Attain shorter time cycle and responsiveness to change, in a heartbeat.
There is a common matter that many companies face and that is completing only a part of their projects on time and in the budget. To prevent these problems, a very good and useful solution is using Kanban boards. By the way, probably many of you know that Kanban method comes from Japan but how many of you know that “Kanban” is the Japanese word for “visual card”?
If you work in services or technology, your work is often times invisible and intangible. That is when a Kanban board is very helpful, making your work visible so you can show it to others and keep everyone on the same page. By using this feature, you will also be able to see the bigger picture, the entire project in a view, but also to have control of your workflow.
The simple fact that the team is able to discuss, define and modify its workflow depending on the issues they face, will lead to a better communication and collaboration within its members.
Kanban Visualize work in progress Tasks workflow Team Collaboration Work efficiency
Advantages
01
Visualize Work
By creating a visual model of your work and workflow, you can observe the flow of work moving through your Kanban system. Making the work visible—along with blockers, bottlenecks and queues—instantly leads to increased communication and collaboration
02
Limit Work in Process
By limiting how much unfinished work is in process, you can reduce the time it takes an item to travel through the Kanban system. You can also avoid problems caused by task switching and reduce the need to constantly re-prioritize items.
03
Focus on Flow
By using work in progress (WIP) limits and developing team-driven policies, you can optimize your Kanban system to improve the flow of work, collect metrics to analyze flow, and even get leading indicators of future problems by analyzing the flow of work.
04
Continuous Improvement
Once your Kanban system is in place, it becomes the cornerstone for a culture of continuous improvement. Teams measure their effectiveness by tracking flow, quality, lead times and so on. Experiments and analysis can change the system to improve the team’s effectiveness.
