Intro to Kanban (1 Dec 2014)
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Transcript of Intro to Kanban (1 Dec 2014)
Doing too muchDon’t know
where we are
Can’t see our position
Can’t predict our output
Not all playing by the same rules
Revolutionary change
Not improving
Before we start
The Kanban Method is …
a set of ideas (not prescribed processes)
for knowledge work (not manufacturing)
from lean (not agile)
No “Big Bang” changes
Foundational principles:
1. Start with what you do now
2. Respect the current process, roles, responsibilities & titles
3. Agree to pursue evolutionary change
Map current processes; not roles
Identify dominant activities that discover new knowledge
coding & testing
analysing
designing
releasing
Visualise your work
Visualise your work
Helps you understand how work flows through your system
Helps spot areas needing change
Visualise your work
Common to translate processes to a board
Consider how best to visualise your workflow
different types of work
different priorities
different customers
blocked items of work
who is working on what
Limit WIP
Use a pull system? Agree capacity of the system Use tokens (e.g. cards) to denote capacity Attach a token to each piece of work When run out of tokens, stop taking on new work Only take on new work when a token is available
System can’t become
overloaded
Limit WIP
Kanban assumes stable flow (i.e. one in, one out, similar sized stories) and pull system
Allowing too much work in progress at the same time can have negative effects …
… but so can having too little
Aim is to get WIP limits to the “sweet spot” where you have the optimum/optimal flow
Limit WIP
Fast food drive-thru video to explain: WIP limits Cycle Time/Lead Time Throughput Rate (now ‘Delivery Rate’)
“WIP: why limiting work in progress makes sense” on YouTube http://youtu.be/W92wG-HW8gg
Limit WIP
Limiting WIP helps because it: encourages swarming encourages small work items encourages flow of work encourages finishing work items
“Focus on finishing things, not working on things”
Limit WIP
Start with what you have now …
Can you: Limit WIP of tasks in progress per story? Limit WIP per column on the board? Limit WIP per section of the board? Limit WIP across the whole board? Limit WIP across the whole organisation?
Manage flow
Measuring the flow of work through your system helps you identify problems Every process has at least one bottleneck Your system can only work as fast as your slowest point So make changes to your process in an attempt to improve flow
Manage flow
Scrum has a Burndown Chart
Kanban has a variety of reports: Cumulative Flow Diagram Control Chart Histogram
Manage flow
The CFD shows us: Flow of items through process Current level of WIP Lead/Cycle Time Bottleneck warnings
Manage flow
The Control Chart shows us: Mean Lead Time / Cycle Time Upper & lower control limits Outliers
“Investigate performance to attack sources of variability”
Manage flow
The Histogram shows us: Frequency of each Lead/Cycle Time A guide for the time that future stories will take
Gives us much greater understanding than a burndown chart!
Make policies explicit
It’s difficult to improve a situation if you don’t know the rules (responses will be emotional and subjective)
Acknowledge any policies in your process by stating them explicitly
Make policies explicit
Entry criteria
Definition of ‘Done’
Classes of Service Standard Expedite Fixed Intangible
Feedback loops
Review data and experiences regularly. Encourage feedback from inside and outside the team:
Retrospectives / Operations reviews Daily stand-ups User feedback Stats & reports Feedback from stakeholders / the business …
Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally
Use scientific method
Continuous evolutionary improvements (“Kaizen”), rather than revolutionary change
All the other Kanban ideas lead to this and should provide data to help improve
Start where you are now. Seek to “attack the sources of variability” in your processes
Sources of variability
Differing sizes of work items Differing work types (eg bugs, features, debt) Differing classes of service Having to rework items Accepting unknown work Problems with platforms/environments
Although it’s from lean, it shouldn’t break the
Agile Manifesto
Set of ideas; not prescribed process
Evolutionary change, not revolution
Knowledge work; not manufacturing
Pull system; not push system