Guide: Kanban

How to Implement Kanaban

Step 1: Setting up a Kanban Board

The first step in implementing Kanban for one of your processes will be to set up the Kanban board. These can be physical boards or digital tools. If you are using a physical board, we would recommend considering a magnetic whiteboard, which you can break down into sections. You can then get magnetic WIP cardholders to easily move tasks across the board. Physical boards are usually best for teams in the same location, as they are always visible on the wall for everyone to see. However, in remote teams, digital boards may be ideal, such a Trello.

Once you have decided on the type of board and the location, the next step is to design the board. 

First, you will need to decide on the basic columns: To do, in progress, and done. These should be the minimum basic columns you have. However, you may need additional steps in the process, such as testing or review. It is important to create the columns based on the needs of the process or team. 

Step 2: Creating Cards

Now that you have the board, the next step is creating the cards that will go onto the board. For this you should break down the work into manageable tasks.

Each task will then be represented by a single card. Create a card for each task; on these cards, there should be a clear description of the task. This should include any important details, such as deadlines, the person responsible, priority level, and task category. 

Once you have the cards, you will add them to the board in the appropriate columns, which are indicated by the stage of the process they are in. Most tasks still start in the “todo” column.

Step 3: Establishing Working Process (WIP) Limits

For the most part, the Kanban board is done now, You have the Kanban board and the cards. Finally, before the setup is complete, we need to have WIP limits; this is important for the success of the Kanban process.

To do this, you should assess the team’s capacity. By this, you should understand how much work a team can handle at all times without compromising on quality. This information might need to be gathered with data collection or time trials to understand how long a particular task takes. Once you have this, you can assess team available hours vs activity hours to optimize how much work can be in progress at the same time without causing overburden or impacting quality.

You should then implement and enforce the WIP limits and ensure the team adheres to them. If a column reaches its WIP limit, the team’s focus should be on completing the existing tasks before starting new ones.

At this point, the board should be operational.

Step 4: Monitoring and Managing the Flow

Following the implementation, the Kanban board needs to be continually monitored and the workflow managed. We recommend holding daily stand-up meetings with stakeholders for around 5 minutes to discuss the progress, identify any blockages, and plan the day’s work. These 5 minutes will ensure the team understands the focus and can save much more than 5 minutes within a work day.