In the last post, we introduced you to agile methodologies. We told you how they work, where the concept came from, and we’ve already listed some of their main representatives. Among them was Kanban.
The Kanban methodology is very popular and makes production much more agile and efficient. With this in mind, we decided to talk more about it.
What is it and how did it come about?
In 1940, mechanical engineer Taiichi Ohno created the Toyota Production System. His aim was to control the flow of work, finding a balance between production and stock. In this way, there would be neither excess nor shortage of products.
Kanban emerged as part of this system, within the just-in-time philosophy, working as a production control and task management tool. With cards that are often represented by post-its, it brings agility to projects in a dynamic and visual way.
The system proved to be so effective that it was applied in various areas of work, such as software development, marketing projects and the provision of services.
How does it work?
Kanban is a board divided into columns on which colored cards are placed.
The cards symbolize a task or action. Their colors can represent the priority of that task, or the category it falls into, or who is responsible for carrying it out. It all depends on what is agreed by the team.
The columns relate to the status of each task and are commonly called: to do, in progress and completed. It is also possible to establish other statuses or column layouts. The cards move from one column to another as the project or production progresses.
The board is the kanban itself. It’s where the structure with columns and cards is located. It is even possible for the same team to work on several boards simultaneously.
Practices and benefits
1. Visualize the workflow
With Kanban, it’s much easier to visualize all the stages of the process. That’s what this system is all about. The structure with the cards and columns allows the team to keep track of each phase, with details and specifications such as which tasks have been done and which still need to be done, who did them and who needs to do them, the level of urgency of each one and the time taken to carry them out.
This way, everyone can see what is being produced and the pace of production. This means that the team can prioritize the most urgent tasks, better defining the focus that each person should have at that moment. In addition, productivity increases as efforts are directed and the division of labor is clear to those involved.
2. Limiting WIP
It’s important to set a limit on the number of tasks that can be done at the same time ( work in progress ). The number of tasks that are transferred to the “in progress” column must not exceed what has been set.
The aim is to ensure that you don’t accumulate several unfinished tasks. If you start an activity, don’t finish it, and move on to several others, the likely result is that you won’t be able to complete any of them. By delimiting, you will ensure a higher quality of work.
3. Managing the workflow
Managing tasks is at the heart of Kanban. For it to flow most efficiently, you need to keep an eye on every aspect of the workflow. The aim is to overcome systematic failures and problems in the process.
By managing it well, you will reduce costs, avoid using unnecessary resources, and make the experience more pleasant and collaborative for the team and the customer.
4. Promote feedback loops
Evaluating the flow through constant feedback means that mistakes can be corrected as soon as possible and makes it easier to implement any necessary changes. This way, you’ll know whether you’re on the right track or not and you’ll be able to redirect your planning if this is the best solution.
In this way, the project is optimized and the delivery time is reduced. This means that you will develop a higher quality product or service in much less time!
How to implement it?
1. Start with what you’re doing now
If you want to apply Kanban to existing workflows, you don’t have to change the entire structure immediately. You can continue with the same division of responsibilities and roles – the process you’ve followed so far has its value.
Problems will naturally arise during the course of the project and it will be up to the team to find alternatives to adapt the system to their pace of work.
2. Define the details and policies of the process
The team needs to understand how the system works and its guidelines. Rules must be determined that are understandable and communicated to everyone.
Outlining the details of the process is essential, such as what each color represents (red for urgent tasks and green for completed tasks, for example) and the division of columns (you can follow the model of “to do”, “in progress” and “completed” or add new columns that make sense for your project).
3. Evaluate the workflow and accept changes
Continuous process improvement is part of the Kanban ideology. To achieve this, the ideal is to analyze how the work is being done at all times. Is it happening smoothly and efficiently? Is the team achieving the best possible results?
If the answer is no, you need to be open to changes. Each team has its own particularities, so Kanban should be implemented in the most appropriate way for whoever is using it.
Ready to organize your projects better? Kanban will certainly help you a lot! But it’s not over yet: we’ll soon be talking more about Scrum. So if you want to keep learning, stay tuned for next week’s post!
