Kanban

Kanban is a method used to manage, control, and measure the workflow and tasks of an individual or team. The word Kanban is rooted from the Japanese language and is the combination of the word “kan” meaning “visual” and “ban” meaning “card”. Kanban has its origin in the late 1940s when Toyota decided to put its efforts in the development of a production control system with the goal of shortening the time demand from the start to the completion of a process. The Kanban system is a sign-based scheduling system that helped Toyota to improve production efficiency and eliminate waste, establishing the Just-In-Time production system that is a central philosophy of Lean Production Methods. In recent years the concept of Kanban got widely adopted especially as a project management tool for software development, but it can be applied to just about any industry, either process, production or task related. Following article will first elaborate on the concept and ideas behind the Kanban board, the concept of work tasks as cards and what metrics allow a precise assessment of the current work status. Subsequently the link between the Kanban system as a fundamental tool in agile project management will be explained and its difference to other project management tools like e.g. SCRUM. The conclusion of the article will shade light on the limitations of Kanban and will provide a step-by-step implementation guide on how the tool can be used to improve project management practices.

Big Idea

Board (Columns)

Cards (Tasks)

Metrics to Track Performance (WIP, Lead Time, Cycle Time, Wait Time)

Application

Advantages

Kanban in Project Management

Kanban & Continuous Improvement

Link to other Project Management Tools (SCRUM, ...)

Limitations

Disadvantages

Bad Practices - Fields and applications where Kanban does not work

Limitations

Conclusion

Implementation Step-By-Step Guide

Annotated Bibliography

"A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)" - Fundamental resource about the topic of project management. The book includes an "Agile practice Guide" that elaborates in detail on the use of Kanban as a core aspect of agile project management.