The Basics of Kanban Boards: What They Are and How to Get Started

Introduction

Kanban boards are an effective tool used to help optimize and streamline the workflow process. They provide an intuitive and visual system that can be used to organize tasks, deadlines and progress. So, what is a Kanban board and what are the benefits of using them?

What is a Kanban Board?

Kanban boards are a type of workflow management tool used to visualize tasks within a project. On a Kanban board, tasks are organized and split into columns which illustrate different stages of the workflow process. This helps to divide complex projects and tasks into more manageable and trackable steps. By implementing a Kanban board, team members and stakeholders are able to keep track of progress, become more organized and identify task issues quickly.

Benefits of Using Kanban

• Visually manageable - As tasks are broken down into stages and columns, it is easier to see where issues and task bottlenecks may arise. This allows team members to address any issues and prioritize tasks.
• Flexible - Kanban is incredibly flexible as tasks can be easily rearranged throughout the board with minimal effort.
• Improved productivity - Easily knowing what tasks have been completed or pending motivates team members to be productive.
• Adaptable - The system can be tailored to any sized work process. It can be used for both large and small project management applications.

Working with Kanban Boards

Kanban boards are a visual project management tool that allow organizations and teams to manage different tasks and processes. In Kanban, tasks are laid out on a board with columns, typically named to-do, in progress, and done. Swimlanes can also be employed to distinguish between tasks related to different projects, departments, or priority levels.

Creating Columns and Forming Swimlanes

Organizations can map out tasks and processes using a kanban board. Teams create columns and then organize tasks into those columns. Columns often correspond to different stages of the process. For example, the “to-do” column could include all the tasks that have not been started yet, the “in progress” column would include tasks that are currently active, and the “done” column would include tasks that have been completed.

Additionally, teams can create swimlanes which further break down tasks that span different projects, departments, or priority levels. Swimlanes create separation between tasks across different contexts and help teams better manage tasks.

Making Sticky Notes

After columns and swimlanes have been created, teams can then move on to creating notes. In traditional kanban, teams use sticky notes to create trackable tasks. The sticky notes can be labelled with content including team member names, priority levels, and task titles.

Establishing Rules for Moving Cards/Notes

The last step for teams using kanban boards is creating rules for moving cards or sticky notes. It helps to define what should happen to a task that moves from one column to another. For example, when a task moves from the “to-do” column to the “in progress” column, the team or specific team member might be notified, or the task might be sent to be reviewed.

Having a set of established rules helps teams remain organized and accountable in their work. The rules should be agreed upon by the team, and changes should be communicated frequently to reflect an evolving workflow.

Benefits of Using Kanban

Using a Kanban board can bring many benefits to your organization. Understanding these benefits can help you promote the use of Kanban within your team. Here are the key benefits to using a Kanban board:

Increased Efficiency

With a Kanban board, you can quickly identify what tasks need to be completed and who is responsible for each task. This allows team members to quickly understand their current workload and helps identify bottlenecks quicker in the process. A Kanban board makes it easier to track progress and quickly identify what tasks are stuck and need assistance.

Reduced Context Switching

Kanban boards allow team members to quickly access the tasks that need to be completed and the related information. This reduces the time spent switching from task to task, as all the required information is available in one place. Being able to access all the required information quickly can help reduce the time wasted on context switching.

Improved Team Collaboration

Using a Kanban board helps increase the visibility of tasks and progress to the entire team. This allows for effective collaboration, as everybody is on the same page and can provide support if needed. This increased visibility can help reduce the occurrence of wasted time from team members not understanding the task or current progress.

The Five Core Principles of Kanban

Kanban boards are a great way to plan and track projects, especially in agile environments. The two main aspects they focus on are managing the workflow, and visualizing the progress. This visual aspect is achieved by establishing five core principles to follow when utilizing a Kanban board. It is important for teams to understand and adopt these principles for their Kanban boards to be effective.

Visualize the work process

The first principle of Kanban boards is to visualize the work process. This is done through defining separate columns for each step of the process, from start to finish. This allows team members to clearly see where tasks are in the workflow and identify if any of them are stuck at a certain step. This visibility also allows impediments to be spotted and addressed quickly.

Limit work in progress

Limiting the amount of work in progress (WIP) is another essential principle to a Kanban board. WIP is the total number of tasks that are at each step of the workflow. Limiting this number helps teams focus on the important projects, while preventing bottlenecks in the workflow. This can be achieved by assigning specific WIP limits to each column.

Manage and measure flow

Kanban boards also help teams to manage and measure their workflows. They can be used to track the progress of tasks and identify any bottlenecks. This allows teams to make improvements and identify areas that need improvement. This principle also helps to keep teams on track by providing a visible way to measure workflow progress.

Make process policies explicit

The fourth core principle of a Kanban board is to make process policies explicit. This means that the policy for what should happen in each step of the workflow should be clearly stated and visible on the Kanban board. This helps teams to better understand the process and makes it easier to make sure all tasks are completed in the right order.

Improve collaboratively

Kanban boards also emphasize the importance of collaboration and improvement. Teams should always be looking for ways to improve their workflow and kanban boards provide a great way to do just that. Teams should be constantly collaborating and discussing potential process improvements and tracking the results of their experiments.

Basic Applications of Kanban Boards

Kanban boards are used to facilitate collaboration and planning, task management, bug/issue tracking, and project management. Let’s explore each of these in more detail.

A. Collaboration and Planning

Kanban boards can be used to break down large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. This helps to keep everyone in the team aligned and gives a shared visual representation of projects and tasks. This can help team members to plan their workload and make sure that their tasks are completed on time.

B. Task Management

Kanban boards can be used to visually track the progress of tasks from start to finish. You can assign tasks to team members and monitor the stages of completion. This allows teams to stay up to date on progress and easily identify where adjustments are needed.

C. Bug/Issue Tracking

Kanban boards can be used to log and track bugs or issues. This provides a visual record of each bug or issue, as well as the status of the fix. This can be incredibly helpful for teams who are managing complex software projects.

D. Project Management

Finally, Kanban boards can be used to manage the whole of a project. This includes project planning and management, task allocation, deadline management, and risk management. You can use Kanban boards to track each step of the project from start to finish, so you always have a clear understanding of the next steps and can easily adjust your strategy if needed.

6. Common Kanban Board Layouts

Kanban boards are a visual and organized way of managing a data flow, and are often utilized in businesses, software development, and project management. There are several common Kanban board layouts that teams can use to track progress, assign tasks, and plan ahead. Let’s explore three popular Kanban board layouts, and consider how each might be useful for your team.

A. Kanban Columns

Kanban columns are the most common board layout and the most recognizable. Each task is broken down into columns, often with the purpose of showing where a task is in the process. The “To-Do” column will contain tasks that need to be done, while higher priority tasks make it to the “Doing” column. Completed tasks are in the “Done” column. This setup provides an easily accessible place to manage tasks, assign workflows in a logical order, track progress, and see what team members are doing.

B. Story Mapping

Story mapping is another layout that can work well in a Kanban board. This setup will feature assignments, ideas, and goals organized by story. These grouped stories are carefully plotted in a timeline structure, which can be especially useful for projects that require order and timelines. This setup also helps to prevent tasks from getting overlooked and keeps the team on track for the desired goal.

C. Subcomponents Kanban Boards

Subcomponents Kanban boards are useful for a certain type of project. They are well constructed when tasks are dependent on the completion of other tasks, such as coding projects. The Kanban board will break down the tasks into subcomponents, and the project can be tracked across columns as it moves through essential phases. This board layout can provide a structured system to map out a project’s timeline and trace any dependencies.

Conclusion

Kanban boards have become an increasingly popular way to organize, plan and track tasks, projects, and activities. With their visual structure and ability to facilitate collaboration, they are helpful tools for individuals, teams, and organizations. By outlining the basics of Kanban boards, what they are and how to get started, this blog post has provided a high-level overview of the fundamentals of this tool.

Making the Most of Kanban Boards

Kanban boards are most effective when used in the right ways. As you get started, consider how the tool can be leveraged to increase efficiency and productivity and improve workflow. Experiment with the tool and utilize its features to the fullest to discover its true potential. Also, use analytics to track the performance of tasks and their stages in the process.

Getting Started with Kanban Boards

Individuals, teams, and organizations can quickly and easily start using Kanban boards with the right platform and tools. Popular platforms like Trello allow teams to work together with Kanban boards and collaborate in real-time. In addition, if managing a team, involve team members in the process to help them understand how to best use the tool.

Kanban boards are a useful and versatile tool for streamlining processes, tracking tasks, and boosting productivity. With the basics of these boards covered and advice on how to get started with them, we hope you now understand the power and potential of this tool.