The construction industry has been mired in an environment that has been siloed and antiquated for years. The view has been that things have always been done a certain way and there is no reason to change. Meanwhile, numerous industries have embraced lean methodologies and have significantly reduced waste, improved efficiency and delivered higher quality products which meet or exceed customer expectations. Surveys show that at least 50% of processes involved in planning and construction are wasteful. The industry has adopted lean construction methods, which are starting to change an industry that lagged behind others.

Learn more here about lean construction!

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Kanban is a lean method to manage and improve systems and process across an organization. The methodology balances the demands with available capacity, and improves the handling of system level bottlenecks. The Kanban board is a tool within the methodology which will allow the visualization of any process. The goal of a Kanban system is to limit the amount of work in process so the work flowing through the system matches its capacity.

Check out this informative video on the Kanban Board!     

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Push and pull models of manufacturing are two major approaches implemented by organizations. The decision on which approach to use is often based on their business strategy. Push and pull-based models in manufacturing starts at the planning phase and continues through the execution stage.

Watch this informative video on Push/Pull Production!

https://youtu.be/a7YvJB0n16I

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The Kanban board is a lean tool for managing flow in a process. From simple processes to the most complex, the board will visually represent a every step in a process process and show the status at any given time. During the late 1940’s, the line workers at Toyota displayed colored Kanbans to notify downstream workers that a demand existed for parts or assembly. As early as 2005, the Kanban board tool started being applied to knowledge work, where processes are typically more opaque than in the manufacturing sector.

When a process is mapped out on a Kanban board and Kanban cards properly represent the work, the process becomes visible and hidden aspects of the work becomes more clear. By mapping out the process, the entire team process is visible to every member and provides more clarity in their sense of purpose. The information displayed will answer the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why and how. There are three basic steps in establishing your Kanban board.

Map Your Workflow – Documenting the steps of a process. The starting point is exactly what it is in the real world. For every step, consider the tasks required to complete the step. Now it is time to build your Kanban board.

Visualize Work in Process (WIP) – Once your process is mapped on the Kanban board, start adding the tasks. Every task that should be done or worth doing, name them so everyone understands and put them in place.

Set Your WIP Limits – Early on, it will be a challenge to understand the ideal amount of work in a process. Start with your best guess. With your WIP limits in place, put them on the Kanban board.

It is important to remember, Kanban is a pull’ concept. This means when someone is ready to do work, they look on the board to see what needs to be done and will pull the task into the next column. The task is then their responsibility until it is complete and someone pulls it to the next step. The natural process of the Kanban board will start revealing bottlenecks in any process and quickly identify inefficiencies. Learn from mistakes and move your processes forward!

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Muda is the direct obstacle of flow. There are 7 distinctive types of Muda which all lead to waiting times, and therefore longer lead times in a process. Simply taking out the Muda does not work. Usually, there is a reason why the Muda is there and this reason often has to do with the other two enemies: Muri and Mura.  This means there are three enemies of lean and they are interrelated, and should therefore be considered simultaneously. Instead of just looking at the traditional 7 wastes of Muda, it is incumbent to consider instead the three categories of waste used by TPS (Toyota Production System).

Take a few moments and watch this educational video.

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Trello is an web-based application, designed for group collaboration and project management. It organizes multiple projects into boards and at the same time you can see what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in process. Trello was initially introduced by Fog Creek Software.
In Trello, boards represent projects and they contain lists — in other words, task lists. Each list contains cards, which correspond to tasks. The tasks or cards progress from one list to the next, using drag-and-drop. One example might be drafting the initial plan and going through the whole process until the implementation phase. Not only can users can be assigned to cards, but users, along with boards, can also be grouped into organizations.

(this is not an endorsement of the product or the developers)

Learn more from this descriptive video

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Kanban is an approach to process change for organizations, which uses visualization with a Kanban board. It allows a better understanding of work and workflow. Kanban practice limits work in progress, which reduces waste from multitasking and context switching, exposes operational problems and encourages collaboration to improve the system. It is rooted in two sets of principles, for change management and service delivery, which emphasize evolutionary change and customer focus. Kanban practice does not prescribe a specific set of steps, but starts from existing context and encourages continuous and incremental changes to the system. It minimizes resistance to change to facilitate it. The Kanban process focuses on the customer and work, which meets their needs, rather than an individual’s activities.

Kanban boards are perceived as a variation on traditional Kanban cards. Instead of the signal cards that represent demand or capacity, the board utilizes magnets, plastic chips, colored washers or sticky notes to represent work items. Each of these objects represents an item in a production process as it moves around the board. Its movement corresponds with a knowledge work or manufacturing process. The most basic board can be divided into three sections: “waiting,” “work in progress,” and “completed work.” Complex Kanban boards can be created that visualize the flow of work across a value stream map.

For individuals and organizations using Kanban boards, a new app is making waves across the business community. Trello is an app that has exceeded 25 million users and is considered a viral runaway success. It uses the Kanban principles for managing projects, originally popularized by Toyota in the 1980s for supply chain management. Projects are represented by boards, which contain lists (corresponding to task lists). Lists contain cards (corresponding to tasks). Cards are supposed to progress from one list to the next (via drag-and-drop), for instance mirroring the flow of a feature from idea to implementation. Users can be assigned to cards. Users and boards can be grouped into organizations.

It supports iPhone, Android and Windows 8 mobile platforms, along with Mac and PC desktop platforms. It is also supported on various tablet and iPad platforms. Another key feature is integration. These API integrations allow users to access features such as Google Drive, Slack and Salesforce directly from Trello.

(This is not an endorsement of a product or its developer)

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The main objectives of TPS (Toyota Production System) are to design out overburden (muri) and inconsistency (mura), and to eliminate waste (muda). The most significant effects on process value delivery are achieved by designing a process capable of delivering the required results smoothly; by designing out mura. It is crucial to ensure that the process is as flexible as necessary without stress or muri, since this generates muda. The tactical improvements of waste reduction or the elimination of muda are very valuable. There are eight kinds of muda that are addressed:

1. Waste of overproduction (largest waste)
2. Waste of time on hand (waiting)
3. Waste of transportation
4. Waste of processing itself
5. Waste of stock at hand
6. Waste of movement
7. Waste of making defective products
8. Waste of underutilized workers

Kanban is a method for managing knowledge work, which balances demands for work with the available capacity for new work. Work items are visualized to give participants a view of progress and process, from task definition to customer delivery. Team members “pull” work as capacity permits, rather than work being “pushed” into the process when requested.

In software development, for example, Kanban provides a visual process management system which aids decision-making about what, when and how much to produce.

The elimination of waste has come to dominate the thinking of many when they look at the effects of TPS because it is the most familiar of the three to implement. In TPS many initiatives are triggered by inconsistency or over-run reduction which drives out waste without specific focus on its reduction.

Enjoy this informative video on TPS and Kanban.

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When you’re running low,  just push a button and a new product will be delivered to your door! Sounds like something snatched right from the space age Jetsons cartoons. Can you imagine, when you start running low on a product in your home, you can simply push a button and have it delivered and paid for, without ever leaving your home? That is the vision and mission of Amazon Dash.

Stocking up with Amazon Dash

Amazon Dash is a consumer goods ordering service which uses a proprietary device for ordering goods over the internet. It consists of multiple components that uses a scanning device to inventory consumer goods around the house, integrating with AmazonFresh. The button itself is a small tray-like consumer electronic device that can be placed around the house and programmed to order a consumer good, such as disinfectant wipes or paper towels. The replenishment service allows manufacturers to add a physical button or auto-detection capability to their devices to reorder supplies from Amazon when necessary.

Amazon and Lean Six Sigma

If you look at the Amazon Dash system, it mirrors the principles and practices of Lean Six Sigma methodologies. Specifically, compare the process with a pattern production replenishment pull system, such as Kanban. Material is consumed, and a signal is sent to the production area to replace the item, with the same quality and type as the material that was consumed. Amazon has developed a process, based on Lean Six Sigma methodologies, which has tremendous opportunities for other industries and operations across many business segments. Future applications of this Amazon process will closely be evaluated by other industries. It clearly demonstrates how innovative thinking works hand in hand with Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

Watch this quick video on Amazon Dash.

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Another thing was impressive about their restaurant operations: they actually used elements of Lean: Kanban and Takt Time:

What is Kanban?

Kanban is an important step in the Toyota Production System. Kanban is a visual control that signals to the previous step that it is need of more resources, material, or something other. Kanban is similar to a gasoline light in a car. When a car is in need of gasoline, the gasoline light blinks as a signal to the driver to get more gasoline. At Toyota, every step in the manufacturing process has a Kanban, creating a “pull” effect that cascades backwards to the beginning of the manufacturing cycle. It’s a simple, yet very powerful way of satisfying customer demand, where the customer “pulls” and the Kanban is used to signal to every step in the process the need for resources.

At the restaurant, they had their own version of the Kanban. They had 2 colored coasters: Green and Red. Green is a signal for more meat; red is a signal to stop. Again, this was a simple system, but a powerful one. The coasters signals to the server, and when the server runs out of meat, he visits the kitchen for more meat, where they have their own Kanban system set-up. The cascade continues, beginning at the customer who “pulls” for resources and cascades all the way to the start of the process, in this case the cook in the Kitchen. It was fascinating and remarkably powerful and easy.

What is Takt Time?

Takt time comes from a German word “takt”, which means rhythm or beat. Takt time is not the same thing as Cycle Time or Lead Time, though Takt Time has a very real relationship to both. Takt Time must be measured through a simple calculation:

(Takt Time) = (Net Available Time per Day / Customer Demand per Day)

Takt time is measured as (Time/Piece), not the other way around. This is important because the operator knows that he or she only has so much time per x.

In my restaurant experience, there were several servers on the floor. But, it appeared that they were moving to some beat. As they visited tables to serve meat, I qualitatively noticed that they were at the table for ~20 – ~30 seconds. This appeared to me to be some sort of soft Takt Time, such that they have (30seconds/table) in order to keep the rhythm or beat in constant motion — to a large measure, Takt Time is about the maintenance of “Flow”, which is very important in queueing efficiency. This, of course, is not a strict example, because people eventually stop eating meat, but the volume of people this restaurant had, I think, justifies Takt Time for servers.

Kanban: A Conclusion

All in all, the food was great. And, I was able to see an innovative manifestation of Kanban and Takt Time. A great experience.

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A Kanban is a low-tech, visual card that authorizes or request movement of material or process.   It acts as a signaling system that notifies a supply partner that something is needed, and the amount needed.  Below is an example of a Kanban:

Notice that this Kanban is simple and very low-tech.  Yet, it powerfully enforces “pull” and coordination within a system.

Note that there are several types of Kanbans, or signaling systems, and variants also.  There are withdrawal Kanbans, production Kanbans, rack Kanbans, Kanban squares, and Kanban bins (post office),  All of which reinforce the fact that something is needed and the Kanban is the signal that notifies.

At one location where I spent some time, there was a Kanban binning system (post office), which looks something like the image below:

Again, it is very low-tech, yet it is incredibly powerful.  The post office Kanban above is slotted  with an entry and exit.  What you see is the face, but the back is the exit.  When an operator has finished picking and has completed an order, that order is placed in a slot.  Another operator on the other side will then pack and ship that order from the other side.  This Kanban is works very well for small items or parts or processes where orders can be staged until they are completed.

Again, the concept of a signal that reinforces coordination and cooperation within a system.

How about withdrawal Kanbans or production Kanbans?  Well, these types of Kanbans are more like the first image above: a card that explicity says what is needed and how much.  These types of Kanbas eliminate the need to forecast, because material is only requested when needed.  Hence, the reduction or elimination of inventory is the eventual result.

To determine how many cards and the frequency of Kanban withdrawals requires some analysis — albeit simple.  Below is the general rule to follow when thinking about the number of Kanbans:

Where,

• Y: number of cards
• D: demand per unit of time
• T: lead time
• C: container capacity
• X: buffer, or safety factor

For example, suppose that hourly demand was 200 units, lead time was 12 hours, and the container capacity was 144 units.  Assume that there was  variation in lead time or demand, then we can set the safety factor to 15%:

Y = ((200*12)*(1+.15)) / 144= 20 Kanban Cards

How many hours worth of demand will 20 cards represent?

(20 cards * 144 units) = 2880 units

2880 / 200 units per hour = 14.4 hours worth of material

As you can see, this simple yet effective visual approach that encourages flow, reduces the need for forecasting — and all forecasting is almost always wrong no matter which model you choose — and the Kanban reinforces coordination and cooperation within a system.

Another simple implementation of a visual Kanban is something my wife came up with to encourage our children to work and instill some order in the work order process in our home.  Below is a visual Kanban that she created for our twin boys:

On the left-hand side is the slot where jobs are assigned in the form of index cards.  On each card will be a job, such as “get dressed” or “brush teeth”.  The jobs are pretty simple for the twins because they are only 2 years old.  When a job is done, then the index card progresses to the right-hand slot, which means that that job is done.  My 2-year old twins enjoy this: they are learning to visually know if jobs have been assigned and they also know and enjoy moving the cards when they’ve completed a job.  At the same time, they are learning how to work, in their 2-year old way.

Note: If I were to create the Kanban above for my twins, I would have made the “To Do” and “Done” different distinct colors, since 2-year old children know some colors at that age.  That way, they can associate colors with tasks and feel good because they are making progress when cards or jobs are completed.  The color dimension acts also as another dimension to the visual signal of a Kanban.

Kanban is a simple and very effective tool, which encourages flow and is a critical piece in the Toyota Production System.  Kanban does not have to be high-tech to work; in fact, most Kanbans are very simple and low-tech, but they work phenomenally well.

The post How Many Kanban Cards are Needed: Kanban Types and Analytical Sizing appeared first on 6sigma.

It’s a very versatile tool that can be used for optimizing inventories, bolstering agile software development, and improving business efficiency and productivity. It will also reduce costs associated with transport, insurance, and defects.

The ultimate aim is to prevent overstocking in inventories and regulate production to avoid wastage. 

Let’s see the basic principles of the kanban methodology and how it stands to benefit your business. We’ll also see what a kanban board is and how you can use it to improve efficiency and productivity for your organization.

What is Kanban Methodology?

The word Kanban derives from the Japanese ‘Kan’ meaning sign and ‘Ban’ meaning board. Kanban thus means ‘sign board’. Kanban has its roots in the manufacturing and automotive industries though it is now commonly used in agile software development.

The industrial engineer Taiichi Ohno at Toyota designed kanban principles to improve efficiency in manufacturing.

Kanban is basically a visual system that helps visualize work and track it as it moves across a process. The methodology can help identify problems in processes and create ways to get around them in the most cost efficient manner. 

Kanban will monitor value delivery starting from the supplier to the consumption of the product by the customer. It helps reduce wastes in inventory management which include overstocking.

Kanban Principles

At the heart of Kanban is a continuous, gradual improvement, be it in procurement, marketing, sales, or recruitment. Essentially, any business function or department can use Kanban and benefit from streamlined management.

• Prevent excessive inventory buildup at all costs
• Begin with what you already know
• Make small, incremental changes
• Empower people at all levels of the business hierarchy
• Encourage team collaboration
• Eliminate overproduction
• Defective items should be stopped from reaching customers

Kanban will bring transparency and visibility into business tasks at all levels. It will outline everything including the flow of processes so managers will get a bird’s eye picture of the entire process pipeline from a single place.

The approach drastically reduces turnaround times and waste in transportation and production. Packaging and handling are made quicker, so companies can mitigate risks associated with the storage, transport, and insurance of goods.

Rework is reduced and delays in manufacturing processes are kept to a minimum.

Businesses that employ kanban can typically foresee risks and manage them better in a proactive manner. This helps differentiate them from their competitors and provide better customer service. Customer interactions and redressals are faster too.

How to Use a Kanban Board to Boost Productivity for Your Business

You can begin incorporating kanban in your business workflows with a simple tool called the kanban board. It’s a simple table with 3 columns: “Requested” processes, “In progress” processes, and “Completed” or “Done” processes. 

The Kanban board should be simple enough to present a holistic picture of processes. It should be regularly revised and updated. Managers must ensure that everyone in the team has access to the updated kanban board.

Implemented the right way, a Kanban board can significantly boost productivity and engage teams to work together. This will encourage teams to place collective achievements over personal victories. 

Summary

So, what is kanban really? It’s an approach that will help you visualize processes better and cut down on unnecessary steps to reduce waste and defects. Kanban, in effect, bridges lean and agile workflows. Businesses adopting kanban can proactively make changes in processes in anticipation of risks and problems.

What makes kanban so powerful and unique is that it can be easily adapted to diverse business functions from office supplies management to inventory management.

Kanban will remove problems, reduce expenses, and help improve customer services and satisfaction levels. Delivery times will be reduced too, as processes are accelerated to eliminate waiting times.

The post What is Kanban: Top 6 Kanban Principles for Lean Manufacturing appeared first on 6sigma.

In the most basic terms, Kanban is an innovative technique that is used in project management. The technique allows teams to be more productive and makes the processes much more streamlined. The word Kanban derives its origins from the Japanese kan which means visual and the word ban which means card.”

Kanban has become a highly popular Agile tool. It is widely used by businesses and is particularly useful for certain software projects. However, there are several situations where Kanban use does not match the instance for which it is being used.

The Kanban Approach

Kanban basically helps manage the creation of products while emphasizing on continuous delivery. It aims to relieve the development team of any burdens. Kanban, like Scrum, helps teams work in a more efficient way.

The process involves three key principles.

• It is important to visualize what you are doing at present. Considering all business aspects and items in the context of each other can be a very informative exercise.
• Put a limit on the amount of work in progress you are handling. This will help enforce a balance so teams do not overstrain and work too much at any time.
• The third aspect enhances flow and involves picking up the next thing highest in the list of backlogs when the task at hand is finished.

Basically, the approach helps foster continuous collaboration and encourage active learning. It helps define the best possible workflow for maximal efficiency.

The approach, therefore, is expected to have several advantages.

• It results in shorter cycle times and timely feature deliveries.
• Kanban is ideal in environments where the priorities keep changing continuously.
• It helps to respond to change in an efficient manner.
• Reduces the waste and activities that do not add any value to the business.
• Motivates and empowers teammates who perform higher by having rapid feedback loops in place.
• Balances demand and throughput. This helps work on the most customer value-centric features.

Wrong Reasons to Use Kanban

Businesses might be using the Kanban approach for all the wrong reasons without even realizing it. We examine below several such instances in which the approach probably isn’t the best fit.

• Kanban is not the best way to deal with varied story sizes. The teams should instead be taught to split the stories into smaller tasks.
• Using Kanban will not increase your speed with which you generally progress through your tasks. If you are unable to finish a story in one iteration, that certainly does not spell out a need to use this approach.
• It is sometimes easier to form cross-functional teams and ending multi-tasking approaches. Kanban might not always be the best solution from team stability considerations.
• Kanban’s simplicity is often the reason why businesses use it as a solution to all management challenges and issues. You will undoubtedly have to work hard and face a lot of problems.

The Right Reasons to Use Kanban

Let’s now examine closely the right situations where Kanban can be used to increase efficiency, improve processes, and remove waste while responding to ever-changing priorities.

• Allows priorities to be continuously changed. This is something Scrum does not lend itself to easily.
• Helps release items at any time, which is not often possible with other iterative methods and techniques.
• Helps realize and visualize the best workflows. The approach can be used when a business needs insights into its current operations and the stage the project is presently in.

Conclusion

Kanban is easily used in a number of business situations but is not the one size fits all solution for all business challenges. It is easily used when there is a need to model the whole value stream or when there is a need to respond rapidly to continuously changing priorities.

It ultimately helps foster continuous improvement. The best way to choose the ideal method for business process improvement is to first consider what it is that you wish to improve. This will help choose the most suitable approach rather than using one tool to solve all problems.

The post Are You Applying Kanban for the Wrong Reason? appeared first on 6sigma.

How to Maintain Kanban Systems

Kanban means visual card’, or simply, sign’ in Japanese. In manufacturing, there are two types of Kanban: the move’ Kanban, which tells the receiving department when to move parts to the assembly line, and the make’ Kanban, which instructs suppliers to manufacture parts or products. As part of the Lean Six Sigma methodology, Kanban cards can be used in all business industries (not just manufacturing) to streamline tasks, improve operational processes, and encourage better communication within the workforce.

Kanban cards and systems are designed to cut waste, reduce time wasting, and improve collaboration on projects. But, Kanban cards are not magic; they won’t transform your business efficiency levels on their own. You must properly maintain them and utilize their full potential.

So, how can one effectively maintain a Kanban system? Here are five key ways.

1.      Remove Completed Tasks Immediately

When business operations are in progress, Kanban systems come in extremely handy for tracking the status of work tasks, delegating jobs, and collaborating as a team to produce the finest results. But only when Kanban boards are used regularly, as it’s imperative to keep them up to date. Failing to switch completed tasks over from your board to the done’ list will make it harder to find ongoing operations quickly. This will slow your colleagues down, instead of making their job more convenient.

Don’t put off removing tasks until tomorrow, your Kanban board should always be up to date.

2.       Color Coding

The purpose of a Kanban system is to allow you easy access to information about tasks in progress. Make use of a color coding system that allows you to effortlessly navigate the Kanban board. Whether you use a digital or physical system, contrasting colors ensure urgent jobs stand out, enable you to keep track of team members’ progress, and ensure projects are completed punctually.

A coding system where different colors have different representations, (for example, Red = to do, yellow = doing, and green = done) is a simple, straightforward way to utilize colors for your Kanban board.

3.      Move Cards Between Columns

Moving Kanban cards between columns is imperative if you want to make the most of your Kanban board and system. In general, this is the feature that is used the most. There’s a high likelihood that you’ll be moving cards around more frequently than you create new ones.

If you’re using a Kanban board app, you will be able to easily move cards within seconds. Apps and similar digital Kanban systems allow you to change the placement of a card at any time, for example to move it from the to do’ column to doing’.

Physical Kanban board users should also get into the habit of moving the card as soon as the status of a project changes. Moving cards around on a physical board is not quite as effortless as when using an app. Use magnets and sticky notes, as they are popular solutions for improving the efficiency of this process.

Which one should you use, physical or digital?

4.      Add Notes

When you’re using your Kanban system to track the progress of multiple projects, not including details about the task could land your team in a sea of confusion. Vague information can cost you dearly. If your employees become muddled when completing tasks, they will make mistakes. 

Adding notes to cards in a digital Kanban system should be a quick and easy process. If you are using a Kanban app, there will be an add note’ function handy. If you’re using a physical board, use cards that are large enough to add detailed information to.

5.      Attach Checklists

Both digital and physical Kanban boards support the use of checklists to track operations progress. A checklist is a simple, efficient way of making sure that everything gets done, so they are widely utilized in Kanban systems.

If you’re using a Kanban app, you will likely have access to a feature allowing you to create a quick checklist for any given task. This will allow you to break one large project down into a series of smaller tasks, while only using up the space of one card on the board. Ensure that each project is checked off immediately on completion, to avoid the risk of wasting time working on something that’s already been done.

To Conclude

Working with a digital or physical Kanban system can help you to transform your business operations from sluggish and slow to fast and efficient. However, many people get wrapped up in the structure and look of a Kanban system, and overlook the discipline and consistency that is more critical for success. Make a habit of using these Kanban system maintenance strategies. so that you don’t miss out on any of its useful features. 

Learn more about Kanban >>>

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Different Types of Kanban Boards and Card Holders

Since it was introduced in the 1950’s by Toyota Production System founder Taiichi Ohno, Kanban has been adopted by thousands of companies in pursuit of success.

Kanban cards exist to track progress. Doing so helps each member of a business team stay up-to-date, allowing them to easily determine which strategies are useful and which aren’t. But, if you’re using Kanban cards to track progress, then you will need a way to display them. This enables your team to see the progress status on various projects or on the overall business. There are many methods to choose from when it comes to displaying Kanban cards in the workplace.

Here are some of the different types of Kanban boards and card holders explained.

Online Kanban Boards

In today’s digital world, online Kanban boards are a must in any office practicing the Lean Six Sigma method. With an online Kanban board, you can use your laptop, tablet or smartphone to visualize, manage your workflow, and engage in real-time collaboration on various projects with your team members. Online Kanban boards emulate their offline counterparts using apps, but they offer so much more: faster work completion, better efficiency, improved flexibility, and more transparency.

One of the biggest advantages of opting for an online Kanban board is that they offer easy customization. Using your device, you can effortlessly change the ways in which you deal with the designation of lanes or columns. You can also easily adjust the Kanban card to fit in with the details of your project.

Read about the pros and cons between digital and physical kanban boards >>>

Agile Kanban Boards

The term Agile’ was first coined in relation to Kanban almost twenty years ago, in a manifesto written by a 17-strong authorship team of independent software developers. Agile offers a flexible, interactive approach to using Kanban cards for business. The methods allow teams to divide the development process into smaller, manageable segments, enabling easier changes as work progresses, and minimizing the risk of a stand-still.

Although Agile teams are likely to need a more complex set of options than the to do, doing, done’ of basic Kanban, the adaptability of the system is what makes it so popular. Using Agile Kanban boards, teams can accept incremental changes, visually present complex tasks, workflows and progress, and improve the transparency of their workplace projects and collaborations. Using Kanban in Agile development allows you to visually track where work is becoming backlogged in any lane. You can then take more informed action steps when setting limits, ensuring that the workflow runs smoothly.

Excel Kanban Boards

One of the simplest ways to present your Kanban cards is to create a board using Excel, a software program that all Microsoft Office users have access to. If you do not use Microsoft Office, you can create Kanban boards for free online using Google Sheets.

To create a Kanban board in Excel (or Google Sheets), name the columns of your sheet to reflect each work progress stage: To-Do, Doing, Done, along with any further stages relevant to the project. This Kanban board method is popular, as it not only allows you to retain all the functionality of tracking a project using Excel, but it also allows for enhanced flexibility and visibility, which takes advantage of Kanban principles.

An alternative to using Excel is to use PowerPoint. This popular slide show software makes it easy to showcase or present your Kanban cards to staff, clients or stakeholders.

Kanban Bin Systems

In certain workplace settings, 2-bin and 3-bin Kanban systems can be used to track inventory. Used for replenishing items in a supply setting, such as a production line or other kind of factory, a worker will pull tasks from bin number one until the last task is complete.

Once the bin is emptied, the worker will flip the Kanban card (or the bin, in some cases) and begin on the tasks in the second bin, while the first one is replenished. When using a 3-bin Kanban system, one bin should be kept at the supplier’s location for inventory.

Wall Mounted Card-Holders and Racks

Wall-mounted racks or card-holders provide a traditional, yet effective, method of using Kanban cards to improve efficiency and productivity. Ideal for material handling environments, these racks or card-holders can help with the smooth flow of both projects and communication.

Rather than the usual signal cards, which represent capacity or demand on a task, Kanban cards in wall-mounted holder utilizes items such as magnets, sticky notes, or push-pins for representing each work item. As it travels around the board, each object correlates to a business process such as an item in production.

Kanban cards are one of the most versatile aids for business process improvement. The large assortment of methods available for displaying Kanban cards in the workplace allows any company to successfully adapt them to their needs.

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