Kanban is a powerful tool for managing organizational projects and teams. It boosts flexibility by allowing teams to create individual paths towards the attainment of their processes.
However, for first-timers, the framework may seem challenging to navigate. Unlike other Agile applications, Kanban offers fewer rules or guidance on how to implement it.
Yes, this may seem daunting, but don’t let the lack of rules distract you from Kanban. If possible, consider engaging a Kanban Coach to help you navigate through the process.
Here is a list of everything you need to know about Kanban. Hopefully, this will make your transition simple and easier.
- Teams Create Their Rules
With Kanban, there are no set rules that each team should follow. Instead, it is upon the teams to assess the proposed practices and adopt the one that fits into their processes.
However, there is a set framework that teams must follow to implement this practice.
- Designing a Kanban board that reflects their process
- Set WIP control to check the amount of work to be done at any given time
- Decide on the beginning and end of each iteration depending on the created value.
- Check whether customer expectations have been met.
How the organization teams complete these steps is up to them and varies between teams.
- The Kanban Adapts to You
It’s the biggest advantage of the Kanban framework. Yes, you have to place your duties on a Kanban board and limit WIP, but the process will be enhanced instead of being diminished.
Once you implement this framework, the Kanban board will help you visualize all the current tasks. This allows you to manage these responsibilities with much ease. As you advance, you can decide whether to make any changes to the process or not.
Therefore, Kanban doesn’t require you to revolutionize everything immediately but gives you time and opportunity for gradual change.
- Kanban is Continually Changing
It is not a finite system. Rather it acts as a guide for where teams should start and can be improved in any way an organization team deems fit.
Through constant changes, the platform helps the teams in question to create efficient processes. The good thing, Kanban allows you to look for different ways to improve business processes and operations.
- WIP Drives Kanban
Predictability is an important virtue in any business project. To achieve this, remember two things – WIP and steady delivery.
How does WIP help? It limits the number of ongoing tasks allowing the teams to focus on what must be done. The focus helps individuals to finish items faster.
But that’s not all, focusing on one task at a time helps monitor the process more closely thus creating a steady and predictable place. With this, a firm can meet deadlines and also deliver great results.
- Relies on Facts
Kanban relies on facts to gain clarity and predictability in the processes. The teams gather data by measuring team velocity and limiting WIP, thus controlling the flow of work and understanding their capacity.
Conclusion
Are you new to Agile? Consider engaging a Kanban coach to guide you through the process. With this, your teams to identify problematic areas and work towards solving them before it is too late.
