• Home
  • Agile Services
  • Scaled Agile
  • Delivery
  • Consulting
  • Capability Uplift
  • Training
  • Services

PM Partners

  • What We Do
  • Success Stories
  • Insights
  • Resources
    • Capability Hub
    • eBooks & White papers
    • Checklists & Infographics
  • Contact
  • Training Courses

    TRAINING DELIVERY

    • Course List
    • Group Training
    • Course Schedule
    • eLearning Courses
    • Specials and Promos

    LEARNING PATHWAYS

    • Scrum and Agile
    • Project and Programme
    • Business Analysis

    MOST POPULAR

    • Scrum Master Certified (SMC™)
    • Agile Project Management
    • PRINCE2®
    • Project Management Fundamentals
    • Business Analysis Fundamentals
    • Leading SAFe® 5.1

    POPULAR PAGES

    • Corporate in-house training
    • Training reinvented
    • Training schedule
    • Room hire
  • Project Delivery
  • Project Management Consultants
  • Agile Services
  • Scaled Agile
  • Capability Uplift
  • Home
  • Insights
  • Kanban: A Sign of the Times
May 22, 2022

Kanban: A Sign of the Times

Kanban: A Sign of the Times

Wednesday, 01 January 2020 / Published in Uncategorised

Kanban, particularly Kanban boards seem to be emerging as the ‘norm’, even expected, in today’s dynamic business environment. But what value does Kanban bring to projects and business as usual? Let’s look beyond the hype and buzzwords and understand the true value of the Kanban Method.

What is Kanban?

The word Kanban can literally be translated from the Japanese language as ‘visual sign’, ‘signboard’ or ‘card’. In recent times, Kanban boards have become a popular tool to visualise the flow of work. In its simplest format, a Kanban board shows ‘To Do’ (the work to be done), ‘In Progress’ (what we are working on currently) and ‘Done’ (completed).

The Kanban Method versus a Kanban Board

Kanban boards often appear rather simplistic but the power behind them is in understanding the Kanban Method.

The Kanban Method has its origins in lean thinking. Kanban was used originally in lean manufacturing (thanks to Toyota) for inventory control and replenishing; a typical example is the restocking of supermarket shelves based on a card (‘visual sign’) indicating low stock.

The Kanban Method was devised by David J. Anderson as a holistic approach for incremental, evolutionary process and systems change for organisations.

“There is and probably always will be a lot of discussion around the Kanban Method and whether it belongs to the lean or agile movement. It was conceived in and around lean manufacturing, but is widely used in agile settings.”

Agile Practice Guide, PMI®, 2017

Kanban Method Principles

The Kanban Method is based on 4 defining principles:

  • Principle 1. Start with the current state. This is somewhat less disruptive than other agile methods in that you start with where you are now. It is more evolutionary than revolutionary.
  • Principle 2. Agree to pursue incremental evolutionary change. Following on from the first principle in the Kanban Method, it is not about sweeping new changes; it is about taking small incremental steps.
  • Principle 3. Respect the current process, roles, responsibilities and titles. Change isn’t always about ‘out with the old, in with the new’; there may still be value in current ways.
  • Principle 4. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels. This reflects the importance of empowering people at all levels.

Understanding the Kanban Method further…

The power behind the Kanban Method is in understanding the core practices:

  1. Visualise the workflow
  2. Limit work in progress (WIP)
  3. Manage flow
  4. Make process policies explicit
  5. Implement feedback loops
  6. Improve collaboratively

All are important to the method, but let’s just look at one to understand how the Kanban method can appear simplistic but is powerful in incremental change.

Why limiting WIP is important

It may sound initially counter-intuitive but reducing the amount of work in progress actually increases a team’s productivity. How does this happen? Limiting WIP speeds up the rate at which work is being completed. In the Kanban method, it is more important to complete work than it is to start new work.

Ever been in a situation where you feel you are juggling so many things but not able to complete anything fast? And then you get interrupted by someone and suddenly you have another item on the go? Consider instead the Kanban approach – there is no value derived from work that is not completed, so the team focuses on work in progress and getting that work to ‘done’.

More on the Method…

The Kanban Method includes, but is more than, a board with horizontal swim lanes. Kanban, in its full capacity, not only focuses on improving flow in the short term, but also creating long-lasting and ongoing change to underlying organisational processes.

PMI is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

For more information on which project management methodology is right for your organisation, contact one of our professional development consultants today – 1300 70 13 14.

What you can read next

PMO Governance: The Good, Bad and Ugly
The benefits of face-to-face Project Management Training
Emotional Intelligence and the PMO

GENERAL ENQUIRY
1300 70 13 14

CONTACT US
Send a message

FOLLOW US

Subscribe for industry news and insights
Registered Project Management Education Provider

PM-Partners group is a DASA training partner, a Project Management Institute (PMI)® Global Registered Education Provider (R.E.P), an APMG-International Accredited Training Organisation (ATO), an AXELOS Certified Partner, an accredited partner of PeopleCert (Partner ID: 3800), an Endorsed Education Provider™ (EEP™) for the International Institute for Business Analysis™ (IIBA®), a Scaled Agile Silver Partner and a Microsoft® EPM Solution Partner. PMI, CAPM, Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), PMP, Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. PRINCE2®, AgileSHIFT®, MSP®, P3O®, MoP®, ITIL® and PRINCE2 Agile® are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. The Certified Partner, Partner Programme Logo and Swirl Logo™ are trade marks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. AgilePM®, AgilePgM®, AgileBA® and DSDM® are registered trademarks of Agile Business Consortium Limited. All rights reserved. APMG International Change Management, APMG International Facilitation and APMG International Lean Six Sigma are trademarks of The APM Group Limited. All rights reserved. The APMG-International AgilePM, AgilePgM, AgileBA, Change Management, Managing Benefits, Facilitation, Lean Six Sigma and Swirl Device logos are trademarks of The APM Group Limited, used under permission of The APM Group Limited. All rights reserved. SMC™ and SPOC™ are trademarks of SCRUMstudy. Scaled Agile Framework® and SAFe® are registered trade marks of Scaled Agile, Inc. IIBA®, the IIBA® logo, BABOK® Guide and Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® are registered trademarks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis. CBAP® and CCBA® are registered certification marks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis. Certified Business Analysis Professional™, Certification of Competency in Business Analysis™, Endorsed Education Provider™, EEP™ and the EEP logo are trademarks owned by International Institute of Business Analysis.

Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Timesheets | Terms & Conditions | Capability Hub
Copyright © 1996-2022 PM-Partners Group. Delivery Advisory Capability. All Rights Reserved.

TOP