Kanban is a concept that originated from Japanese production philosophy and later evolved into a popular method for project management and workflow organization. The term "Kanban" comes from Japanese and translates to "card" or "signal."
The core principle of Kanban is to visually represent work and manage the flow of tasks or processes. Work tasks or items are visualized on cards, often referred to as "Kanban cards," which are typically arranged on a physical or digital board. Each card represents a task or work item.
The main goals of Kanban are:
- Transparency: All team members have a clear view of ongoing tasks, work progress, and priorities.
- Flow: By limiting the number of tasks being worked on simultaneously, a smooth flow of work is achieved, avoiding bottlenecks and overloading.
- Continuous Improvement: Kanban encourages regular review of the workflow, identifying bottlenecks, delays, or inefficient processes to continuously optimize them.
- Flexibility: Kanban allows for adjusting priorities and tasks as needed, particularly beneficial in dynamic and agile environments.
The fundamental elements of a Kanban system include:
- Kanban Cards: These represent individual tasks or work orders. They usually contain information such as task descriptions, responsibilities, and status.
- Kanban Board: This is the visual representation of the workflow. It consists of columns representing different phases of the work process, such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done."
- Limited Work-in-Progress (WIP): Kanban restricts the number of tasks that can be in progress simultaneously to avoid overload and bottlenecks.
- Pull System: Work is pulled into the process only when a team member has the capacity for it, rather than tasks being actively assigned.
Kanban is commonly used in agile software development teams but has found applications in many other areas, from manufacturing to project management. It's a flexible method that can be adapted to the specific needs and requirements of a team or project.
