Kanban is a lean methodology for continuous improvement of processes. It focuses on limiting work-in-progress, visualizing workflow, and improving processes incrementally through small changes and collaborative efforts. The key principles of Kanban include starting with the current process, pursuing evolutionary change, respecting existing roles and responsibilities, and encouraging leadership at all levels. Its six general practices are to visualize work and workflow, limit work-in-progress, manage flow, make policies explicit, implement feedback loops, and improve collaboratively through experimentation. Kanban is well-suited for environments that need adaptability and where upfront estimation is challenging. It can be combined with Scrum through a hybrid framework called Scrumban.

1. Introduction
to Kanban
It’s about
continuous
improvement
BrightLogic Group
May 5, 2017
Agile Maine Day
Portland, Maine
1:00-1:45

2. About me
Heidi
“there’s got to be a better way”
Araya
MBA, PMP, CAL, CSP, CSM, CSPO, LSSBB,
CRCMP
• Agile & Lean enthusiast
• Process improvement aficionado
• Systems thinker
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Enabling happy
workplaces by making it
fun to work together to
deliver value for the
business.
@HeidiAraya

3. What will you learn today?
• Basics of Kanban
• Where Kanban is best used
• How to combine Kanban with
Scrum (Scrumban)
3@HeidiAraya

4. Is Kanban Agile?
• Agile derived from key Lean* practices
(among others)
• Kanban comes from Lean manufacturing
• Michael Sahota – Kanban has
“Agile on the inside”
• Alan Shalloway – Kanban is a "2nd Generation Agile Method”
• David Anderson, founder of Kanban for Software – Kanban is "an
alternative path to agility”
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*Lean aims to make the work simple enough to understand, do, and manage.
@HeidiAraya

5. Kanban method
• A model for introducing change via incremental
improvements …“a process to change the
process”
• Major Goal: Improved performance through
process improvements introduced with minimal
resistance
• Kanban matches amount of work in progress to
the team's capacity
• Not just visual aid: Board visualizes workflow
process, the work-in-progress & the Kanban
5@HeidiAraya

6. Four Principles, Six Practices
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“If you are not continually improving, but you are doing all of the other parts of
the Kanban method, you are missing the point. It’s a little like the concept of
“doing” Agile but not being agile.”
- David J. Anderson, founder of Kanban for Software Development
• Principles influence
“How you should think”
• Practices motivate
“How you should do”

7. Four Kanban principles *updated per David Anderson
1. Start with what you do now
2. Agree to pursue evolutionary
change
3. Respect the current process,
roles, responsibilities & titles
4. Encourage acts of leadership at
all levels in your organization *
7@HeidiAraya

8. Six Kanban General Practices
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Code
Complete In
QA
QA
Verified
DoneIn
Progress
Dev
Ready
To
Do
Dev
Comp
1. Visualize (the work,
workflow & risks)
2. LimitWIP
3. Manage flow
4. Make policies explicit
5. Implement feedback
loops
6. Improve collaboratively,
evolve experimentally * *updated per David Anderson
@HeidiAraya

9. Six Kanban General Practices (Cont’d)
“I love Kanban because it shows the team’s pain.” - me 9
Code Complete
1. Visualize (the work, workflow & risks)
2. LimitWIP
3. Manage flow
4. Make policies explicit
5. Implement feedback loops
6. Improve collaboratively, evolve
experimentally
QA QAVerified DoneIn ProgressDev ReadyPlanned
28 14 14 32 0 1
32
Definition of Done
AcceptanceCriteria
set
Tasks defined
Definition of Done
Unit tests
Code checked in
All tests passing
Definition of Done
All automated tests passed
Manual tests documented
Manual tests passed

10. Metrics for KanbanTeams
• Cycle time: amount of time it takes for a unit of work to travel through the workflow –
from the moment work starts to the moment it ships
• In Kanban, it's the entire team's responsibility to ensure work is moving smoothly
through the process.
• With enough data, time to deliver becomes very predictable
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Code Complete QA QAVerified DoneIn ProgressDev ReadyPlanned
32
Cycle time

11. Kanban establishes an adaptive environment
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• Enables ability to cope with and
respond to complex environments
• Processes emerge rather than being
designed
• Board reflects the actual process,
not a prescribed process or the
desired process
@HeidiAraya

12. Kanban – requirements
• Process is not so bad it needs to be
scrapped
• Board reflects the actual process;
it does not direct people’s work
• Respect forWIP limits
• Commitment to pull-based flow
• Focus on quality
• Team is willing to inspect and adapt the process
12@HeidiAraya

13. Kanban – advantages
• Use current process
• Visible progress in each stage
• Priorities can change anytime
• Continuous flow vs start-stop
• Fewer org, personnel, setup changes
• Person does not have to be dedicated 100% to a sprint/team
• Lead & cycle times emerge naturally vs team estimating and
committing to work
13@HeidiAraya

14. Kanban – common scenarios
• Teams where estimation & time boxing
adds overhead with little value
• Platform & component teams;
support & maintenance; large teams
• Want to add stories on the fly; or
planning ahead is not feasible
• People are not dedicated full time to teams
• Team cannot make big changes at once
• Want the ability to release anytime
14@HeidiAraya

15. Why does Kanban work where Scrum will not?
• Manages pieces of a chaotic
environment well
• Specialization is often the only viable
route in organizations
• Designed to be adopted in an
incremental way with little disruption,
unlike Scrum
• Kanban trusts teams to improve the
process
15@HeidiAraya

16. Kanban & Scrum – Similarities
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17. Scrumban
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“Scrumban is the Kanban method applied to Scrum as the
starting and underlying process framework.”
“Although Scrumban has evolved as a framework over the years, it
has no definitive guide or definition."
– Ajay Reddy, 2012
@HeidiAraya

18. How do I start doing Scrumban?
1. Start with what you do now - either Scrum or Kanban
2. Add elements of either Scrum or Kanban that you think
would be useful, e.g.:
• Measuring lead/cycle time
• Observing WIP limits
• Adding/removing timeboxes
• Adding exit criteria
3. Inspect and adapt
18@HeidiAraya

19. There is lots to choose from!
• Best framework depends on your project, team & goals
• Take principles & practices from various frameworks as needed
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Modern Agile

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Agile Leader @
Phone: 407-403-3361
Email: Heidi@brightlogicgroup.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heidiaraya/
Twitter: @HeidiAraya
Connect with me