KANBAN
Kanban
Kanban is a dynamic and efficient workflow management and improvement tool. Its guiding ideas of visualizing workflow, limiting work in progress, and assessing lead time have proven useful in a variety of sectors and different types of projects.
Kanban core concepts include
- Workflow Visualization: The necessity of making work visible and transparent is emphasized by Kanban. This is achieved by creating a Kanban board, which is a physical or digital representation of the workflow. The board is divided into columns representing different stages of work, such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done." Each work item, represented by a card, is placed in the appropriate column based on its current status.
- Limiting Work in Progress (WIP): Kanban introduces the concept of WIP limits, which are the maximum number of work items allowed in each stage of the workflow. This helps prevent overburdening team members and bottlenecks in the process. By limiting WIP, teams focus on completing tasks efficiently before taking on new ones.
- Measuring Lead Time: The average time it takes to complete a work item from start to end is referred to as lead time. Kanban emphasizes measuring lead time to identify and address areas for improvement. By reducing lead time, teams can deliver value to customers faster.