How Would You Describe Kanban in a Nutshell?

Visualize the workflow

Split the work into pieces, write each item on a card and put on the wall

Use named columns to illustrate where each item is in the workflow

Limit WIP (work in progress)

Assign explicit limits to how many items may be in progress at each workflow state

Measure the lead time

Lead Time (sometimes called “cycle time”) = average time to complete one item

Optimize the process to make lead time as small and predictable as possible

As you can see, Kanban is very lightweight and requires a lot of (self-)discipline to implement on a team. The specific practices that Kanban teams might use include:

Kanban board shows all work of the team

Kanban board shows flow of work of the team so we can find and work bottlenecks

Different service levels (classes of service) for distinct types of work (e.g., expedite, fixed date, standard) are identified and supported

WIP limits in place and enforced

Kanban boards are processed “Right to left, top to bottom”

Continuous improvement occurring

Cycle time and throughput tracked, and improvements focused on improving these numbers

faq>Kanban FAQ