Chris Hefley, CEO of LeanKit, emphasizes using Kanban as an effective approach to agility in project management by advocating for incremental and evolutionary change while respecting existing processes. He outlines the Kanban method's foundational principles, including visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and focusing on flow to improve productivity. Hefley also shares insights on how these practices can enhance lean principles and integrate with various project management methodologies.

1. Lean and Kanban
An Alternative Path to Agility
Chris Hefley
CEO of LeanKit

2. follow @indomitableHef
Chris Hefley, CEO and Co-founder of LeanKit, is a practitioner and thought
leader in the global Lean/ Kanban community. In 2011, he was nominated
for the Lean Systems Society’s Brickell Key Award, and he is one of the
founding fellows of the Lean Systems Society.
After years of coping with “broken” project management systems
in the world of software development, Chris helped build LeanKit as a way
for teams to become more effective.
Prior to LeanKit, Chris worked with globally distributed teams in leadership
positions at HCA Healthcare and IMI Health. He believes in building
software and systems that make people’s lives better and transform their
relationship with work.
About Chris Hefley

3. Performance
Time
Status Quo
Change
The Valley of Despair
New Normal
Upward Pressures
The Change Curve

4. Performance
Time
Status Quo
New Normal
Incremental,
Evolutionary
Change
A Small Change

5. The Kanban Method
Foundational Principles
• Start with what you do now
• Agree to pursue incremental, evolutionary
change
• Respect the current process, roles,
responsibilities and titles

6. Evolutionary Change
• “Kanbanize” your existing process
• Kanban can co-exist with
Scrum, XP, Waterfall,
or whatever your
current process is
The
quickest
path to
agility is to
start from
where you
are today.

7. 1.Visualize your Work
2.Limit Work in Process
3. Focus on Flow
4. Continuous Improvement
What is Kanban?

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

9. A picture translates complexity into
a simple pattern we can all digest

10. Ready
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)
(6)
- Daniel and Stephen,
Developers
Yay! More Codez
to write!
This queue replenishment
process is a example of
“Push”
- Jon (Product Manager)
It’s my job to replenish
the ready queue –
I prioritize the top 6
items every 2-3 days
Day 1

11. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
- Daniel and Stephen,
Developers
Finished One!
Day 2

12. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
- Chris (Tester)
Now I have
something to pull
- Jon (Product Manager)
Better replenish the
queue…
Day 3

13. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
- Chris (Tester)
This one is ready
to deploy…
Day 4

14. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
- Scott (DevOps)
I’m on it…
Day 5

15. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
Day 6

16. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2F3
F4
D1F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9 - Chris (Tester)
I’m stuck…This one
isn’t working…
I’ll go ahead and pull
some more to test…
Day 7

17. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
D2
F11
- Daniel and Stephen,
Developers
Rock and Roll…
We’ve been very
productive these last
couple of days
Day 8

18. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
D2
F11
- Daniel and Stephen,
Developers
Oops…can’t do
that…it would break
the WIP limit
What can we
do to help?
F2 is broken…
Ok, we’re on it
Day 9

19. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7F8
F9
F10
D2
F11
F12
Work is flowing
nicely now…
Day 10

20. In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready
(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
D2
F11
F12
- Scott (DevOps)
Now we’re really
getting some stuff
done!
Day 11

21. Why Kanban Systems Work
1) The means to observe the flow of work
2) The mechanics to improve the flow of work
(WIP Limits, Explicit Policies)
3) The evidence to show improvement, run
experiments, and make adjustments
A KANBAN SYSTEM GIVES YOU

22. 1.What are we going to finish today?
2.What is needed to push this item over the line?
3.Is there any hidden WIP?
Stop Starting, Start Finishing

23. Eliminate
Waste
Build Quality
In
Create
Knowledge
Defer
Commitment
Deliver
Fast
Respect
People
Optimize the
Whole
Lean PD
System
Process
1. Work-In-Process
2. Delays
3. Extra Features
4. Technical Debt
5. Handoffs
6. Task Switching
7. Defects
Lean Principles nicely map to &
enhance Agile IT best practices

24. The Kanban Method
Foundational Principles
• Start with what you do now
• Agree to pursue incremental,
evolutionary change
• Respect the current process, roles,
responsibilities and titles

25. 1. Visualize the work and workflow
2. Limit WIP
3. Manage flow
4. Make process policies explicit
5. Improve collaboratively
using Kanban to become Lean
Evolution
The
quickest
path to
agility is to
start from
where you
are today.
The Kanban Method

26. Resources
• Stop Starting, Start Finishing
by Arne Roock
• available on Amazon.com

27. Resources
• Implementing Lean Software Development
by Mary and Tom Poppendieck
• available on Amazon.com

28. Resources
• Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for
Your Technology Business
by David J. Anderson
• available on Amazon.com

29. Resources
• The Phoenix Project, a Novel About
DevOps, IT, and Helping Your Business
Win, by Gene Kim,
Kevin Behr, and
George Spafford
• available on Amazon.com

30. Resources
• KANBAN Roadmap:
How to Get Started in 5 Steps
by Chris Hefley and Liz Llewellyn
• Available at the LeanKit
booth here at the show
• Download at
http://leankit.com/gartnerppm

31. Questions?