Kanban is an agile framework that originated at Toyota in the mid-20th century. Originally developed as a method to increase flexibility and efficiency in production, Kanban was later adapted for project management by David J. Anderson. Unlike rigid processes or structures, Kanban emphasizes self-organization and tasks being pulled by employees or the team (pull principle).
The basic principles of Kanban can be summarized in four points:
- Start with what you are currently doing: Kanban encourages starting with current tasks and aiming for incremental changes.
- Aim for incremental, evolutionary changes: Instead of radical changes, changes should be introduced gradually to continuously improve the workflow.
- Respect current processes, roles, responsibilities, and titles: Kanban considers existing structures and roles, aiming to optimize them instead of completely overhauling them.
- Promote leadership and responsibility at all levels of the organization: Everyone in the organization contributes to improvement by promoting responsibility and initiative.
The six practices of Kanban:
- Make work visible: The practice of “making work visible” is a central pillar of Kanban. This concept is often achieved using a Kanban board, a visual representation of the workflow where tasks are organized in columns representing various stages. Each task is represented by a card or digital note, moved from one column to the next as it progresses. This allows the team to see progress at a glance, identify bottlenecks, and prioritize commitments.
- Limit the number of tasks started: Another basic principle of Kanban is limiting the number of tasks started. This practice helps prevent overload and focuses on the most important tasks. Instead of tackling a large number of tasks simultaneously, Kanban sets an upper limit for tasks being processed in parallel. This limitation ensures the team focuses on the most urgent tasks, preventing a state of constant overload.
- Measure and manage flow: The practice of flow management focuses on how tasks move through the workflow. By monitoring flow, bottlenecks and delays can be identified. When a bottleneck is detected, the team can take measures to address the root causes and optimize the flow. This continuous monitoring and flow control enhance efficiency and reduce lead times.
- Make process rules explicit: The clarity and transparency of workflows are crucial. In Kanban, process rules are made explicit and communicated clearly to all team members. This includes the process of how tasks are created, prioritized, processed, and completed. Making these rules visible to all ensures a common understanding of how tasks are managed, facilitating coordination and collaboration.
- Develop feedback mechanisms: Continuous feedback is a vital part of Kanban’s agile approach. Through feedback mechanisms such as regular reviews and retrospective analyses, the team can evaluate the process and identify areas for improvement. This feedback enables the team to make adjustments, continuously refining the process and responding to changing requirements.
- Implement improvements collectively: Kanban places great emphasis on improvements being embraced by the entire organization. This means all team members are encouraged to suggest process optimizations. By promoting a collective approach, innovations and new methods can emerge, contributing to the continuous improvement of efficiency and work quality.
Kanban can be combined effectively with other agile methods such as Scrum or traditional project management. It offers a flexible approach that adapts to existing structures and focuses on continuous improvement. In practice, Kanban is used not only in production but also in project management and software development to optimize workflows and enhance efficiency.