What is Kanban? The Agile Methodology Defined, and How to Use it For Your Software Development Team

If you work in software development, you‘ve likely heard of Kanban – one of the most popular Agile methodologies in use today. But what exactly is Kanban, where did it come from, and how can your team best leverage its principles and practices?

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into the world of Kanban for software teams. You‘ll learn what makes Kanban unique, how it compares to other Agile approaches, and proven techniques for successfully adopting Kanban in your organization. By the end, you‘ll have a solid understanding of this powerfully simple methodology and a clear roadmap for getting started.

The Origins of Kanban

The Kanban methodology has its roots in lean manufacturing, pioneered by Toyota in the 1940s. The Japanese word "kanban" translates to "visual signal" or "card." Toyota line-workers used physical kanban cards to signal steps in their manufacturing process, which improved visibility and helped maximize efficiency by limiting inventory and work-in-progress (WIP).

In 2007, David J. Anderson published the book "Kanban," which outlined how these same principles could be applied to knowledge work and software development. Anderson‘s approach emphasized evolutionary improvement, starting with an organization‘s existing processes and gradually enhancing them.

Since then, Kanban has established itself as one of the most widely used Agile methodologies, employed by countless software teams around the world to streamline delivery, boost quality, and continuously improve their workflows.

Core Principles of Kanban

While Kanban is a highly flexible methodology, there are four core principles that inform its implementation for software development:

1. Start with current process – Kanban doesn‘t prescribe a particular process or organizational structure. Instead, teams begin by clearly defining and visualizing their existing workflows.

2. Pursue incremental change – Kanban teams are encouraged to enact small, incremental changes to their process, avoiding large, disruptive reorganizations.

3. Respect current roles and responsibilities – Unlike other Agile approaches, Kanban doesn‘t require teams to adopt new roles like Product Owner or Scrum Master. Existing roles, titles, and responsibilities are maintained.

4. Encourage leadership at all levels – Kanban emphasizes a collaborative approach to continuous improvement, empowering individuals to propose and enact positive changes.

By starting with these principles, teams can gradually enhance their processes while minimizing resistance to change. Now let‘s look at how Kanban differs from other popular Agile approaches.

Kanban vs Scrum and Other Agile Methodologies

As an Agile methodology, Kanban shares many practices and principles with approaches like Scrum, including:

• Visualizing work
• Limiting work-in-progress
• Enhancing flow
• Continuous improvement

However, there are some key areas where Kanban and Scrum differ:

• Kanban has no fixed iteration lengths like Scrum‘s 2-4 week Sprints
• Kanban doesn‘t prescribe specific roles like Scrum‘s Product Owner and Scrum Master
• Kanban allows changes to be made to the backlog at any time, while Scrum locks the Sprint Backlog
• Kanban measures cycle time, while Scrum focuses more on velocity through story points

In general, Kanban tends to be less prescriptive than Scrum. This makes it easier to get started with and allows teams greater flexibility to adapt its practices to their specific context.

Some teams practice what‘s been called "Scrumban" – using the defined processes of Scrum with Kanban‘s focus on visualization, WIP limits, and cycle time. But the two approaches can also be used independently depending on a team‘s needs and circumstances.

Key Practices of Kanban

To implement Kanban effectively, there are six key practices software teams should adopt:

1. Visualize the workflow – Teams map out each step in their workflow on a Kanban board, with work items represented by cards that move through the process. Typical column headings include Backlog, Ready, In Progress, In Review, and Done.

2. Limit work-in-progress (WIP) – Each workflow state has an defined capacity or WIP limit. For example, the In Progress column may be limited to 3 cards at once. This constraint prevents bottlenecks and reveals problems in the flow.

3. Manage and enhance flow – Teams track the movement of work through their process using key flow metrics like cycle time and throughput. The goal is to make the flow of work as smooth and fast as possible.

4. Make policies explicit – Make the team‘s process policies highly visible on the Kanban board. These could include the definition of "Done," branch and pull request strategies, coding guidelines, etc.

5. Implement feedback loops – Regular meetings focused on flow, such as daily standups and service delivery reviews, help the team reflect on and improve their process.

6. Improve collaboratively – Kanban puts the onus on the entire team to identify opportunities to improve workflow and enact beneficial changes. Teams often hold regular retrospectives focused on removing bottlenecks and enhancing flow.

With these practices in place, software teams can leverage Kanban to reap significant benefits. Next we‘ll explore some key advantages of this Lean approach.

Benefits of Kanban for Software Teams

Adopting Kanban offers software teams a range of compelling benefits:

Increased visibility – Visualizing work on a Kanban board gives all team members a shared understanding of what‘s being worked on, by whom, and where bottlenecks exist. This transparency fosters better communication and collaboration.

Improved flow – WIP limits and a focus on cycle time reveal interruptions and blockers impeding smooth flow. Teams can then work to resolve issues and reduce delays. Tracking key flow metrics over time allows teams to predict future delivery with greater reliability.

More flexibility – With no set iteration lengths, Kanban allows teams to be more responsive to changes in requirements or priorities. New items can enter the workflow at any time, and the team can adapt quickly based on shifting demand.

Better collaboration – Kanban encourages team members, stakeholders, and leaders across the organization to work together to optimize the end-to-end workflow. Policies and changes are agreed collaboratively. Regular feedback loops and services delivery reviews engage stakeholders frequently.

As compelling as these advantages are, Kanban isn‘t the right fit for all situations. Next we‘ll offer guidance on when using Kanban makes sense and when a different approach may be better.

When to Use Kanban

Kanban can be a powerful approach for many types of software development work, but it‘s especially well-suited to certain situations:

Maintenance and support – Work that involves a steady stream of small tasks entering the workflow and needing to be completed quickly is a great fit for Kanban. WIP limits and cycle time tracking help ensure important work gets addressed efficiently.

Frequently changing priorities – When requirements and priorities are fluid, Kanban allows teams to adapt on the fly. New work can be added to the backlog at any time, and the most important items are always worked on first.

Teams struggling with Scrum – For teams having a hard time adopting the more structured approach of Scrum, Kanban can be an easier transition. Teams continue to work with their existing roles and processes while gradually enhancing them.

Organizations new to Agile – Similarly, for organizations just starting out on their Agile journey, Kanban‘s evolutionary approach can help them improve without overwhelming team members with too much change at once.

If your team is working on new product development, needs timeboxed iterations to deliver working software frequently, or benefits from the more defined roles and processes of Scrum, then another Agile methodology may be a better fit than Kanban.

Getting Started with Kanban

If you‘re ready to begin applying Kanban in your software team, here are some steps to get you off on the right foot:

1. Map out your workflow – Get the team together to outline the steps a typical work item takes from start to finish. Define the workflow states that will make up the columns of your Kanban board.

2. Define work item types – Determine what kinds of work items you‘ll track on the board (user stories, defects, etc.) and if you‘ll use any swimlanes to separate them visually.

3. Set initial WIP limits – For each workflow state, determine a capacity or WIP limit based on the team size, work complexity, etc. Make sure everyone understands that these initial limits are a starting point to be adjusted over time.

4. Track key flow metrics – Begin measuring cycle time and throughput for your work items. Many software tools can generate control charts and other visuals to help the team spot trends and outliers.

5. Hold regular Kanban meetings – Schedule frequent standups, service delivery reviews, and retrospectives to continuously guide the team in improving flow and removing impediments.

6. Experiment with new policies – As the team identifies opportunities to improve, define small experiments with process or policy changes. Implement these changes, review the results, and adopt or reject them as a team.

With a clear, visualized workflow and an iterative, evolutionary mindset, your software team will be well on its way to a successful Kanban implementation.

Conclusion

We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this overview of Kanban for software development. To sum up:

• Kanban is a Lean approach to software development focused on visualization, limiting WIP, improving flow, and continuous collaborative improvement
• Kanban differs from other Agile methodologies in its flexibility and evolutionary approach to process changes
• Implementing key Kanban practices can lead to greater transparency, smoother delivery, faster cycle times, and increased adaptability
• Kanban is well-suited for maintenance/support work, teams struggling with Scrum, or those new to Agile, but may not be the best fit for every situation
• Getting started with Kanban involves mapping your workflow, setting WIP limits, tracking key metrics, and experimenting collaboratively

If you‘re intrigued by the potential of Kanban for your software development processes, I encourage you to give it a try. Start with what you do now, pursue incremental changes, and evolve your process gradually. You may be surprised by just how much you can improve, one small step at a time.