Kanban Introduction to Managers

1. RAJESH VISWANATHAN
KANBAN – Let’s Do Something About It !!
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

2. There are two types of efficiency …
Resource Efficiency
▪ Use resources efficiently.
▪ Maximizing value adding time.
Effective → Adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or
expected results. Doing the right things & achieving goals.
Efficient → Performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least
waste of time & effort. Doing things in an optimal way.
Flow Efficiency
▪ Meet customer’s requests efficiently.
▪ Maximizing value receiving time.
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

3. Customer Demand
Value Demand Failure Demand
Defects Rework Workarounds
Typically 40% to
60% !!
Demand generated because of
previous poor-quality deliverables or
demand that never should have
been received.
Demand we want.
Why we are here from the
customer’s point of view.
Are we really resource efficient?
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

4. Commitment Delivery
ServiceRequest
Analysis Develop Validate Deploy Release
Confirm Resolve Verify Deploy Release
We Deliver !!
Working
Waiting Waiting Waiting Waiting Waiting Waiting
We Promise!!
Are we really flow efficient?
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

5. This is the expectation !!
Waiting Waiting Waiting Waiting Waiting Waiting
Typically 4 to 8% for
software development
Commitment Delivery
Are we really flow efficient?
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

6. ▪ Inefficient management practices.
▪ Lack of capacity.
▪ Unknown dependencies (internal & external).
▪ Unplanned work.
▪ Neglected work.
▪ Conflicting priorities.
▪ Too much WIP (Work in Progress).
▪ Task switching [Cognitive Switching Penalty – 10% per switch]
None of them relate to your team performance !!
Many factors contribute to low flow efficiency …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

7. ▪ You are busy, but not productive.
▪ Your performance is largely irrelevant.
▪ Your estimates are useless.
▪ You are not predictable !!
▪ You have nothing to do with business agility.
There are many implications with low flow efficiency …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

8. Flow Efficiency
ResourceEfficiency
Efficiency
Islands
Wasteland
Perfect State
Efficient
Ocean
Efficiency Paradox …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

9. Resource vs Flow Efficiency
High Resource Efficiency Low Resource Efficiency
Slow Flow Fast Flow
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

10. Commitment Delivery
Software Development
Business / Product
Marketing / Sales / CS
Compliance / Legal
Operations
Design / UX
Agile teams have nothing to do with
business agility !!
Often multiple stakeholders involved for end to end delivery …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

11. @David Anderson
Let’s do something about it !!
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

12. • Work Items
• Workflow
• Policies
• Dependencies
• Class of service.
• Aborted work.
• Failure demands.
• Cycle Time
• SLA
• Capacity Allocation.
• WIP Limits
• Risks
Visualization brings transparency, understanding & alignment.
Visualize how we works (see – understand – act)…
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

13. @David Anderson
• Per Person WIP Limits
• Team WIP Limits
• Workflow WIP Limits
• Service WIP Limits
• Limit WIP by type of work.
• Limit WIP by class of service.
We finish things faster while increasing quality.
Limit our work in progress (WIP) …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

14. FLOW
Flow encourages a constant & predictable delivery of value to customers…
• Manage blocking issues.
• Manage defects & other rework items.
• Manage aging WIP.
• Monitor queues.
• Eliminate infinite buffers.
• Analyze failure demands.
• Develop triage discipline.
• Establish SLA / SLE.
Manage the end to end flow …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

15. @David Anderson
Policies that are changeable empower people to action.
• Managing aging WIP.
• Managing blocking issues.
• Managing defects / rework items.
• Managing dependencies.
• Definition of Ready.
• Definition of Done.
• Metrics.
Make our working policies explicit …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

16. Quick feedback promotes business agility.
• Personal Reflection.
• Team Kanban Meeting.
• Team Retrospectives.
• Team Replenishment Meeting.
• Workflow Replenishment Meeting.
• Blocker Clustering.
• Flow Review.
• Delivery Planning Meeting.
• Service Request Review.
• Service Delivery Review.
• Service Risk Review.
• Operations Review.
• Market Strategy Review.
Set & leverage feedback loops …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

17. Use the scientific methods to bring small & continuous improvements.
• Identify sources of dissatisfaction.
• Identify sources of delay.
• Revise problematic policies.
• Analyze transaction vs coordination
costs.
• Analyze lead time tail risk.
Focus on continuous improvement & evolvement …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

18. -13
30
53
65
PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT - NET
PROMOTER SCORE
65%
77%
111%
69%
81%
PreSAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
PREDICTABILITY (DEV TEAM)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Pre SAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
SPEED (DEV TEAM) - AVERAGE CYCLE
TIME IN DAYS
53
89
24
16 18
Pre SAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
QUALITY - TOTAL REGRESSION DEFECTS
(GA)
70%
86% 86%
92%
72%
Pre SAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
ART COMMITMENT RATIO
7
6
5
0 0
Pre SAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
DEFECT CONTRIBUTION TO
BACKLOG
45
65 66 70
78
Pre SAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
AUTOMATION COVERAGE %
62
48 46 42
33
Pre SAFe PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
DEFECT BACKLOG
REDUCTION
2
1
1
0
0
5
5
3
3
2
37
54
17
13
14
9
29
3
0
2
PRE S AFE PI 1 PI 2 PI 3 PI 4
DEFECT DISTRIBUTION
Critical High Medium Low
All metrics – KPI, Health Indicators &
Improvement Indicators – improved just
because of Visualization & Explicit
policies.
FDFO Team @ Trivandrum
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

19. To Do DoneIn Progress
Kanban is not just stickies on the wall …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

20. How most people see Kanban …
AGILE
SAFe Scrum
Kanban
Scrumban
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

21. How WE see Kanban …
AGILE
SAFe
Scrum
Kanban
Scrumban
RAJESH VISWANATHAN
KANBAN is an alternate path to Agility !!!

22. Management method that,
▪ Improves service delivery.
▪ Catalyzes improvements.
▪ Evolves an organization to be fit for
purpose.
Kanban is …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

23. “Kanban is a method that shows us how our
work works”
Janice Linden-Reed, Salesforce
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

24. “Kanban is not a process or a framework or a
recipe. It’s how to see work”.
Andy Carmichael, HUGE IO
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

25. “Kanban seeks to achieve balance between
(customer) Demands vs (business)
Capabilities”.
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

26. RAJESH VISWANATHAN

27. Kanban Method consists of …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

28. 1. Visualize
2. Limit WIP
3. Manage Flow
4. Make Policies Explicit
5. Implement Feedback Loops
6. Improve & Evolve
There are 6 general practices
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

29. Kanban Change Management Principles
1. Start with what you do now.
• Understanding current processes, as actually
practiced.
• Respecting existing roles, responsibilities & job
titles.
2. Gain agreement to pursue improvement
through evolutionary change.
3. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels.
We are dealing with humans, Kanban respect that !!
Kanban applies over the top of your current process …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

30. Kanban
SAFe
Waterfall
Scrum
Chaos
CMMi
Kanban is a great unifier …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

31. “People do not resist
change; they resist
being changed.”
@David Anderson
Kanban is an evolutionary change method …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

32. ▪ If you can “do something
about it. Just do it”.
▪ Act rather than ask
permission.
▪ It’s better to try (even if
you fail) than not to have
made an attempt.
Kanban encourages leadership at all levels …
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

33. 1. Understand & focus on the customers’ needs &
expectations.
2. Manage the work, let workers self organize around it.
3. Regularly review the network & its policies to improve
outcomes.
Managing & measuring work INSTEAD of managing & measuring people !!
Service Delivery Principles
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

34. Kanban can help every stakeholder (s) …
SUSTAINABILITY SERVICE ORIENTATION SURVIVABILITY
Line Level, Individual
Contributor
• Relief from
overburdening.
• Produce better quality.
• Take a professional
pride in their work &
customer satisfaction.
Mid Level Management
• Up Managing – Answer
the hard questions with
confidence.
• Down Managing –
Make difficult decisions
with confidence.
• Reliable, predictable,
faster service delivery.
Senior / C Level
Management
• Make promises we can
keep.
• Lead the business
(strategy, positioning)
Inward Looking – Our Organization Outward Looking – Our Customers Forward Looking – Our Future
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

35. 1. Visualize your work by means of an individual Kanban board.
2. Visualize basic work item info on a ticket.
3. Establish personal WIP limits.
4. Categorize tasks based on nature of work & its urgency, importance & impact.
5. Make the rules explicit.
6. Engage in personal reflection.
• Get things done.
What you can do on tomorrow @ Personal Level?
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

36. 1. Visualize work carried out by means of a team Kanban board.
2. Use avatars to visualize individual’s workload.
3. Define & Visualize basic policies.
4. Establish per person & team WIP Limits.
5. Conduct Team Kanban Meeting.
6. Conduct Team Retrospective.
7. Conduct Team Replenishment Meeting.
• Get things done.
• Improved transparency.
• Less overburdened people.
• Improved collaboration.
• Greater empathy.
• Improved quality of work.
What you can do on tomorrow @ Team Level?
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

37. Maturity Level 0
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

38. RAJESH VISWANATHAN
Remember, the point is NOT to do
Kanban, we need to achieve Business
Outcomes !!
Q&A
RAJESH VISWANATHAN

39. ▪ Your employee
engagement.
▪ Your product & service
delivery.
▪ Your customer satisfaction.
▪ Your economic
performance.
▪ Your org culture.
▪ Your business resilience.
Kanban can refresh…
RAJESH VISWANATHAN