Many teams struggle with chaotic workflows, which can lead to confusion, frustration, and a dip in productivity. Kanban methodology offers a simple yet effective solution, ensuring a clear visualization of each project’s status.
With this framework, teams can easily track progress, prioritize tasks, and deliver projects on time. This ultimately boosts the organization’s productivity, allowing teams to achieve their goals.
In this blog, we'll discuss what Kanban methodology is, how this framework works, its core principles, best practices, and the key benefits it offers.
Kanban is an Agile method that aims to manage workflow and facilitate flexibility in task management. It's a visual roadmap that shows teams where they’re progressing. The system relies on Kanban boards and cards.
These aim to break down projects into stages based on work requirements and manage the task volume through those stages.
With a clear workflow overview, managers can efficiently balance the workload and allocate tasks to each team. Kanban boards and cards display each task and its stages, which include the following:
- To Do: Tasks which are required to be performed by the team
- In Progress: Include tasks that are currently in pipeline or being worked on
- Done: Includes tasks that are completed
Designed to streamline the workflow with its illustrative approach, Kanban emphasizes Kaizen, a term originated from Japan, where the word means “improvement” or “change for the better.” As a result, teams can review their work and discover areas for improvement. When projects and tasks are visually represented between teams, it ensures project transparency and collaboration.
The Kanban framework works with sticky notes or Kanban boards and cards arranged in columns on the whiteboard. Such columns are called swimlanes, a standardized process involving multiple stages a task must pass.
Tasks are then positioned into the relevant swimlanes, which provide a comprehensive workflow visualization.
As the work progresses, the team can move the card to the relevant column and ensure the system runs smoothly.
The Kanban system uses Work in Progress (WIP) to track the amount of work currently in progress. One main principle of the Kanban methodology is to limit the WIP for consistency.
Therefore, the best practice is to finish the current tasks before starting a new one. This framework's graphical and illustrative approach allows existing and new members to easily understand the requirements and upcoming projects.
Here’s an example of how Kanban system works for a marketing agency:
Imagine you run a small marketing agency and want to ensure the timely delivery of each client's campaign.
You would like to keep track of your team's work status, such as who is working on a certain campaign, what stage they're in, and when it should be completed. Here, you can use the Kanban methodology to visualize the whole process.
| Order Received | Content & Design Creation | Reviews | Final Edits | Ready to Launch | |
| Step 1 | A client submits a new marketing campaign order | As the order is received, the team starts working on the campaign | Here, feedback from the clients and the manager will be provided | The client will provide feedback on necessary adjustments | This section indicates everything is being finalized and approved by the client |
| Step 2 | When an order comes, a Kanban card is created, and it’ll be placed in the order received section | The Kanban card will be moved to the content and design creation section | After the campaign is created, the team will place the card in the review section | Once the teams start making changes, the card will be shifted here | As the team is ready to deliver their project, they’ll move the card to the Ready to Launch section |
Kanban methodology allows the marketing agency to meet their clients' expectations and streamline the campaign development process.
Kanban aims to break down an organization’s larger tasks into smaller, manageable tasks that can then be assigned to specific team members.
It is an ideal solution for businesses overwhelmed with a large volume of work and helps them maintain a steady workflow.
Its adaptability makes it ideal for companies with fluctuating schedules, allowing for seamless integration of ad-hoc tasks.
This ensures that tasks are efficiently distributed among teams while respecting their roles and responsibilities.
The reason the Kanban method works so well across the board, from sales to management to HR, is because it’s designed to adapt to your needs. It provides flexibility while ensuring work is done in a structured manner.
Apply Kanban To Your Current Workflow
The first principle of Kanban is to focus on the organization's current process. Kanban’s flexibility allows it to fit your team's existing workflow, making changes smoother and less disruptive. It is recommended to avoid immediate changes to your workflow process.
Start by gradually implementing Kanban to map out your current workflow. Teams will be more open to change when it aligns with what they’re already doing.
Without changing the current workflow, a marketing agency can begin by visualizing its project status on a Kanban board.
Slowly Adjust With Incremental Changes
Sudden changes can be overwhelming for the team and may affect their productivity. A gradual shift to a new way of working allows them to adapt to changes at their own pace.
Rather than trying to change everything at once, start with small incremental changes to effectively grow your team’s productivity.
Respect The Existing Team Structure And Roles
Roles and responsibilities change based on the team’s continuous improvement. Most teams resist change even with the emerging modern methodologies.
For this reason, the Kanban process has proven to be a success for organizations. It respects the team’s current roles and responsibilities and works with your existing workflows.
The marketing agency can use Kanban to allow designers to focus on creating visuals while content creators generate content for campaigns.
This Agile method does not overwhelm the existing work culture and respects the team's roles. Implementing it will not require any structural changes in the organization.
Encourage An Autonomous Work Style
Kanban allows individuals to take ownership of their tasks and make informed decisions. It also allows team members to check their progress, see their assigned tasks, and make informed decisions.
When a campaign order is received, it’s assigned to the team, allowing them to track their progress and optimize the campaign process.
Implementing Kanban into the workflow requires following the practices established by organizations that use this method. This will help the team improve and achieve maximum growth. Here are the six best practices of Kanban methodology:
Visualize Your Workflow
The Kanban framework is all about visualizing the whole project. This is its biggest advantage, as teams can see the work moving through different stages. Visualization allows for transparency and makes it easy for the team to understand the process.
You can use a whiteboard with sticky notes or any other Kanban software. Various project management software, like Businessmap or Adobe Workfront, have built-in Kanban visualizations, allowing teams to easily access the Kanban board and card.
Set WIP Limits
WIP is the number of cards displayed in one column at a time. The Kanban system encourages continuous delivery, meaning completing the current task after moving to the new one. Limiting tasks in WIP encourages the team to complete the existing one before starting a new one.
This can be possible with the Kanban inventory management system. To achieve this, tasks should be progressed swiftly through columns to avoid the “To-Do,” “In Progress,” or “Done” limbo.
Each task will be represented by Kanban cards, which will shift from one column to the next while they are being worked on.
Effective Workflow Management
Effective workflow management within the Kanban board makes limiting WIP possible. This can reduce lead time and potential bottlenecks and guarantee that tasks are delivered on time. Workflow optimization improves delivery speed, ensuring overall team productivity and enhanced team collaboration.
Defined Management Policies
Establishing a defined policy is essential for a streamlined workflow and increased productivity. Since the Kanban method works rapidly, setting some policies to ensure enhanced communication is vital.
When the team understands the task goals, they’ll work harder and be more motivated to achieve them. Such policies will guide how teams can integrate smoothly into the Kanban framework.
Encourage Collaboration
The Kanban concept is all about continuous improvement. It fosters gradual, constant changes and encourages team members to collaborate and explore processes changes. When teams have a shared understanding of the workflow, they’ll collaborate to identify problems and find solutions.
Get Regular Feedback
An effective feedback system is essential for an organization. Regular feedback is a crucial part of the Kanban system. Kanban feedback can be gathered at different stages of the project. A column can be created on the Kanban board to collect feedback, identify issues, and adjust accordingly. In this way, organizations can improve their work quality.
Now you get an understanding of what kanban is and how it works. But if you’re still confused about whether your team should use it, here are some benefits of the Kanban methodology:
- Provides a Visual Workflow Glance: Kanban’s visualization aspect brings simple projects to life and gives a clear insight into the workflow. Teams can easily see their tasks, identify any bottlenecks, and take measures to resolve them. Project managers can check their team’s progress through the Kanban board.
- Flexibility: Kanban’s system is highly flexible. As the team completes one task, they can choose the next one from the backlog and start working on it. An organization that integrates the Kanban framework into its workflow becomes more flexible over time.
- Better Communication: Kanban tools like Kanban boards simplify communications between teams, helping them better understand the work and its requirements.
- Transparency: One main benefit of this methodology is that Kanban highlights potential bottlenecks that may go unnoticed. Visualizing each task allows the team to identify and address the issue in real-time, leading to more effective and efficient project outcomes.
Digital Kanban tools offer a significant advantage over physical Kanban boards. Although traditional Kanban boards are also effective, going for digital ones like Wrike Software or Trello Software can provide a substantial advantage in terms of productivity.
These include features like a built-in Kanban board, project forecasting, time tracking, and an automated project status report.
Their ability to offer visual metrics, limiting WIP, and continuous delivery makes it an ideal choice for businesses. Choosing a Kanban tool depends on several factors, such as your team’s preferences and size, as well as the project's requirements.
Find the best Kanban tool for your team, explore various options, and choose the one that suits your needs.
Kanban is a versatile project management framework agile teams use to visually represent the work on the Kanban board. This virtual or physical board shows the flow of projects from start to finish. Organizations with never-ending workflows can benefit from this methodology.
Its flexibility and simplicity enable it to fit in any industry across various projects. Maximize your organization's productivity by choosing the right Kanban digital tool.
Why use Kanban for project management?
Kanban is a robust project management tool that allows project managers to visualize complex projects. This allows teams to better understand the workflow and organize their work more efficiently.
With Kanban’s visual representation of workflow, project managers can also track their teams' progress and identify potential issues.
What is Kanban vs Scrum methodology?
Kanban methodology is real-time workflow visualization with continuous adjustments. Scrum methodology accelerates productivity by dividing work into time-bound sprints with specific goals and daily meetings.
What is the difference between Agile and Kanban?
Agile is a cross-functional, collaborative, high-level project management approach to completing projects. While Kanban is an Agile methodology that uses Kanban boards and cards, Agile focuses on solving complex issues and delivering value.
