Origin
Kanban originated in post-WWII Japan when Toyota, needing to compete with American manufacturers, sought more efficient production methods. Taiichi Ohno, an engineer at Toyota, developed the Toyota Production System, incorporating Kanban—a visual signaling method inspired by supermarket inventory systems—to control inventory, implement a pull-based workflow, and reduce waste. In the 2000s, Kanban was adapted to software development for tracking tasks in Agile environments, emphasizing flow efficiency and limiting work-in-progress. By the 2010s, it had spread across industries like marketing and HR, formalized into the Kanban Method by David J. Anderson with six core practices. In the 2020s, Kanban tools like Vabro, Trello, and Jira evolved with digital transformation, AI, and remote work integration.
Kanban Application Areas
Apart from manufacturing, the application of Kanban has been extended to a variety of industries and applications, including software development, services, healthcare, education, retail, and more. David J. Anderson first adapted the Kanban principles for software development and documented this in his 2010 book (Anderson, 2010).
Although Kanban has a wide range of applications, it is important to understand that its principles and practices can be applied to existing Workflows and organizational processes. Kanban can be utilized by organizations across different industries for various areas of application, such as:
- Task management
- Workflows automation
- Business process management
- Inventory management
- Business operations management
- Production planning
- IT Service Management
- Escalation Management
Some prominent departments and functional areas where Kanban is widely used include:
- Business Analysis
- Customer Service
- Design
- Finance
- Human Resource
- Information Technology
- Learning and Development
- Legal and Compliance
- Marketing
- Operations
- Product Management
- Project Management
- Sales
- Strategy
Many digital Kanban tools and SaaS platforms offer pre-defined Workflows templates for each of these prominent solution areas. These AI-generated templates help teams set up Workflows with minimal effort, based on the actual work that needs to be planned and executed. AI enhances Kanban Workflows by automating Task prioritization, predicting activity timelines, and identifying bottlenecks. It enables smarter resource allocation, improves decision-making, and provides data-driven insights, resulting in increased efficiency, reduced delays, and more adaptive, agile project management processes.
Kanban Principles
Kanban principles are fundamental to the effective implementation of the Kanban method, applicable to various Workflows and organizational processes. These principles aim to optimize existing processes, foster collaboration, and drive continuous improvement. The key principles include:
- Empirical Process Control: Decisions are based on observation and data. Organizations refine current Workflows using Kanban to minimize resistance to change and support continuous improvement.
- Iterative or Incremental Development: Changes are implemented incrementally, allowing for course corrections based on stakeholder feedback and evolving Workflows understanding.
- Collaborative Leadership: Leadership is encouraged at all organizational levels, fostering a culture of shared responsibility, open communication, and continuous learning.
- Value-based Prioritization: Work is prioritized based on the value it delivers to customers, with a focus on understanding customer needs, business value, risks, and dependencies.
- Self-Organization: Teams are empowered to manage their responsibilities autonomously, promoting accountability, motivation, and effective decision-making.
- Visualization: Workflows are made visible through tools like the Kanban Board and Backlog, enhancing transparency, identifying areas for improvement, and enabling data-driven decisions. Together, these principles support agile, adaptable Workflows that drive efficiency, collaboration, and customercentric outcomes.
Kanban Roles and Artifacts
The key roles in the Kanban framework are those of the Kanban Team and Stakeholders. The Kanban Team is responsible for understanding the needs of the organization and implementing the Kanban method effectively. The three primary roles within the Kanban Team are Product Owner, Kanban Manager, and Kanban Team Members. Stakeholders—such as senior management, customers, suppliers, or any other individuals or teams who interact with or benefit from Kanban Workflows—collaborate with the Kanban Team to improve Workflow efficiency, help prioritize tasks, and ensure alignment with broader business goals.
Artifacts are visual or management aids that help teams visualize workflows and determine the best ways to optimize them to deliver high business value in the shortest time possible. Typical artifacts used in Kanban include Tasks and Task Groups, Kanban Workflows, Kanban Backlog, and Kanban Boards.
Kanban Tasks are individual actions to be completed, while Task Groups are collections of related tasks necessary to achieve a specific output or goal.
Kanban boards visually represent workflows, displaying tasks in columns to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and ensure smooth work execution.
A Kanban backlog is a prioritized list of tasks or work items waiting to be processed, typically organized by urgency.
Kanban Boards visually represent workflows, displaying tasks in columns to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and ensure smooth work execution.
Kanban Metrics and Reports
Kanban metrics and reports track team performance and workflow efficiency, providing insights into cycle time, throughput, and bottlenecks. These data-driven tools help teams make informed decisions to improve processes, optimize resource allocation, and enhance overall delivery speed and quality.
Metrics are used to help an organization understand the current state of Workflows and processes, which, in turn, assist the team in making informed decisions about changes that can bring improvements. Using metrics can also help an organization commit to and efficiently meet the service or product obligations of its customers, including factors related to time, cost, quality, risk, and scope. Some of the key metrics on which reports are based in Kanban include:
- Work in Progress (WIP) Aging Work in Progress (or Work Item Age)
- Cycle Time
- Throughput
- Lead Time
- Takt Time
- Queue Length
- Flow Efficiency
When applying the Kanban method within an organization, reports can be used to generate insights into Workflows and communicate work progress, issues, and risks to stakeholders. Many digital Kanban tools enable practitioners to leverage elaborate, AI-driven reports to make data-driven decisions. Some of the key reports used in Kanban are:
- Workflows Reports
- Team Reports
- Individual Performance Reports
- Cycle Time Reports
- Lead Time Distribution Reports
- Flow Efficiency Reports
- Throughput Reports
- Work in Progress (WIP) and WIP Aging Reports
- Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFD)
- Blocker and Cluster Analysis Reports
- Capacity Utilization Reports
- Forecasting Reports
- Burndown Charts
- Service-Level Agreement (SLA) Adherence Reports
Kanban Processes
Kanban processes address the specific activities and flow of a Kanban initiative. In total, there are six fundamental Kanban processes that apply to all initiatives. These processes are grouped into four phases as shown in the table below. These Kanban processes are generally not sequential—they are iterative in nature and may overlap with one another.
| Phase | Kanban Processes | |
|---|---|---|
| For Entire Organization or Workspace: | ||
1. Set-upThe Setup Phase in Kanban includes processes related to initiating a workflow or initiative. |
|
|
| For Specific Kanban Initiative: | ||
2. PlanIn the Plan Phase, a Kanban team is formed to analyze workflows, identify stakeholders, and optimize processes. A visual board with WIP limits and clear policies is set up to support continuous improvement. |
|
|
3. ExecuteThe Execute Phase in Kanban includes processes related to managing work within a Kanban Workflow and facilitating the deployment of completed deliverables. |
|
|
| For Entire Organization or Workspace, and for Specific Kanban Initiative: | ||
4. EnhanceIn the Enhance Phase, teams reflect on workflow performance, identify bottlenecks, and gather stakeholder feedback to refine processes. Improvements are guided by data to align workflows with goals and ensure steady flow. |
|
|