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Exercise "Agile Method Kanban"

Summary

Here you will find the definitions of the most important terms from this chapter.

Kanban card

A Kanban card contains all necessary information for producing a specific item or executing a task. It follows the pull principle.

Kanban board

A Kanban board is a tool for visualising workflows. It shows where individual tasks are within a process and is a central component of the Kanban method.

Objectives of the Kanban method

  • Improvement of productivity and quality
  • Maximise production flexibility
  • Prevention of waste
  • Elimination of defects

Tasks / requirements

Can be formulated as

  • User Stories
  • Features
  • Use cases, etc.

Lead time

Lead time is the period by which an event in a network plan can be advanced compared to another event. This is represented by a negative time gap.

Cycle time

Cycle Time is the time it takes from the beginning to the completion of a task.

Work in progress

Work in progress (WIP) is a tool in Kanban. Tasks falling under WIP are currently being worked on. Since multiple tasks are not worked on simultaneously by one person, it regulates the work pace and improves process workflows.

Lean Development

Lean Development is an approach that aims to optimise product development through the application of lean principles such as customer value, the pull principle and continuous improvement. Lean development is the preliminary stage of lean production and concerns the product development process.

Lean Production

Lean Production is a production method that aims to make optimum use of resources such as materials, time and labour and to minimise waste.

Theory of Constraints

The Theory of Constraints is an approach to improving the efficiency of systems. It identifies bottlenecks that hinder goal achievement and serves as a problem-solving method.

Test yourself

Try to answer the following questions on your own. Take your time and think carefully before checking the solutions.

Where did Kanban originate?

Kanban is a scheduling system for just-in-time production that was developed by Toyota and plays an integral role in the Toyota Production System (TPS). Originally, Kanban was developed for Lean Production.

What else is Kanban called?

The Kanban method is also called the pull principle.

At which levels can Kanban be used and how do they differ?

The Kanban method can be used at the team and portfolio level:

Team level Mapping a project with the Kanban board can lead to a better understanding of the workflow. It makes it easier for you to organise and manage your work and enables your team and project members to keep track of each task.

Portfolio level If your strategic goals are visualised on a separate Kanban board, you can easily see which ones have been started or completed. At the same time, using it makes it easier for you to keep track of every single project that takes place in the company.

What are the four principles of Kanban?

  • Principle 1: Start with what you are currently doing.

  • Principle 2: Commit to incremental and evolutionary change.

  • Principle 3: Respect existing processes, roles, and responsibilities.

  • Principle 4: Encourage leadership at all levels of the organisation.

What are the six practices in Kanban?

  • Practice 1: Visualise work processes.

  • Practice 2: Limit work in progress.

  • Practice 3: Manage task load.

  • Practice 4: Make process guidelines explicit.

  • Practice 5: Implement feedback loops.

  • Practice 6: Improve collaboratively and develop empirically.

What are the objectives of Kanban?

The objectives of Kanban are to improve productivity as well as quality, and to maximise production flexibility.

What are Lean Production, Lean Development and Theory of Constraints?

Lean Production is part of the Lean Management concept. This means the economical and time-efficient use of production factors (people, machines, etc.).

Lean Development transfers the management concept of Lean Production and Lean Management to the area of software development.

The Theory of Constraints assumes that the performance of a system is limited exclusively by one factor, the bottleneck. Performance can only be improved if the entire system is adapted, starting from the bottleneck.

How is visualisation done in Kanban?

The value chain is presented to the participants with the help of a Kanban board (e.g., a large whiteboard, Kanban software). The board lists the individual process steps in columns. The individual tasks are written on cards or Post-it notes and stuck on the board in lines (or above the relevant symbols in the electronic Kanban application).

How does Kanban deal with bottlenecks?

In the case of bottlenecks, individual areas can be limited, i.e., restricted. When the limit is reached, new tasks can only proceed once another task has been completed.

How do lead time and cycle time differ?

Lead time is the time it takes to complete a task from when it is announced. Cycle Time is the time it takes from the beginning to the completion of a task.