Toyota Production System (TPS)”. The term “Kanban” was coined in the late 1950s and refers to the visual cards used to signal when more material is needed or when work is completed.

Kanban was later adapted for use in software development by Toyota engineers in the early 1990s.

Some say that the inventor of Kanban was Taiichi Ohno, who is credited with developing the Toyota Production System.

Others say that it was Mark Horowitz, who wrote the first paper on Kanban in 1988.

However, the origins of Kanban are actually much older than either of these two individuals.

Kanban can trace its roots all the way back to supermarket shelves. In the early days of supermarkets, store managers would literally walk around with a clipboard and pencil, noting which items were running low and needed to be restocked.

This system was eventually formalised into what we now know as the “kanban system” or “just-in-time inventory management”.

Toyota engineer Taiichi Ohno is said to have helped make Toyota the most successful and profitable car company in history.

Ohno’s genius was in realising that just because a process is working smoothly, doesn’t mean it can’t be made more efficient.

He developed the kanban system as a way to regulate the flow of materials through the factory and ensure that only the necessary amount of parts were produced at any given time.

This not only helped to reduce waste and save money, but also improved quality and customer satisfaction.

W. Edwards Deming is credited with helping to introduce the concept of total quality management (TQM) to Japan in the early 1950s, after which it was widely adopted by Japanese businesses.

TQM is a holistic management approach that aims to improve an organisation’s quality and performance through the continuous improvement of all aspects of its operations.

Deming’s work helped pave the way for the later introduction of lean manufacturing techniques such as Taiichi Ohno’s Kanban system, which emphasises the elimination of waste and the perfection of flow.

The two systems are complementary, and together they have helped make Japanese industry one of the most efficient in the world.

Kanban has since been adapted for use in a variety of industries, from software development to healthcare, and has become one of the more popular project management methodologies in the world.

The purpose of Kanban

The purpose of kanban is to limit the work in progress (WIP) at any given time so that the team can focus on completing a small number of tasks at a time and avoid context switching.

Kanban also helps to ensure that each task is completed before starting a new task, which reduces the chances of defects and lowers the overall cycle time for completing tasks.

Finally, kanban helps to visualise the workflow so that team members can identify bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement.

Transparency increases collaboration

Kanban is transparent: every team member can see every piece of work. If you’re trying to figure out whether the plumbing is going to get in the way of your load-bearing columns, you can see who is doing that drawing and ask them about it.

Kanban works for delivery

Kanban works for detailed design, and works for delivery/construction, for all the same reasons. Our client achieved a higher quality outcome in its engineering package development. This was in a quarter of the time through using a Kanban approach. Another was able to completely avoid re-work and defects in packages. And meet a tight deadline – a feat in an industry used to dealing with costly change orders.

The benefits of Kanban

There are many benefits to using Kanban, especially when compared to other project management tools. ADAPTOVATE often use a combination of a few. It will be specific for the particular engagement with the client.

Overall, it is an extremely valuable tool that can help teams increase efficiency and improve communication.

Here are some of the biggest and most recognisable benefits:

Kanban is visual. It is designed to help teams visualise their work, making it easier to identify bottlenecks and potential areas for improvement.
Kanban doesn’t rely on strict deadlines, it’s often seen as being more flexible and agile than other approaches. This can be a huge benefit when working on fast-paced or rapidly changing projects.
It can help team members feel more empowered and have ownership over their work, as they’re able to move tasks through the system at their own pace.
Kanban also encourages continuous improvement through constant feedback loops. For example, if a task is taking too long to complete, you can re-evaluate your process and see where there could be improvements. This helps to ensure that your team is always working at its best.

Kanban in Agile

There is a lot of debate over which mindset or methodology is best when it comes to Agile.

For example, Scrum is great for setting and managing expectations, but can be limiting if your business changes or grows rapidly. Agile allows for more flexibility, but can be harder to manage and can lead to waste. Kanban strikes a good balance between the two and is easier to implement than either Scrum or Agile.

So where do we go from here?

We are often asked the comparison between different terms, and without going into too much detail, here are a few:

They’re both methods for getting work done, but they have different focuses. Agile is more about the process of getting work done, while scrum is more about the product. Agile is more flexible, while scrum is more structured. Most people find scrum to be more effective because it’s easier to track progress and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Lean and agile are two different ways of looking at the same goal – creating efficient, effective processes. Lean focuses on removing waste from a process, while agile focuses on being able to quickly adapt to changes in customer demand.

The key difference is that lean focuses on the end result – the customer’s satisfaction – while agile focuses on the means by which that goal is achieved. Lean is more about getting rid of unnecessary steps and processes, while agile allows for more flexibility and change in order to better meet customer needs.

Kanban is great for managing and tracking work items, while Scrum is great for managing and tracking releases. Kanban is better for projects with a lot of smaller tasks, while Scrum is better for projects with a few larger tasks.

Kanban is better for teams that are comfortable with change, while Scrum is better for teams that like more structure.

Scrumban is a process framework that combines the best of scrum and kanban to provide greater flexibility and flow. It’s based on the idea that there are different types of work, some that should be managed in a more agile way (with short cycles and continuous feedback) and others that are better suited to a more gradual/continuous flow.

Scrumban helps you identify which type of work each item is, and then decides how it should be handled based on what will work best for that particular type of work.

How does it work: Kanban Principles, Rules and Practices

Kanban has been adapted to all industries, ways of working and types of teams over the years. It has evolved and been developed to suit modern ways of working. There are still mentions of principles and rules, however in modern times, a Kanban way of working is just that.

Whether we call them rules, or practices, when it comes to Kanban, the concept can be broken down into 6 simple steps:

Start with a small number of tasks
Separate the tasks into different categories
Assign each task a priority level
Move tasks through the workflow as they are completed
Keep track of how long each task takes to complete
Review and adjust the process as needed

To further elaborate, Kanban follows a set of six core practices in which everyone should follow:

Create a Kanban board that everyone on your team can see and understand. The board should contain all of the tasks that need to be completed, as well as who is responsible for each task. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

The visualisation of work is especially important in Kanban because it helps to mitigate one of the biggest challenges with traditional project management methods: the risks associated with multitasking.

This helps prevent overwhelm and ensures that quality standards are met. By limiting the amount of WIP, you can better focus and control the flow of your work.

So how does one go about creating WIP limits?

There are a few different ways, but one common way is to use a Kanban board. A visual way of tracking and managing work. Each task is represented by a card, and the cards are moved through various stages of development from left to right. The number of cards in each stage is limited, so that only a certain amount of work is in progress at any given time.

This means making sure that work is evenly distributed among team members, and that no one person ends up with too much work on their plate. By managing the flow of work, you can avoid bottlenecks and boost efficiency.

There are a few different ways to go about managing the flow of work in a Kanban system. One popular method is known as “WIP limits.” WIP stands for “work in progress,” and setting limits on how much WIP each team member can have at any given time helps to keep everyone focused and prevents them from being overwhelmed by too many projects.

It’s important to have clear policies in place when using Kanban, otherwise your team will likely find themselves with a lot of unfinished work.

That being said, it’s not always easy to know what constitutes a clear policy. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Scheduling: When do new pieces of work enter the system? How often are they worked on? Are there any deadlines?
Processes: What processes need to be followed for each piece of work? Who is responsible for each step?
Work Items: What counts as a work item? How much detail is captured for each item?
Blocks and Interruptions: What can cause a block or an interruption, and how is each handled?
Quality: What standards need to be met? How are quality issues addressed?
Communication: Who needs to be kept up to date on progress? How often are updates communicated?

There’s no question that effective collaboration is key to the success of any kanban implementation.

After all, kanban is all about limiting work in progress and ensuring that each step in the process is completed before starting the next step.

This can only happen if everyone involved is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

Some tips for effective collaboration:

Communicate frequently and openly. Make sure everyone has a clear understanding of what’s going on and what’s expected of them.
Stay organised and keep track of who is doing what and when. This will help avoid confusion and ensure that tasks are completed on time.
Be flexible and adaptable. Things will change; be prepared to adjust your plans accordingly.
Foster a positive, productive work environment where team building and cooperation is promoted.
Implement feedback loops to help improve collaboratively.

This is an important rule because it helps you to constantly get better and more efficient at what you do. It’s important to be always looking for ways to improve so that you can continue making progress and becoming more productive.

Some ways to improve your existing processes include streamlining your workflow, using templates or checklists, and automating tasks whenever possible.

The Kanban Technique

The Kanban technique is a visual system for managing work that helps you to optimise the flow of work and improve your productivity. It does this by dividing your work into manageable chunks, and then tracking the progress of each chunk so you can identify and eliminate any bottlenecks in the workflow.

The Kanban technique is based on the theory of lean production, which is a methodology for eliminating waste in the manufacturing process. And because it’s based on lean production, the Kanban technique is also very simple to learn and use. In fact, many people find that they’re able to start using it effectively right away without any training or guidance.

Kanban Systems and Tools

Kanban tools are a great way to get your team organised and improve productivity. There are many digital and physical boards that are available to help manage flow.

No matter which tool you choose, make sure to experiment with different settings and see what works best for you and your team.

The key is to find a tool that is easy to use and helps you stay organised and productive.

Kanban Boards

Kanban boards are a way of visualising your work. They help you get a sense of what needs to be done, when it should be done, and who is working on what.

There are a few different ways to set up a Kanban board, but the basic idea is to have a column for each stage of your process (e.g. To Do, In Progress, Done) and then create cards for each task which you can move between the columns as it progresses.

There are many software options for Kanban boards, but you can also just use a physical board like a whiteboard or piece of paper if you prefer.

Agile teams may have a Kanban board to work on collectively whilst some team members may have their own kanban board for specific projects. The core principles of the board remain the same.

Kanban Cards

Kanban cards are used in a Kanban system or on a Kanban board to track the progress of work.

Each Kanban card typically has the following information:

The name of the task or work item
The type of work it is (e.g. design, development, testing, production)
Who is working on it
When it was started
When it is due
Any other notes or comments about the task

These cards typically fall into three categories:

To Do
In Progress
Done.

As tasks are completed, the cards are moved from left to right on the Kanban board. This makes it easy to see at a glance which tasks are still pending and which have been completed.

And, it’s very easy to get an overview of the project status by looking at all of the cards on the board.

Kanban Flow

A kanban flow is a visual representation of the work to be done and how it flows between stages. It’s similar to a Trello board, where each stage (or column) can have a number of cards that represent tasks or items in progress.

The benefit of using a kanban flow is that it makes it easy to see what work needs to be done and where any bottlenecks are. It can help to optimise the flow of work so that tasks move smoothly through the system.

It also makes it possible to see the WIP limit for the entire team as well as the WIP limits for each individual.

Managing flow in a Kanban System

When it comes to flow management in a Kanban system, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you need to have a clear understanding of what your workflow looks like. This means understanding the different stages involved in completing a task, and how tasks move from one stage to the next. Once you have this understanding, you can start to think about how best to optimise your workflow.

One of the most important aspects of managing Kanban flow is ensuring that work moves smoothly through each stage of the process. This means avoiding bottlenecks and ensuring that tasks are being completed in a timely manner. It can be helpful to create visual representations of your workflow so that you can quickly see where.

Is Kanban the best option for your team?

Kanban is definitely worth considering if you’re looking for ways to improve your team’s workflow and efficiency.

It is a flexible method that can be adapted to fit new and existing workflows, and its focus on visualising tasks and progress can be extremely helpful in keeping everyone on track.

Additionally, its emphasis on limiting work in progress can help reduce burnout and increase clarity of purpose.

Adaptovate works with large and small organisations to understand how to make the transition to becoming an agile organisation and seize these benefits at scale.

Reach out to us for more information on adopting Kanban methods into your workplace.