Speed of reaction to market changes and flexibility in project management are critical factors for business success. Companies are looking for effective approaches to organizing work processes in the face of constant information flow and the need for quick decision-making. Specialists have to work with a multitude of tools on a daily basis – from email and messengers to specialized systems for development management, document management, etc.
Kanban is a flexible process management system that helps to bring order to the existing chaos of work processes and increase transparency of both individual tasks and projects as a whole.
In this article, we will look at the basics of Kanban methodology, its benefits and principles, as well as the possibility of increasing productivity and quality of work by achieving a balance between workload and resources.
How did Kanban come about?
The first Kanban system was developed in the early 1940s by Taiichi Ono, an industrial engineer and businessman, for the Japanese automobile company Toyota. It was created as a simple production planning system to control and optimize costs and inventory at every stage.
The main reason for developing Kanban was Toyota’s lack of productivity and efficiency compared to its American competitors. With Kanban, Toyota has created a flexible just-in-time production management system that has increased productivity and reduced raw material and finished goods inventories. Kanban monitors the entire value chain from supplier to end user, helping to avoid supply disruptions and overstocking at the production stages.
Over time, Kanban has proven its effectiveness in a variety of production systems and business areas. However, it is important to note that Kanban is not a traditional software development or project management methodology. For its successful implementation, you need to have existing processes in your organization that Kanban can help you optimize.
Kanban helps to identify and fix problems that affect productivity, ensuring workflow continuity. By systematizing quality and process problems with Kanban, you can accurately assess their consequences – process variability, job sustainment costs, employee efficiency, etc.
Research shows that the use of Kanban improves user satisfaction by consistently delivering quality and reliable product releases, improves productivity and quality of work, and reduces product delivery time. Experts also note that Kanban fosters a more flexible and adaptive organizational culture through incremental change.
Kanban board elements
In its simplest form, a Kanban board consists of 6 basic elements:
- Cards -represent individual tasks that move through status columns until completed. The card contains information about the task: due date, priority, executor, description (terms of reference), etc;
- Columns – reflect the stages of the workflow, for example, “Backlog”, “In Progress”, “Blocked”, “Executed”. Cards move from backlog and move from left to right until completed;
- Tracks (Swimlanes) – horizontal bars to separate and categorize different activities, such as by team;
- WIP Limits – limits the maximum amount of work in progress. Help identify inefficiencies in team workflow;
- Visual cues – this can include color-coding of cards to indicate priority, type of work; use of symbols or stickers to highlight specific features of a task;
- Blocking Signals – special icons on the card that alert the team that there is a problem that needs to be resolved before the task can be completed
When creating your first Kanban board, it is recommended that you start with a simple structure and gradually increase complexity and detail as needed.
Benefits of Kanban
Kanban is often compared to a traffic light that regulates traffic flow. For project managers, Kanban provides:
- Process transparency
Kanban allows you to see who is working on what, identify bottlenecks, and focus on prioritized tasks. A Kanban board helps you visualize your workflow, identify gaps and resource shortages such as:
- Large amounts of work-in-progress (WIP);
- “Stuck” tasks that are repeatedly assigned to one employee;
- Missed deadlines
- Saving time
Kanban board workflow visualization allows project managers to quickly identify and fix problems. Kanban saves time like no other project management tool.
- Organize tasks for each team member
The Kanban board serves as a tool to structure ideas and tasks into a personalized to-do list that does not go beyond the employee’s area of responsibility. This allows for project continuity and smooth execution of tasks.
6 essential Kanban practices
- Visualize the workflow. Use different sections of the Kanban board to visualize tasks and work steps. This provides transparency and understanding of the current project status for the entire team;
- Limit the amount of work-in-progress (WIP). Set limits on the number of tasks that can be completed simultaneously. This allows you to focus on completing current tasks before starting new ones and prevents your team from getting overloaded;
- Manage workflows. Assign tasks to team members based on their workload, skills and experience. This helps balance the workload and optimize team performance;
- Implement clear policies. Define rules for transitioning tasks between workflow steps. Clear policies ensure consistency and predictability in team performance;
- Provide opportunities for feedback. Encourage open communication and sharing of opinions. Regular feedback sessions allow you to identify problems, gather ideas for process improvement, and strengthen team collaboration;
- Look for opportunities for continuous improvement. Continuously look for opportunities to optimize workflows. Encourage the team to suggest improvement ideas and implement the most effective ones. Kanban is a path of continuous improvement.
Differences between Kanban and Scrum
Kanban boards can easily be confused with Scrum boards and vice versa. However, there are fundamental differences between the two:
- Board Structure
- Scrum board is focused on sprints (short iterations) and includes columns for product backlog and sprints.
- Kanban board represents the entire workflow and is not tied to sprints.
- Planning and Evaluation
- Scrum involves pre-planning and estimating the scope of work for a sprint.
- Kanban does not require rigid planning and estimates, focusing on visualizing the flow of work.
- Change Management
- Kanban accepts changes as an integral part of the project, allowing changes to be made at any time.
- In Scrum, changes to the sprint plan are not recommended once the sprint has started.
- Role assignment
- In Scrum, the key roles are the product owner and the Scrum master.
- In Kanban there are no strictly defined roles, management can be done by any team member.
Why do companies use Kanban?
- Enhance transparency. Kanban board allows all team members to see the current progress of the project, identify problem areas and promptly remove obstacles. Workflow visualization provides full transparency and insight into task status.
- Enhance productivity. By identifying and eliminating bottlenecks, the team can focus on productive work. In Kanban, productivity is measured by cycle time (the time it takes to complete a task) and throughput (the number of tasks completed in a given period). Speeding up the movement of tasks through the workflow has a direct impact on improving team productivity.
- Adaptability to change. Kanban, as part of the Agile methodology, allows you to respond quickly to changing customer requirements and organizational changes. The flexibility of the Kanban board makes it easy to re-prioritize, adjust timelines, and reallocate resources to meet new conditions.
- Workload Optimization. Limiting the number of concurrent tasks (WIP) is one of Kanban’s key practices. Thanks to the “pull system”, new tasks are only taken on when resources are available. This avoids overloading the team and ensures an optimal balance between workload and productivity.
Applying Kanban in software development
The introduction of the Kanban methodology in 2004 marked a new era in software development, becoming a widespread approach to optimizing production cycles. In this case, Kanban focuses on improving workflow efficiency and enhancing the quality of the final product.
At its core, Kanban is a Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing process that aims to optimize the flow of resources and components used in the creation of a product. In software development, Kanban facilitates efficient management of the work-in-progress (WIP) flow according to the resources and capabilities of the development team.
Kanban for software development uses simplified Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) stages to represent the different stages of the production process. The goal is to control and manage the flow of functionality (represented by Kanban cards) so that the number of functionalities entering the process matches the number of functionalities completed.
In a relatively short time, Kanban has significantly expanded its presence in software development, and continues to grow aggressively in this area.
According to the State of Kanban Report, software development continues to be the primary business area in which Kanban is used – among a quarter of all respondents.
Conclusion
Kanban is a powerful tool in the arsenal of modern project and process management – not only providing clear visualization of work tasks and processes, but also helping to create continuous improvement, adaptability, and flexibility. Implementing Kanban into daily practice can help teams work more synchronized, quickly identify and address weaknesses in processes, and significantly improve the quality and speed of product delivery to the end user.
Kanban goes far beyond a simple task management tool – it helps teams and organizations evolve with changing requirements and stay competitive in a dynamic marketplace.
