KANBAN BOARD

Kanban Board - New Standard of Organizing Work | Kanban vs Scrum?

Kanban Board - A Kanban board is a work and workflow visualization tool that enables you to optimize the flow of your work.

The Kanban technique emerged in the late 1940s as Toyota's re-imagined approach to manufacturing and engineering. Line-workers displayed colored kanbans — actual cards — to notify their downstream counterparts that demand existed for parts and assembly work. (Kanban is the Japanese word for "visual signal" or "card.") The system's highly visual nature allowed teams to communicate more easily on what work needed to be done and when. It also standardized cues and refined processes, which helped to reduce waste and maximize value.

The application of Kanban to knowledge work — influenced not only by the Toyota Production System but also by Lean systems thinking — began as early as 2005. Kanban's core principles are the same in industries like software development and human resource management as they are in manufacturing: visualize your work, limit your work in process, focus on flow, and practice continuous improvement.

In manufacturing, the process for completing work is visible in the structure of the production line. But in knowledge work, the process is often opaque. Mapping out the process steps on a Kanban board — and using Kanban cards to represent work — provides visibility into the process and gives insight into many aspects of the work, including how the work flows.

Since every team has its own process for completing work, Kanban boards give you the freedom to map your own workflow. Simple processes are laid out as vertical lanes on the board, whereas more complex processes typically combine vertical and horizontal lanes. Mapping the workflow that's unique to your team makes your process transparent and helps the entire team easily see the status of its work in process.

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