Kanban (Japanese for "signboard" or "visual card") began as a scheduling system in Toyota's factories and was adapted for knowledge work in the 2000s. It is an evolutionary method: you start with what you do now, make it visible, and improve it step by step. There are no prescribed roles or iterations, which makes Kanban the easiest agile approach to adopt — and the easiest to adopt superficially.
Core principles
- Start with what you do now. No big-bang reorganisation.
- Agree to pursue incremental, evolutionary change.
- Respect current roles and responsibilities.
- Encourage leadership at every level.
The six practices
- Visualise the workflow. Map the real stages work goes through — not the ideal ones — as columns on a board.
- Limit work in progress (WIP). Cap the number of items in each stage. This is the single most important practice.
- Manage flow. Watch how smoothly work moves; focus on finishing rather than starting.
- Make policies explicit. Write down entry and exit criteria for each column and how items are prioritised.
- Implement feedback loops. Daily stand-ups at the board, replenishment meetings, service delivery reviews.
- Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally. Use data and small experiments to change the system.
Why WIP limits work
Little's Law, a result from queueing theory, says that average cycle time equals average work in progress divided by average throughput. If throughput stays the same and you halve WIP, items finish in roughly half the time. Lower WIP also reduces context switching, makes blockers obvious and creates slack for people to help each other. A simple starting rule: set the In progress limit equal to the number of people, then reduce it until flow improves.
Designing your board
- Begin with three columns — To do, Doing, Done — then split "Doing" into your real stages (e.g. Analysis, Build, Review, Test).
- Add a Ready column so the team always knows what to pull next.
- Use swimlanes for classes of service, such as Expedite, Fixed date, Standard and Intangible.
- Mark blocked cards visibly and track how long they stay blocked.
Try it now with the free Kanban board tool.
Flow metrics
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Cycle time | How long one item takes from start to finish. Use percentiles: "85% of items finish within 6 days." |
| Throughput | How many items finish per week. Use it for forecasting. |
| WIP | How many items are in progress right now. |
| Work item age | How long in-progress items have been open — the best early warning. |
| Cumulative flow diagram | Bands that widen show growing queues; flat bands show stalled work. |
Kanban vs Scrum
| Kanban | Scrum | |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence | Continuous flow | Fixed sprints |
| Roles | None required | Product Owner, Scrum Master, Developers |
| Change mid-cycle | Any time, if WIP allows | Discouraged within a sprint |
| Main control | WIP limits | Sprint commitment |
| Forecasting | Throughput and cycle time | Velocity |
Many teams combine them ("Scrumban"): sprints for planning and review, with WIP limits and flow metrics inside the sprint.
Put this into practice
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