Kanban

Intro

Kanban is a visual management method originating at Toyota to control work in progress. In EA and BPM, it helps teams manage flow, limit WIP, and improve delivery.

Key points:

• Visualizes work and bottlenecks.
• Limits WIP to stabilize flow.
• Common use cases across EA/BPM/Data/App/Tech include service desks, software delivery, and operational support.
• Pitfall: using boards without explicit WIP limits or policies.

Examples:

• IT ops team tracks incidents with “To Do–Doing–Done” lanes.
• Application team manages feature flow across environments.
• Finance backlog uses Kanban to prioritize monthly close tasks.

In practice:

Define clear workflow policies and WIP limits; review flow metrics regularly.

Related terms: Lean; Agile; Value Stream

FAQs:

Q: Is Kanban only for manufacturing?
A: No; it’s widely used in services and software.

Q: Do we need sprints for Kanban?
A: No; Kanban uses continuous flow instead of timeboxed sprints.

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