Methodologies Basic

Kanban

Agile method for visual workflow management that uses a board with columns to represent task status and limit work in progress.

Pronunciation

/ˈkæn.bæn/
"KAN-ban"
Listen on: Forvo Cambridge

What is it

Kanban (看板) means “visual board” in Japanese. Originally developed by Toyota in the 1940s to optimize industrial production, it was adapted to software development by David Anderson around 2007.

It’s a method for managing workflow visually, limiting the amount of work in progress to identify and eliminate bottlenecks.

The Kanban Board

The central tool is a board with columns representing states:

┌──────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────┐
│ BACKLOG  │  IN PROGRESS │    REVIEW    │   DONE   │
│          │   (limit:3)  │   (limit:2)  │          │
├──────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────┤
│ [Task 5] │  [Task 1]    │  [Task 3]    │[Task 2]  │
│ [Task 6] │  [Task 4]    │              │          │
│ [Task 7] │              │              │          │
└──────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────┘

Each card moves left to right as it progresses.

The 4 Kanban Principles

  1. Start with what you do now — no need to change the existing process all at once
  2. Agree to pursue incremental change — evolutionary, not revolutionary changes
  3. Respect current roles and responsibilities — no Kanban-specific hierarchy
  4. Encourage leadership at all levels — everyone can identify and propose improvements

The 6 Kanban Practices

PracticeDescription
Visualize the flowAll work visible on the board
Limit WIPWork In Progress — how many tasks can be “in progress”
Manage the flowMonitor and optimize how work flows
Make policies explicitClear rules about when to move a task
Use feedback loopsRegular meetings to review and improve
Improve collaborativelyChanges based on evidence, not opinion

The Key Concept: WIP Limit

The Work In Progress limit is Kanban’s most powerful practice.

Without WIP limit:

  • 10 tasks “in progress” at once
  • Each task advances 10% per day
  • Nothing finishes for weeks
  • The team is “busy” but nothing gets delivered

With WIP limit (max 3):

  • Only 3 tasks in progress
  • If there’s a blocker, it’s immediately visible
  • Tasks finish faster
  • The team delivers value continuously
Without WIP limit:  [●●●●●●●●●●] 10 tasks → zero completed today
With limit 3:       [●●●] → 1-2 tasks completed today

Kanban Metrics

Lead Time: total time from task creation to delivery Cycle Time: time from when work starts on a task to when it’s done Throughput: how many tasks are completed per unit of time (week, sprint) CFD (Cumulative Flow Diagram): chart showing total flow over time

Kanban vs Scrum

AspectKanbanScrum
CyclesContinuous flow (no sprints)2-4 week sprints
RolesNo defined rolesProduct Owner, Scrum Master, Dev Team
ChangesAt any timeOnly between sprints
MeetingsAs neededDefined ceremonies
MetricsLead time, cycle timeVelocity, burndown
Best forSupport, maintenance, variable flowNew feature development
  • Trello - Simple visual Kanban, free
  • Jira - Enterprise, integrates Kanban and Scrum
  • Linear - Modern, startup tech favorite
  • Notion - Flexible, Kanban boards in databases
  • GitHub Projects - Native in GitHub, ideal for development teams
  • [[Agile]] - Philosophy that encompasses Kanban, Scrum, and other frameworks
  • [[Scrum]] - The other main Agile framework — more structured than Kanban
  • [[Sprint]] - Scrum’s iterative cycle (Kanban doesn’t use sprints)
  • [[DevOps]] - Kanban is widely used in ops and SRE teams

Additional Resources:

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