Kanban helps employees know how their work works. The method facilitates a design management and enterprise alignment, to minimise delays. Kanban (Japanese for ‘visual signal’ or ‘card’) was developed by Toyota to help define, manage and improve services through the use of whiteboards. The boards act like mirrors, in that they ‘reflect’ the organisation’s current flow of work. Since the brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, Kanban Method uses a visual system to improve communication in organisations. Using sticky notes on a whiteboard helps to create a ‘picture’ of your work. Read more... http://www.designtoolbox.co.uk/strategies/kanban/

1. Kanban
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Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0
A method for balancing demands with capacity.

2. Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler/Laurent Burst. CC BY 2.0
The brain processes visual information
60,000 times faster than text.

3. step 1
Visualise your work.
Make invisible visible.
Image: www.flickr.com/photos/3oheme/5141328136 CC BY 4.0

4. Get a whiteboard, break down the flow of work into
distinctive steps (from the moment you start it to when
it is finished), and draw a column for each step.
£
Image
Image:
CC BY-SA 3.0

5. Image: www.flickr.com/photos/rameshng/5723481678 CC BY-SA 4.0
Next, get some stickies
in as many colors as you can.

6. Write down each task on a separate sticky note.
Image: www.flickr.com/photos/philliecasablanca/3007652539 CC BY 4.0

7. And put them on the whiteboard. Each task will move
from left to right until it's done and leaves the workflow.
£
Image:
CC BY-SA 3.0

8. Image: Edited from Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0
solution

9. A simple layout like this one is a good starting point,
especially for Personal Kanban and small teams.
Image:
CC BY-SA 3.0

10. Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0
Work flow is now visible.

11. step 2
Limit Work in Progress (WiP)
Workload outstrip capability?
With two hands only you can
juggle only few balls before you
start dropping them
Image: Edited from www.flickr.com/photos/philliecasablanca/2584411389 CC BY 4.0

12. At 100% capacity you have minimal throughput
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lingaraj/2415084235 CC BY 4.0

13. Kanban maintains flow and eliminates waste
Image: www.flickr.com/photos/cefeida/4109239083 CC BY 4.0

14. Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0
Put limits on columns in which
work is being performed.

15. WiP Limits enforce a smooth flow of work
and eliminate different kinds of waste.
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

16. Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0

17. Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0
Note down policies – make them explicit, next to
the Doing columns.

18. step 3
Don't push too hard

19. It's easy to get friction between different teams,
especially when one is more performant...
Team A Team B
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

20. … and pushes more work than the
other team can actually handle.
Team A
Team B
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

21. A solution to this is a ‘pull system’, where
team B pulls work only when it is ready for it.
Team B
Team A
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

22. Discuss Policies
Set WiP Limits
(pull)
Pool of ideas,
required by
clients
Ideas that have
been selected
Agreements between
the customer and the
service
What we do
now.
WiP
Discuss issues, how to
move items from
Selected to Doing
Implement
feedback
TO DO SELECTED COMMITMENT DOING FEEDBACK DOING DELIVERY
1. Visualise 4. Make policies explicit
2. Manage flow 5. Implement feedback
3. Limit work in progress 6. Improve collaborative evolution
Kanban’s general practices (activities)

23. Image: Flickr/Nadja Schnetzler. CC BY 2.0
Next:
Read the Kanban article:
http://www.designtoolbox.co.uk/strategies/kanban/
Questions?
Contact Gil on
http://www.designtoolbox.co.uk/strategies/kanban/