Virtually any project or team can use this method to track tasks and status. Learn the benefits and consider if this method is right for your Project. This article is part of the Project Management Fundamentals Series.

What Is a Kanban Board?

A kanban board in project management is a visual approach to organizing activities and workflows. It uses columns and cards on a physical or digital board. The columns arrange the tasks by their progress or current state of development, while the cards represent tasks.

The Kanban method was created to increase efficiency by restricting supplies and resources to what was required for the current activity. Kanban boards are now utilized in nearly every industry, the most prominent being software development.

Why is it Popular among teams?

This method is popular among teams because of its ease of use, visual interface, and ability to see what everyone is working on at any time. Kanban project management also shows task progress and whether a certain job is causing the Project to lag. 

Kanban project management is about completing tasks rather than always starting new ones. Stop beginning and start finishing - is the Kanban motto.

What are the benefits of Kanban?

Kanban has several advantages:

• ease of use

• simple plan on a page format

• visual interface

• ability to share updates quickly

• transparent task status and progress

• identify bottlenecks for faster resolution

• readily see and address work bottlenecks

• clearly identify who is doing what work

• allows for less

Kanban does not require complex task management updates, such as Gantt charts. So the team can concentrate on their work. This minimizes team interruptions and idle time waiting for task assignments. The Kanban method helps work move smoothly and reduces bottlenecks. It also balances work to avoid any team or member not getting tasked with too many activities at any point in time.

Online tools that use Kanban?

There are several good online tools today that use Kanban. This is more important than ever when working in virtual or hybrid teams. The benefit of these systems is the ease of adding comments, reassigning tasks, and linking tasks to deliverable documentation. If you are interested in which tool may be right for your Project, check out my video on the topic. You can also find the article here.

How to use the Kanban method?

Teams use task 'tickets' to assign work or let team members pick' a task in its simplest form. As the work progresses, the task moves from "to do" to "complete."

However, the Kanban method can work in much more complex situations. Digital boards can calculate the best use of resources, constantly searching for methods to increase efficiency and maintain resources in harmony with production demands. When work bottlenecks cause slowed output, the automated Kanban can flag it or resolve the issue. The goal is to increase throughput while reducing delivery times. Kanban increases efficiency over time.

Kanban is not generally used as an isolated tool since some recurring project activities do not fit well into this model. Planning and Control and Monitoring might be planned using another method. However, Kanban does work with other methods to address this gap. 

Agile vs. Kanban 

When it comes to agile project management, Kanban is a useful tool. Kanban aims for continuous improvement, while agile aims for continuous iteration. Agile works best when the end objective isn't specified and may evolve as the project proceeds. Kanban focuses on reducing waste and eliminating non-value-adding tasks.

Kanban tries for short cycle times to deliver features faster, whereas Agile works in short sprints of no more than two weeks. To improve collaboration, both methods need to be aligned.

However, agile doesn't address quality assurance (QA) until the conclusion of the sprint, whereas kanban quality assurance (QA) is checked at every stage of the Project. In addition, agile encourages iterative development, whereas Kanban does not.

Project Managers need to consider these differences in method when using both methods.

Scrum vs. Kanban

Scrum is one of the agile implementation methods. Agile is an iterative and incremental methodology. So, what does that mean for Kanban and Scrum?

Kanban is a great tool for many scrum teams that use it in their projects. Scrum and Kanban may be complementary tools, especially when it comes to visualizing workflow. In addition, they both focus on process and waste removal.

However, there are several important differences. Unlike scrum, kanban roles and duties are not pre-defined. Scrum is an iterative process. Kanban is not. But the method can be tailored to operate inside a scrum framework to manage projects, workflows, and procedures.

4 Foundational Principles of Kanban

1. Begin with what you're doing right now. Don't make any quick modifications to your process; instead, utilize Kanban to manage your present workflow. Change happens naturally over time.

2. Allow the team to adapt to the Kanban method first. This will cause less team disruption.

3. Respect existing roles and responsibilities, and empower teams to identify and execute changes cooperatively.

4. Encourage everyone to take a leadership role to keep the mandate of continual improvement alive.

5 Core Practices of Kanban

Whether using a physical board or software, visualize the workflow, these 5 core practices can keep your project on track:

1. Define and share the Kanban process with the team

2. Limit work-in-progress to keep teams and tasks moving

3. Resolve bottlenecks to manage and optimize workflow

4. Put feedback loops in place (like phase reviews)

5. Focus on product delivery based on client needs

Using these core practices can help you continuously improve your teams way of working. So work together, refine the process and don’t be afraid to experiment with new ways of working to improve project outcomes.

When not to use Kanban

All project management methods have advantages and disadvantages. A few scenarios Kanban may not be the best option where.

• Document rigor is needed. Kanban's open-ended nature makes it less controlled than other methods. Projects that require specific regulatory or stage-gate requirements are not a good fit.

• Change is too great. In some cases, speed can be lost by changing methods. Consider the team's ability to adapt.

• The waterfall is required. These two methods don't play well together.

Kanban has some unique features that can help project team work more efficiently and effectively. This method is generally intuitive, so start and improve as you go - and that is the key to process success!

That's Kanban in a nutshell. What do you think? Do you use Kanban? If so, does it work for you? Do you use a physical board, or have you found a digital system you like? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.  

Thanks! And I will see you next time on ProjectSkillsMentor.