Kanban

Introvideoer (ca. 60 min)

Kernebegreber

Kanban is a popular agile project management method that originated from the Japanese manufacturing industry. It’s highly adaptable and can be applied to various fields, including software development and education. At its core, Kanban focuses on visualizing work, limiting work in progress (WIP), and managing flow to improve efficiency and adaptability. Let’s break down the core principles and concepts you mentioned:

Core Principles of Kanban

Visualize Work: By visualizing work, everyone involved can see the state of every piece of work at any time. This transparency helps identify bottlenecks and progress.
Limit Work in Progress (WIP): This principle involves limiting how much work is being actively worked on at any given time. By doing so, teams can focus better, reduce context switching, and deliver more consistently.
Manage Flow: Monitoring and optimizing the flow of work through the system helps to reduce lead times and improve delivery rates.
Make Policies Explicit: Defining clear policies around how work is done, who does it, and the steps involved helps to avoid confusion and ensures consistency.
Implement Feedback Loops: Regular feedback allows for continuous learning and improvement.
Improve Collaboratively, Evolve Experimentally: Using empirical evidence to make decisions, teams should continuously seek ways to improve and adapt their process.

Concepts

Kanban Board: A visual tool that displays the workflow and progress of tasks. It’s typically divided into columns that represent different stages of the workflow, such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.”
Cards: Each card on a Kanban board represents a single piece of work or task. Cards move from one column to the next as the work progresses through the stages of the workflow.
Work in Progress (WIP) Limits: These are constraints set on the number of tasks that can be in a particular stage of the workflow at any one time. WIP limits help to prevent overloading team members and identify bottlenecks.
Definition of Done (DoD): A clear and concise list of criteria that a task must meet before it can be considered complete. The DoD ensures quality and consistency in the work being delivered.
Lead Time: The amount of time it takes for a task to move from the commitment point to the delivery point. It’s a measure of the efficiency of the workflow.
Backlog: The backlog is a list of tasks that need to be done but have not yet been started. It’s essentially the “To Do” list for the team.
Commitment Point: The moment a task is picked from the backlog and work begins on it. This marks the task’s entry into the workflow.
Delivery Point: The stage at which a task is considered complete and is delivered or made available to the next stakeholder.

Kanban’s emphasis on visualization, WIP limits, and continuous improvement can make it an invaluable tool for managing projects and workflows in a variety of settings, including education and software development.