MethodologiesBasic

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) literally means “signboard” or “visual card” in Japanese. The kanban system originated at Toyota in the late 1940s and 1950s (driven by Taiichi Ohno) to control just-in-time production; the Kanban Method for knowledge work and software was formalized by David J. Anderson in the mid-2000s (his book Kanban was published in 2010).

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

Practice Description
Visualize the flow All work visible on the board
Limit WIP Work In Progress — how many tasks can be “in progress”
Manage the flow Monitor and optimize how work flows
Make policies explicit Clear rules about when to move a task
Use feedback loops Regular meetings to review and improve
Improve collaboratively Changes 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
  • Days go by before anything is finished
  • 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

Aspect Kanban Scrum
Cycles Continuous flow (no sprints) Sprints of one month or less
Roles No mandatory roles Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers
Changes At any time Product Backlog changes any time; the Sprint Goal is protected during the Sprint
Meetings Feedback loops as needed Defined events
Metrics Lead time, cycle time, throughput Velocity, burndown (common practices, not required by the Guide)
Best for Support, maintenance, variable flow New 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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