SCRUM has become the de-facto agile project management methodology for many software projects. I've been using SCRUM with my team for about two years, but we've hit a performance plateau. In this presentation, I share some techniques and experience in combining Kanban with SCRUM to manage flow of work and improve team productivity in identifying and managing bottlenecks.

1. SCRUM-ban: Time-boxes and flow
Tang, Tze Chin
Agile Manager

2. What is SCRUM?

3. What is Kanban?
• Controlling Flow of Work
Inputs
Outputs
Constraint/Bottleneck
• Kanban is all around us

4. Let’s do an exercise…

5. Making Aeroplanes
(Push) can make and
1. Stations
complete their task as
fast as they want and
push to the next station
2. QA station at the end will
verify if airplane build to
specification and approve
or reject

6. Making Aeroplanes
(Push) can make and
1. Stations
complete their task as
fast as they want and
push to the next station
2. QA station at the end will
verify if airplane build to
specification and approve
or reject

7. Making Aeroplanes
(Push) can make and
1. Stations
complete their task as
fast as they want and
push to the next station
2. QA station at the end will
verify if airplane build to
specification and approve
or reject

8. WIP
limit:1
Making Aeroplanes
(Pull) can start work
1. A station
WIP
limit:1
WIP
limit:1
only if there is a unit
work unit in the
preceding kanban
2. A station can play a
work unit only if the
succeeding kanban is
empty
3. QA will approve or
reject accordingly
WIP
limit:1

9. Typical Outcome
To manufacture 20 airplanes
Push Run
Pull Run
Total Time
8:40
9:15
Time per airplane
26.0s
27.8s
Rejected/Passed
7/13
2/18
Time per shippable airplane
40.0s
30.8s

10. Push vs Pull – Flow

11. Inventory is Waste

12. Identify and Manage Constraints

13. Measure value created, not effort
expended

14. Eliminate Waste

15. How to Kanban
• Set up a taskboard
• Define work steps
• Create kanbans before each step – Work in Progress
• Define WIP limits

16. SCRUM + Kanban = Why?
• You’re a SCRUM environment
• Agile adoption not yet mature
• Management ‘fear’ of change
• Below the radar…

17. Kanban in a SCRUM Iteration
• Still run a SCRUM, but with a bigger taskboard

18. Revised Taskboard
Blocked
Prioritized
Backlog
In Dev (8)
Ready for Test
(4)
Accepted
Prepare for Dev
Ready for Dev
(4)
(4)
In Test (6)
Ready for
Acceptance (4)

19. What have I learnt?
• Work stages and WIP limits reflect team organization and
values
• I focus less on burn-down and more on burn-up and
cumulative flow
• Team more focused on delivering value, not starting new
work

20. Further Reading

21. •
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Email: tze.chin.tang@gmail.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tzetang
Twitter: @tzetang
Agile Malaysia: www.facebook.com/groups/agile.malaysia
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Team more focused on delivering value, not starting new work