The document discusses the Kanban method as a counter-intuitive approach to establishing a lean organization, highlighting its enabling role in fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Key principles of Kanban include starting with current processes, limiting work-in-progress, and promoting evolutionary change, which facilitate the emergence of lean practices in various organizations. The author argues that successful implementation of Kanban requires leadership, transparency, and a focus on collaborative improvement, which ultimately leads to enhanced economic and sociological outcomes.

1. Kanban Explained!A counter-intuitive approach to creatinga Lean OrganizationDavid J. Anderson LAS 2011Zurich, September 2011

2. Published April 2010A 72,000 word introductionMore to come in a future book

3. Published in GermanJanuary 2011Translation byArne Roock & Henning Wolfof IT-Agile

4. What is…Lean Software Development?

5. The foundational pillars of Lean are debated by different authors, however, most would agree on the following…

6. Pillars of LeanValueValue StreamFlowPullContinuous ImprovementRespect for PeopleHolistic Process Approach(aka. Systems Thinking)

7. Western Lean Thinking has focused on waste elimination in comparison with Japanese “Toyota Way” that has a broader definition of muda, muri and mura, and a cultural aspect Kaizen

8. Western Lean literature and consulting tended to focus on waste elimination. This was both easy to do and useful in manufacturing but has proven problematic in knowledge work areas.

9. The concept of Lean Software Development has been around since 1993, and yet by 2008 you didn't meet anyone doing it

10. Agile Management in 2003Introduced some Lean ideas including the synthesis of Flow, Visualization using Cumulative Flow Diagrams &Bottleneck Management

11. I’d been talking about managing flowfor 6 years, but despite support for cumulative flow diagrams in many Agile tools, (almost) no one was doing it!

12. I concluded that after 15+ years we must assume that Growing Lean Adoption in the IT industry ishard!

13. Agile Methods are not creating Lean Organizations …

14. Extreme Programming is evidently a veryLeanmethod

15. XP has very little waste

16. TPS divides waste into 3 typesMuda – non-value added tasksMuri – unevenness (or variability) in flowMura – overburdening

17. XP avoidsMurathrough use of tests and tight definition of "Done"

18. XP avoidsMuriwith skilled craftsmanship that can "flow" a story without handoffs and a strict WIP limit policy of1 story per pair

19. XP has littleMudaas planning, coordination and delivery are lightweight and partly automated

20. Some XP practitioners such asJoshua Kerievsky, ArloBelshee & Jim shorehave sought to reduce waste in XP with techniques such as Naked Planning, Agile Workcell, elimination of planning, estimation and time-boxed iterations, and Limited Red

21. Themotivationfor these changes, that involved introduction of "kanban" style techniques, was (further)elimination of waste

22. However, Extreme Programming hasn't been for everyone!

23. Some people & organizations have resistedadoption of Agile methods!

24. If not every organization is ready to adoptan Agile method, how can we encourage them to become more Lean?

25. So What is the Kanban Method?

26. Kanban is the enabler of a Kaizen Culture & emergence of a Lean organization

27. So how do we go about introducing Lean into organizations that have failedto adopt an Agile method such as TDD or failed to truly achieve a continuously improving culture?

28. The counter-intuitive answeris to use apull system that limitswork-in-progress as a catalyst for introduction of other Lean concepts

29. Kanban Systems are pull systems that limit work-in-progress and have been part of the Lean toolkit for 50+ years

30. Mymotivationfor adopting kanban systems was toprevent mura, control muriand encourage an evolutionary approach to change

31. In developing theKanban Method, a change management approach that uses kanban systems to provoke change, we are enabling the emergenceof Lean software development in organizations

32. How does theKanban Method work?

33. Kanban is based on 3 principlesStart with what you do nowAgree to pursue incremental, evolutionary changeInitially, respect current processes, roles, responsibilities & job titles

34. Then…adopt the 5 core practices that are observedto be present in successful Kanban implementations

35. 5 core practices for successful Kanban adoptionShallowVisualize WorkflowLimit Work-in-ProgressManage FlowMake Process Policies ExplicitImprove Collaboratively(using models & scientific method)DepthDeep

36. It’s not a question of right or wrong …ShallowIt’s a question of shallow or deep!Shallow implementations tend to produce fewer, less dramatic resultsDepthDeep

37. When…all5 core practices are adopted they form the seed conditions for Kanban as a complex adaptive systemthat enables a Lean(er) way of working to emerge

39. Visualize Workflow

40. Limit Work-in-Progress32024

41. Observe Flow (empty test column)

42. ObserveFlow with a CFDAvg. Lead TimeWIP

43. ObserveFlow with a lead time control chart

44. Observe Flow with a spectral analysis histogram of lead timeSLA of51 dayswith 98% on-timea from mean)

45. Development is a BottleneckThis is an example of using a model to identify an improvement opportunity

46. Analysis is overloadedAnalysis suffers from non-instant availability of subject matter experts / business owners

47. Couple observation of non-instant availability of expertise with visual & quantitative evidence of muri in flow to encourage better availability

48. Conversation & Leadership

49. Leadership is the magic ingredientsprinkle liberally over the 5 seed properties

50. The WIP limit provokes the conversation

51. Without a WIP limit the Idle & Stuck comments may never emerge

52. The team has a choice to break the WIP limit and ignore the issues, or face up to the issues and address them using the models

53. The WIP limit simply provokes the conversation. Leadership encourages discussion about improvement. Use of Models and other evidence leads to an improvement suggestion and implementation

54. Kanban & Emergence

55. Emergent behavior is seen in nature when systems adapt to unfolding events and changing circumstances in their surroundings

56. Often very complex behavior is derived out of system with simple rules. When these rules can change over time, the systems are referred to as Complex Adaptive Systems

57. Kanban has been observed to stimulateemergent behaviors in many organizations

58. The simple rules of Kanban such as WIP limits, Cadence, Pull Criteria & Classes of Service, are adaptable over time. Hence, Kanban creates a Complex Adaptive System within an organization

59. This explains why Kanban provides a good mechanism for dealing with complexity in knowledge work processes

60. There is a growing list of emergent behaviors observed in practiceProcess uniquely tailored to each project/value stream Decoupled Cadences (aka Iterationless Development)Work Scheduled by (opportunity) Cost of Delay Value Optimized with Classes of ServiceRisk Managed With Capacity AllocationTolerance for Process ExperimentationQuantitative ManagementViral Spread (of Kanban)Small teams merged for more liquid labor pools

61. TypicallyNoEnterprise Process DefinitionNo "shrink to fit.“Nor is there "stretch to fit.“The existing process evolves over time and emerges as a new leaner process, based on simple rules and operational performance models.

62. Iterationless Flow is acommon motivation for adopting the use of a kanban systemHowever, it is not core to the Kanban Method for change managemente.g. you can add a kanban system to Scrum and provoke evolutionary change without abandoning Sprints

63. A WIP limit on the input queue focuses attention on what to start nextProvokes focus on value(market payoff function, aka cost of delay function)

64. Sketching a market payoff function to visualize cost of delay is easier than asking for an absolute valueRoom Nights Desired Release DateCost of delay for an online Easter holiday marketing promotion for a hotel chain is visualized as the difference in integral under two curves

65. Example classes of serviceExpediteFixed Delivery DateSignificant delay incurred on or from a specific date in near futureStandard Class(Near) linear cost of delay beginning immediatelyIntangible ClassNo tangible cost of delay within reasonable lead time to delivery window

66. Allocate capacity across classes of service mapped against customer demand543= 20 total422AnalysisDevelopment...InputQueueDevReadyReleaseReadyBuildReadyIn ProgIn ProgDoneDoneTestAllocation+1 = +5%4 = 20%10 = 50%6 = 30%

67. Quantitative Management where data is used to drive improvement (change) decisionsMajority of CRs range 30 -> 55OutliersIgnore outliers and makes changes to shorten lead times on typical (common cause) work

68. Some early examples of viral spreadCorbisProcess team, Dictionary team, BI team, upstream BAsIPC Media5 teamsBBCBBC Worldwide 1 to 7 teams, BBC PBS now at least 11 teamsVanguardSpread across 4000 person organizationASRFrom 1 team to 18 teams

69. Merged teams share members across swim lanesLKBE10

70. Conclusions

71. Limiting work-in-progress can catalyzeincremental changes

72. The team must respectthe WIP limit and value the conversationsit provokes about problems

73. Leadershipis the secret sauce! Encourage it from any team member regardless of position, experience or authority

74. Arm the team with transparency of process(visualization of workflow and explicitly stated policies.) Use models for understanding problems and improvementswill occur.

75. These improvements will provide bettereconomic and sociological outcomes

76. What emerges is an organization that lives all the pillars of Lean

78. Thank you!dja@djandersonassociates.comhttp://www.kanbaninaction.com/

79. http://leankanbanuniversity.comhttp://www.limitedwipsociety.orgLinkedIn Groups: Software KanbanYahoo! Groups: kanbandevYahoo! Groups: kanbanops

80. About…David Anderson is a thought leader in managing effective software teams. He leads a consulting firm dedicated to improving economic performance of knowledge worker businesses – improving agility, reducing cycle times, improving productivity and efficiency in technology development.He has 25+ years experience in the software industry starting with computer games in the early 1980’s. He has led software teams delivering superior productivity and quality using innovative agile methods. He developed MSF for CMMI Process Improvement for Microsoft. He is a co-author of the SEI Technical Note, CMMI and Agile: Why not embrace both!David is the author of 2 books, Agile Management for Software Engineering – Applying the Theory of Constraints for Business Results, and Kanban – Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business.David is a founder of the Lean Software & Systems Consortium, a not for profit dedicated to promoting greater professionalism and better economic outcomes in our industry. Email… dja@djandersonassociates.com