Little Glossary · Service models
Kanban
Kanban is a method for managing work by making it visible on a board, limiting how many tasks are in progress at once and keeping them flowing from start to finish without bottlenecks.
Where it comes from
Kanban means "card" or "signboard" in Japanese. It originated in the Toyota production system in the late 1940s as a way of producing to match actual demand: a card signalled when parts needed restocking. It was later adapted to software development and knowledge work.
Principles
- Visualize the work: every task sits on a board the whole team can see.
- Limit work in progress (WIP): each column has a maximum number of tasks. Nothing new comes in until something moves out.
- Manage flow: the goal is for tasks to move steadily and to spot where they pile up.
- Make policies explicit: what it means for something to be ready to start, and what it means for it to be done.
- Improve continuously based on what the board shows.
The typical board
The basic columns are To do, In progress and Done. Many teams add In review between the last two, for feedback from whoever requested the work. Each card is a task and moves from left to right.
How design and web teams use it
- One request at a time per person: finish it before starting the next, which cuts down on context switching.
- WIP limits on review: if unreviewed deliverables pile up, the bottleneck is the feedback, not the team.
- Clear "done" criteria: for example, reviewed, approved and published or delivered in the agreed format.
- A prioritized queue: the requester orders the To do column, and the team always picks up the top card.
Kanban vs. Scrum
Scrum works in fixed-length sprints with a committed scope. Kanban has no iterations: work flows in and out continuously, which suits requests that arrive without a fixed schedule.
Related terms
Sources
- Atlassian, What is Kanban?.
- Atlassian, What is a kanban board?.
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