Lean Kanban is an innovative approach to managing and improving work processes in a variety of environments. It combines principles from both Lean and Kanban methodologies to enhance efficiency and productivity. Below are some important bullet points regarding Lean Kanban and Kanban boards.
Limit Work In Progress (WIP)
Limiting WIP improves and stabilizes cycle time and reduces context switching by doing just most priority items and just a few of them (1 or 2 items per person). Also, it reveals blockers and increases teamwork in resolving problematic items, which allows for more often value delivered, faster feedback, more predictable and enforcing T-shaping of team members. Limiting WIP not only improves and stabilizes cycle time and reduces context switching by focusing on the most priority items, typically one or two items per person, but it also brings several other significant benefits:
- Enhanced Focus and Productivity: By limiting the number of tasks any one individual or team handles at a time, there is a sharper focus, which often leads to increased productivity and quality of work. This concentrated effort ensures that tasks are completed more efficiently and effectively.
- Blocker Identification and Resolution: A smaller WIP load makes it easier to identify and address bottlenecks or blockers in the process. When these issues are quickly spotted, the team can collaboratively work towards resolving them, ensuring smoother workflow.
- Frequent Delivery of Value: With a focus on completing a few tasks at a time, the team can deliver value more frequently. This continuous delivery model allows for rapid iterations and adjustments based on feedback, ensuring that the final product is closely aligned with customer needs and expectations.
- Faster Feedback Loop: Smaller work batches lead to a faster feedback loop. The team can quickly learn from completed tasks and apply these insights to future work, enhancing the overall quality and efficiency of the supply chain process.
- Predictability in Deliverables: Limiting WIP leads to more predictable outcomes. With fewer tasks in progress at any given time, it becomes easier to estimate completion times and manage expectations both within the team and with stakeholders.
- Enforcing T-Shaping of Team Members: This approach encourages team members to develop a range of skills (T-shaped skills), where they have deep expertise in at least one area but are also capable of contributing to other tasks. This cross-functional skill set enhances team versatility and resilience.
- Improves Team Morale and Reduces Burnout: With a more manageable workload and clearer focus, team members are less likely to experience burnout. This approach supports a more sustainable and enjoyable working environment.
- Resource Optimization: By limiting WIP, resources are utilized more effectively. This optimization ensures that the team’s capacity is not overstretched, and resources are allocated to where they are most needed.
Start just in time with Lean Kanban
Instead of starting each feature as early as possible, start it as late as you can afford to – this lowers context switching as well and increases clarity of features before they enter the pipeline by having more time to get feedback and understand features properly (keep in mind that it should not wait too long before you start to work on it – to avoid the requirement for additional refinement because long time passed since last one)
Balance small batches and fixed costs
Kanban is not just a board! Before trying one-piece flow, try to understand where batching has more sense than doing items one by one, but do not have too large batches and be on the edge that is still hard to keep up with flow since that will bring the necessity for more automation investments (to reduce fixed costs). As Jez Humble says “If it hurts, do it more frequently, and bring the pain forward”
Pic.1. Lean Kanban
Stefan Stojković is an experienced Project Manager and Agilist with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry, kids IT Education, Software development, and Agile transformations in non-IT industries. Skilled in management, negotiations, manufacturing, development, and knowledge transfer.
