9 Timeless Benefits of Kanban
Kanban is the right system of project management, you think, as you read yet another post titled “Is Scrum Dying?”, “Scrum is Dead,” and “Is Scrum Dead (Again)?“
In a world where project management trends seem to come and go, with debates raging over the relevance of methodologies, Kanban stands out as a reliable, time-tested approach. Not only does it avoid clickbait headlines, it also provides benefits that I will be listing right here!
TL;DR
- Kanban is a reliable and time tested approach to project management that still thrives despite Scrum facing scrutiny
- Kanban has a myriad of benefits ranging from more general ones such as improved productivity to Kanban’s approach to roadmaps
- Real life examples of Spotify and Oliver.lt showcase how Kanban is able to streamline operations
- Kanban remains a solid choice for project management in an always evolving market
Kanban’s Core
Kanban has made a significant impact on project management to this day. Kanban’s history, while interesting, is not essential here that’s why it will be skipped. This cheat sheet covers everything you’ll need to know to understand Kanban’s mode of work.
The core principle of Kanban is visualization of work. In its original implementation, physical cards were used to signal the need for replenishment of parts or materials in the production line. Now Kanban boards have moved to the digital world, available to everyone.
Kanban’s Benefits
Kanban’s popularity isn’t just a matter of chance. People realized how widely adopted this system can be due to its practical and visual approach to project management.
Whether you’re managing a small team or overseeing complex projects, Kanban offers an array of advantages that can significantly improve your workflow and productivity. Let’s explore some of the key benefits that make Kanban a go-to choice for efficient project management:
1. Visualization
One of Kanban’s key advantages is its visual approach. Teams can easily track task progress using a Kanban board, typically divided into columns:
- To Do
- In Progress
- Completed
This layout enables quick identification of bottlenecks, progress monitoring, and ensures no tasks are overlooked.
2. Improved Productivity
Kanban emphasizes the importance of limiting work in progress (WIP). The point of WIPs is for you to finish tasks fully before starting new ones. This method reduces multitasking, minimizes delays, and maintains consistent workflow. This way projects are completed faster and team members experience less stress from juggling multiple hats simultaneously.
3. Flexibility
What makes Kanban unique compared to the other more rigid project management systems is its flexibility. Which is essential in this day and age where priorities can shift in turbulent market times or unexpected issues can arise.
Kanban’s continuous flow approach, as opposed to fixed sprint cycles, makes it easier to introduce new tasks without disrupting ongoing work.
4. Enhanced Collaboration
Within teams, Kanban shines with better collaboration and communication. By having a shared visual Kanban board of the project, everyone is on the same page.
Seeing who is working on what, helps in coordinating efforts and avoiding duplicate work. This transparency also promotes accountability and a sense of shared responsibility.
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5. Continuous Improvement
Kanban encourages a culture of continuous improvement. Regular reviews of the workflow help identify areas for optimization, whether it’s streamlining processes or reallocating resources. Over time, this leads to improved team efforts in productivity and other areas.
6. Using Kanban for Roadmaps
When making a roadmap, applying Kanban’s system and principles has great benefits as Kanban roadmaps have been shown to be more efficient than traditional ones. This focused approach minimizes distractions and helps in resource allocation. Leading to more efficient project delivery and alignment with long-term objectives.
7. Eliminating Waste
Waste is defined as an action which uses time and resources without adding any value. Kanban’s WIP limits and work visualization helps teams identify bottlenecks and eliminates any unnecessary actions, instead directing such efforts to high-priority tasks.
8. Preventing Burnout
Kanban’s introduction of WIP limits makes your team less distracted and more focused on the current tasks rather than the depths of never-ending backlog.
No need for context switching, which can be a killer in deep focused work. Increased team focus inadvertently gets the team less stressed as well, preventing burnouts.
9. Consistency
Once the Kanban machine is spinning, your team has entered a flow state, developed strong habits, and is consistently delivering high-quality work; from there, you can reap even more benefits.
Tracking your team’s data allows for more accurate predictions about when your product will be delivered. This puts you miles ahead of your competitors, boosting your reliability by providing precise timelines to your product managers. Ultimately, this saves everyone time—and reduces cortisol levels across the board.
Learn more: 9 Things You Should Know About Kanban
Examples of Kanban’s Application
Kanban’s benefits might sound like a fairytale. It is true that you will not see these benefits just when you’ve adopted the Kanban method, but once the Kanban engine has started running you will quickly notice how fast things are changing for the better. Now, let’s look at 2 real-life examples of companies applying Kanban to their operations.
Spotify’s Kanban
Spotify’s Operations team turned to Kanban when they struggled with constant interruptions and context-switching while managing diverse tasks. Kanban’s flexible structure provided a much-needed solution without the rigidity or cost of other methods.
By introducing a “goalie” system (a person assigned each week to tackle small but urgent tasks) to handle disruptions, team members could focus on their work, while Kanban’s visual boards helped balance urgent and important tasks.
Unlike Scrum, Kanban’s adaptability allowed the team to manage priorities effectively, resulting in a smoother workflow and a more productive, thriving team.
Oliver.lt Kanban
The next example comes straight out of our garden – Oliver.lt. Kanban brought significant benefits to Oliver, helping them streamline their marketing and purchasing processes.
Prior to Kanban, they struggled with managing various small tasks and relied on scattered paper-based notes. Kanban’s centralized platform allowed them to organize tasks efficiently, especially as their team expanded and began working remotely. It simplified campaign management, reduced chaos, and improved task visibility, allowing the company to handle complex workflows with greater ease and collaboration.
Conclusion
Kanban’s approach to tackling project management has many benefits. While some will enjoy its visuality, others will appreciate how well it functions as a roadmap format. Personally, I have found that the enhanced productivity started to shine already during the first week of adopting Kanban. The introduction of WIP limits has skyrocketed my personal productivity, allowing me to do some deep focused work on one or two tasks.
All in all, while some still debate the dead or alive status of certain project management methods, Kanban is here to stay and get the job done.
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