Kanban

What is Kanban

Agile-trainers often compare Kanban to water — it flows round the current structure and hierarchy of the company, and very slowly begins to change it. As water sharpens stones, so Kanban changes thinking of employees and structure of the company.

Employees do not need to put a lot of effort to begin to learn to be flexible — upon transition there are no reorganization, usual roles and hierarchy remain at first, everything occurs at comfortable speed and does not cause problems in a command.

Who suits Kanban

"Kanban", as well as Scrum, has no restrictions in application. The methodology is used for planning of weddings or personal projects. Small divisions in Microsoft apply it to development of new applications, and Toyota which it is considered to be the founder Kanban — to management of all productions of corporation.

For the first time the methodology Kanban was offered and applied in Toyota company in the late forties

There are separate branches of Kanban: personal, production and software. These so different directions that their visualization are not similar at each other at all. On production there are a lot of work stages therefore the kanban boards can be much and they can be scattered on workshops and departments. Cards can designate parts or stages of build process of mechanisms. Visualization is directed to supply of workshops with the necessary parts just in time. IT specialists have a board usually general, it is expected team work and helps to work on the project together.

How to use Kanban to be flexible

In Kanban only six rules. They help to organize work on the basis of agile-thinking. Rules can gradually be introduced one behind another. New it is not added until the first changes became usual for most of people in the company.

Changes will be evolutionary therefore at first Kanban suggests to spare an old regime of work and usual roles. Everything that is necessary for a start — strong desire to begin changes and encouragement of an initiative of employees.

Rule 1. Visualize a work flow

"Kanban" relies on visualization. That at any time the nobility as the situation is, all tasks register in one foreground.

Visualization can be any: the table in Excel, a table with cards, a wall with the pasted leaflets. It can be the special program Jira, Trello or similar. The kanban board cannot be "correct" or "wrong" — what helps you is good.

Beginners are recommended to use this board or a wall of office and sticky leaves. The physical board works better than programs because it always is in the public eye. You do not need to turn on the computer, to open the browser, to log in on the website to see how the project moves ahead. All team members any minute see a relevant picture of the project.

Still physical board "emotionally warm". Only provide: you made a task, approached a board and transferred a card to other column. You — the good fellow, and colleagues see it. In Jira or Trello web applications such feeling will not be, the card just will appear in other column.

Write all tasks

To make visualization, it is enough to write all tasks which you do now and you are going to make in the near future. It is important that you could see on a board how many really you already have works, and how many in plans.

Define the statuses of tasks

The statuses of tasks are columns on a board. Strict rules what columns to do, do not exist. For a start it is recommended to use three columns: "the entering tasks", "in work" "is also "made". Then each of them can be separated into smaller if it is necessary. Or to think up the statuses and to enter new columns.

Rule 2. Limit the number of at the same time performed work

After creation of the first visualization you will be struck how a lot of work is performed in parallel by a command. It is one of the reasons why tasks stretch: we spend forces not for productive work, and for switching between tasks.

"Kanban" suggests to limit the number of at the same time performed work. So we increase the efficiency and we accelerate passing of cards from the status "entering" to "is made". We recommend to record quantity of the current tasks and to take this digit for initial restriction. Further the limit needs to be reduced gradually.

Record a limit of tasks

Agree with colleagues how many tasks from each category you will be able to carry out effectively at the same time. Write these restrictions with digits over columns that they always were in the public eye. As option — limit the place on a board that excess cards could not even be located in columns.

Place priorities

After restriction of simultaneous operation in "entering" there will be a set of cards. That to arrange them, prioritization is necessary. It is possible to use different methods: mark cards in color, locate in a certain order or make rating with points. The main thing that you and your colleagues unambiguously understood what tasks need to be made in the nearest future what can be postponed for couple of days.

Rule 3. Manage a flow of tasks

Visualization helps to monitor the advance speed of cards and uniform loading of all specialists. If something goes not so, on a board it is visible at once.

When there is "stopper", the principle works: "One for all, and all for one". Employees who because of a jam remained not loaded do not sit out, and help colleagues to sort a blockage. For example, designers can be connected to testing or drawing up documents while they have no work.

It does not mean that it is necessary to do others work. Each employee himself defines as far as to expand the area of responsibility. Remember that the ability to understand adjacent areas does the person more professional and more valuable.

You monitor loading

Work should be rhythmical. If you felt recession in loading, descend to a board. Perhaps, colleagues have a blockage and your help is necessary.

You ask about the help

If the stopper was formed on your section, it is not necessary to be silent. Success of all project therefore colleagues surely will help you depends on your work. Look on a board who is most less loaded, and ask them about the help.

Rule 4. Make arrangements and expectations explicit

Rules by which the command works should be known to all. They can change, but the current version should be available to everyone.

Write rules of work with a board

Agree with colleagues and write on what principles it is possible to take new tasks when it is possible to consider a task made and how to move it to the following column. Make so that the traffic regulation of cards was clear to any person in a command.

Hang up rules on a foreground

That it was easy to be connected to "others" work or to enter into a team of new people, hang up rules near a board or directly in each column.

Rule 5. Analyze work of a command

The mandatory requirement of Kanban — regular planning meetings and analysis of progress and failures of a command. They are necessary to be sure: the command works in the right direction and the result will be received in time.

There are no frequency restrictions and to a format of meetings. It can be questionnaires, internal meetings or are convened. Agile propagandizes real-life communication therefore it is recommended to hold short personal meetings. Planning — every day and every week, and job analysis — once a month and quarterly.

It is convenient to hold daily planning meetings near a board or other visualization. The meeting purpose — to think up how to adjust high flow rate of tasks cards. The command browses a board from right to left, finds problem places and makes the decision how quicker to complete the available work. Any specialist can propose the solution.

At weekly meetings all command meets the higher management. Together they analyze the speed of work of a command, work on permission of difficulties, discuss risk reduction.

At monthly meetings all commands which work in one company meet. Heads tell about financial performance — each employee knows how many he earned his department. He understands what is done by the company in general and in what status there are different projects. Commands tell what resources are necessary for them.

Rule 6. Improve through joint efforts, evolve on the basis of experiments

Kanban command always are in search of an ideal system where task cards pass on a board from category "entering" to "is made" as fast as possible and without delays.

For this purpose commands make experiments: change restrictions for at the same time performed work or in a different way place priorities. That the system of the organization of work evolved, experiments should be the general, but not for individual employees. It is recommended to try something new regularly:

Offer improvements

Each team member can offer any changes. If the command cannot prove at once that they will be harmful or will badly affect result of work, the experiment is made.

Try one change for time

That precisely the nobility what effect the innovation gave, you do not make several experiments at the same time. It is better to try one idea for another, and in work only to leave proved useful.

How not to forget about the correct thinking

Rules of a framework Kanban do not give specific instructions on the organization of work in the spirit of agile but only direct a command. It is regularly recommended to check itself proceeding from the following theses:

• each employee cares for a project success, it is initiative;
• the command discusses financial results of the company and the deposit to these results;
• the command regularly makes experiments and checks hypotheses of work process improvement;
• employees help colleagues if there is a blockage on a board;
• in the company there are evolutionary changes.

Ten most widespread errors when using Kanban

In simplicity of methodology Kanban subtleties which cause its incorrect implementation are.

"Kanban" is not only a board with visualization of tasks

1. Everything begins and comes to an end with a board

The most typical and most widespread error which we see today — understanding of Kanban as boards with visualization. Many think that as soon as they hung out on a wall a heap of stickers with the description of work, they got Kanban. It is quite misleading.

"Kanban" is a method of improvement of service by an evolutionary method, it has six main the practician. Until you have all these elements, implementation of a framework will be defective and will not even be able to carry the name of Kanban. Just visualization of work is not enough.

2. There are no organizational changes

The methodology Kanban is created for acceleration of changes therefore should lead to organizational transformation of the company. Between some departments barriers will fall, they will cease to work separately from each other. Other departments will integrate, disappear or appear. All organization structure will have to become dynamic and react to requirements of the market.

The statuses quo want to save most the companies which apply Kanban and to avoid changes in any manner. However if in three months in the company there were no evolutionary transformations, it is possible to speak safely - here does not even smell of Kanban.

3. There is no self-organization

One more indicator of incorrect understanding of Kanban — lack of self-organization. People who will organize the work with the help Kanban should change and optimize own process independently. In many companies works managers, but not ordinary participants of process try to do this.

Self-organization — an important part a kanban system which cannot be ignored. Even if you have a board and organizational changes are noticeable.

4. The organization of people, but not works is carried out

Many simulation of Kanban is directed to the organization of people, but not work which these people perform. It is a frequent error, but it is easy to notice it. Look at a kanban board: if horizontal tracks bear names of people, then the company got to a trap and will organize people. It is not Kanban again.

"Kanban" is created for the organization of work therefore in horizontal tracks of a board views or stages of works, but not names of people should be arranged.

5. There are no feedback cycles

Existence of cycles of a feedback — one of obligatory the practician of Kanban. Cycles can be the most different: daily stand-ups, regular demos (trial versions) for users, reviews of ensuring level of service, operational reviews, frequency of deliveries, frequency of replenishment of a system.

It is important that these events were held regularly, and a feedback influenced the organization of work of a command.

6. There are no restrictions of at the same time performed work

"Kanban" imposes restrictions for the number of at the same time performed work. Unfortunately, this practice is ignored still more often than existence of cycles of a feedback.

Restrictions are necessary to increase productivity of employees and to accelerate the completion of work. It is basic practice which is based on search of balance between performance of a command and volume of the performed work.

7. Arrangements do not change

"Kanban" requires creation of explicit arrangements between participants of a command, and with this practice of problems usually does not arise. However often commands forget that arrangements should be updated regularly too and show arrangements on the sheets which turned yellow from time. It — not Kanban.

"Kanban" is aimed at changes of the organization of work therefore also arrangements should change constantly, but remain transparent for all participants of process.

8. There is no analysis of dissatisfaction

One of the first steps of implementation of Kanban — the analysis of dissatisfaction of all interested persons, identification of interruptions of workflow, any noises and priority inversions, low-quality. Many beginners neglect this step and at once start building a kanban system and visualization. Such approach is inadmissible, it does not allow the company to understand what needs actually to be improved.

"Kanban" is created for evolutionary improvements of process of work. But search of places where these improvements are necessary should be the first step always and will bring notable benefit.

9. Queues of ready work are not limited

Except problems with restriction of at the same time performed work, exist implementation of Kanban with infinite queues of ready work. It can be huge product inventories in a warehouse or existence of a large amount of ready functionality which did not enter release. They can arise even if the command has restrictions on the number of simultaneous operation.

Important practice of this Kanban — to limit the number of ready work and to adjust its sale. It will help to receive an important feedback and quicker to evolve.

10. The To do list seems obligatory

The last in this list, but not the last possible an error when using Kanban is a view of all participants of process of a column a kanban board "To work". The trouble is that many take it too literally and aim to execute everything that there got. Such understanding is incorrect.

In full Kanban systems the column "To Work" should be a set of the ideas about what can be made. But it is absolutely optional to do all from it.

This brief summary of typical errors should allow to understand better methodology Kanban. And, of course, you should not be upset if you learn the implementation in these points. Forewarned is forearmed. Begin to ask inconvenient questions to the command, read together this note and take the first small step to changes. Kanban — about it!

See Also

• Agile-transformation in Sberbank
• Agile in management of the state projects
• Agile software development
• Scrum
• DevOps Methodology
• Lean Six Sigma of Lin Shest Sigma Methods of lean production (lean manufacturing)
• Supersets, relays and high-speed sports cars races – sports agile approach to project implementation process