Many project professionals see the growing demand in organizations for an agile approach to project management. But introducing Agile methods like Scrum to a traditional organization can be a revolutionary process, with a high risk of failure if conditions aren't right for adoption. In this session, we'll show you how to use the language of Lean (from Lean Manufacturing) and the evolutionary change model of kanban visual management to introduce Agile to your organization, and achieve the promised benefits of Agile "one step at a time". This version of the presentation uses screenshots from LeanKit to illustrate the methodological concepts. It isn't a LeanKit sales demo. For full info on LeanKit the product go here: https://leankit.com/product/. For a version of this intro to kanban using non-LeanKit illustrations go here: https://www.slideshare.net/JonTerry2/kanban-an-evolutionary-approach-to-agility-58677046 Bio: Jon Terry is co-Chief Executive Officer of LeanKit. Before LeanKit, Jon held a number of senior IT positions with hospital-giant HCA and its logistics subsidiary, HealthTrust Purchasing Group. He was among those responsible for launching HCA’s adoption of Lean/Agile methods. Jon earned his Global Executive MBA from Georgetown University and ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and his Masters Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University. He is a Project Management Professional, a Certified Scrum Master, a Kanban Coaching Professional, is certified in the Lean Construction Institute’s Last Planner Method, and trained in the SAFe Lean Systems Engineering method.

1. @leankitjon
Kanban
An evolutionary approach to agility
Jon Terry

2. @leankitjon
Change is a given
We can’t control it
Prepare for bad
Embrace good
Water-fail
Laundry List
Gold plate
Slap Together
Blamestorm

3. @leankitjon
1950s-1980s 1980s 1990s 2000s Today
TOC
Just-In-Time
Kanban
Lean
(Manufacturing)
DevOps
Lean
Engineering
Toyota
Production
System
Six Sigma
TQM
Agile
XP
Scrum
Lean
Construction
Lean (Startup)
Enterprise
Understanding shared
Lean-Agile heritage broadens
learning & aids communication Scaled Agility
A
Messy
Family
Tree

4. @leankitjon
Kanban is a means to an end
Helping teams apply Lean
principles
Eliminate
Waste
Build
Quality In
Create
Knowledge
Defer
Commitment
Deliver
Fast
Respect
People
Optimize the
Whole
Process
Skilled
People
Tools&
Technology

5. @leankitjon
What is this? Why should I care?
How?Who will notice?
Why? What else?
FSGD
One of Many Lean Tools

6. @leankitjon
We use sticky notes
But …
There’s a bit more
than that
YepThe Kanban Method

7. @leankitjon
Value Stream Mapping

8. @leankitjon
The quickest path
to agility is to start
from where you are
today.
1. Visualize the (current) workflow
2. Limit Work-in-Progress (WIP) *
3. Manage (for smooth) flow
4. Make process policies explicit
5. Implement feedback loops
6. Improve collaboratively
using Kanban to become more Lean
Evolve
* Often implicitly at first
Kanban Principles

9. @leankitjon
This is Greek to me. So are many/most project deliverables to
non-specialists

10. @leankitjon
A picture translates complexity into a simple pattern
we can all digest

11. @leankitjon
Every now and
then, start over.
Question all your
process
assumptions
Just as I planned Board
Hygiene

12. @leankitjon
Map out your real,
current process.
Not what your
policy manual says
1. Have each team member write down a few of
their current work items
2. Ask each person to pick one at a time
3. Have them describe:
• What am I doing to it now?
• Who had it before & what were they doing with it?
• Who will I hand it to next, to do what?
Visualize
Workflow
Exercise

13. @leankitjon
Cards are (usually) nouns, lanes are verbs

14. @leankitjon
How do you decide what to do?

15. @leankitjon
As the manager,
only add your
“official” list after
Exercise
1. Have each team member list their full, current
workload
2. Have them assign each item a type: UX
feature, API feature, defect, task, etc
3. Collate the work types they defined into one
list and assign each a card color
4. Turn the lists into cards and place them in the
correct lane on the board
Visualize
Workflow

16. @leankitjon
Be succinct and focus on results. Tasks have their place

17. @leankitjon
Try to limit types of work. Three meter, three second rule

18. @leankitjon
Once you’ve modeled your current process and
workload, stop. Test it before changing

19. @leankitjon
Focus on delivery of
value by the team,
not individual
activity
Daily(at first) Standup
1. Allow a fixed time period – 1 min/person
2. Ensure board is complete & accurate
3. Are there expedites or blockers?
4. Otherwise, walk the board from right to left a
card at a time
• What’s needed to advance this item?
• Who can help?
5. Stop when time runs out
Feedback
Loops

20. @leankitjon
Hold regular retrospectives …. but stop-the-line for
bottlenecks

21. @leankitjon
Aim for a small,
shared list of
actionable items,
not a laundry list
Retrospectives
1. Let data be your guide
2. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
3. Common root cause answers:
• Hidden WIP
• Stop starting, start finishing
• Downstream/external blockages
• Uneven sizing
• Parallel processes
• Rework
Feedback
Loops

22. @leankitjon
CFD helps identify process bottlenecks and WIP
trends. Pro tip: unselect the done lane

23. @leankitjon
Is our process in balance and on track to complete
current work by our target date?

24. @leankitjon
Better decomposition and delivery speed trends can
replace story point estimating

25. @leankitjon
Estimating is Waste: Decompose instead
The way we think about this at LeanKit …
● A DIV can be completely finished to production in the dark by
a squad in 5 business days or less with 90% confidence
● An A3 can be completely finished to production in the dark by
a squad in 4 weeks or less with 90% confidence
● An A3 must be clearly divisible into 3+ divs that meet the
above standard
● A squad shouldn’t be working on multiple A3s in a sweep. We
need to focus on getting one key thing done well not several
poorly
● A theme should be no more than 3 squad sweeps, ie one
squad for three sweeps or three squads for one sweep, etc.
● Larger than that should be a serious executive risk decision.
We are placing a lot of weight on a hypothesis
● We would rather invest 1-3 sweeps in something initially and
make a decision to proceed further based on multiple
successful div deployments that show progress.

26. @leankitjon
Analyzing outliers provides high-leverage
improvement opportunities

27. @leankitjon
Even better than analyzing past problems, focus
management effort on current exceptions

28. @leankitjon
Aim for a small,
shared list of
actionable items,
not a laundry list
Retrospectives
1. Let data be your guide
2. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
3. Common root cause answers:
• Hidden WIP
• Stop starting, start finishing
• Downstream/external blockages
• Uneven sizing
• Parallel processes
• Rework
Feedback
Loops

29. @leankitjon
Splitting process steps into active/waiting queues
makes flow more clear

30. @leankitjon
Once work visible & process is clear, WIP limits can
balance capacity

31. @leankitjon
Evolve the board to clarify different workflows and
include partner teams (even implicitly)

32. @leankitjon
Use lane policies to clarify WIP overrun plans,
definitions of done, link to key documents, etc

33. Leverage Connections for X-team Workflows
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE
PORTFOLIO/PROGRAM
PROJECT
TEAMS & TOOLS
Top to
Bottom
End-to-End Value Stream
R&D Ops Mktg Sales CS

34. A continuous cycle

35. @leankitjon
Release 1
Iteration 1
Iteration
Planning
Daily
Standup
Demo /
Retro
Iteration n
Iteration
Planning
Daily
Standup
Demo /
Retro
Iteration
Backlog
Fixed Time and People
Not
Done
Iteration
Backlog
Not
Done
Product
Owner
Ideas
Product Backlog
Release Planning
Release Backlog
Scrum mandates new roles, “rituals” and cadence for a team
The Scrum Framework
Scrum
master

36. @leankitjon
Look beyond the
tactical practices to
gain real value.
The real value is in
the principles.
Do BothScrum
• A structure of new roles, “rituals” and cadence
• No prohibition against visualization, WIP limitation or
flow measurement
• A mature Scrum team with good technical practices
often looks awfully Kanban-ish
Kanban
• Evolution through measurement
• No opinion on roles, meetings or iterations
• Software dev teams who use Kanban to become
more Agile often act quite Scrum-y

37. @leankitjon
leankit.com/learn
• Articles
• E-books
• Webinars
• Templates
• Case Studies
Key Reading Online

38. @leankitjon
leankit.com/learn
• Articles
• E-books
• Webinars
• Templates
• Case Studies
Key Reading
Kanban: Successful evolutionary change for your technology
business
- David J. Anderson
Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life
- Jim Benson, Tonianne DeMaria Barry
Real-World Kanban: Do Less, Accomplish More with Lean Thinking
- Mattias Skarin
Lean from the Trenches: Managing Large-Scale Projects with Kanban
- Henrik Kniberg
Principles of Product Development Flow
- Don Reinertsen
Online

39. www.leankit.com
@leankitjon
©2016 LeanKit Inc.