Kanban Project Management: The Ultimate Guide
Project management is all about finding the best way to deliver successful results. Nowadays, one popular method is Kanban, a hands-on approach to organizing and managing tasks. Kanban uses a board or tool to move tasks through different stages. This helps teams keep a lid on work in progress, prioritize what really matters, and keep improving workflows.
This guide will take you through the basics of Kanban project management, giving you practical tips and resources to help you get it up and running in your own projects.
The origin of Kanban
Translated from Japanese, the term Kanban means visual sign. It entered the project management world in the 1950s when popularized by the Toyota supply chain. After its initial success, Kanban has been taken on and adopted by various other companies and industries, proving it is a versatile and flexible tool.
The way Kanban worked back then and now is similar and rather easy to explain. Each piece of work (whether it is an actual part of a car or a task that has to be completed for the project) is visualized by a task card that is tracked through the project process steps.
Download our free Ultimate Kanban Guide. You’ll learn Kanban basics, rules & principles, and tools like project visualization, WIP limits, and feedback loops.
On top of that, we’ve added essential tips, including avoiding habits, a comparison with Scrum and Scrumban, and a helpful cheat sheet!
What is Kanban Project Management?
Kanban project management uses a visual workflow to help teams manage tasks and deliver value continuously. At the core of this system is the Kanban board, which organizes tasks into columns like ‘To Do,’ ‘In Progress,’ and ‘Done.’ By limiting work in progress (WIP), Kanban helps prevent bottlenecks and ensures a smooth flow of tasks.
This method makes tasks visible, controls the amount of work in progress at any given time, and is ideal for teams working in small, manageable steps. It enables real-time tracking of progress and allows teams to adjust as needed. Additionally, Kanban can be combined with other project management methods, making it suitable for projects with complex dependencies and detailed planning.
Explore additional Kanban resources for deeper insights.
What is Kanban? Exploring Methodology and Benefits
Who Manages Portfolio in Kanban?
Kanban Pull System Guide: Definition & Examples
Kanban Boards vs Kanban Systems: 6 Key Differences
Kanban Flow: How to Structure Effectively
Kanban Project Management Benefits
Now that you know how Kanban project management works let’s see why you should implement it in your team.
1. Clear process and firm monitoring
One of the most significant benefits of Kanban project management is visualization.
Placing all of your processes on the Kanban board clearly clarifies what the team is working on and what should be done next. You can classify tasks based on their status, priority, type, tags, or colors, thus creating your own custom workflow and board structure.
As such, there is less need to manage the team and fewer misunderstandings. It is easier to show your clients what you have achieved and what is coming next.
Learn more about Kanban Project Management in our following video.
2. Quicker delivery
Another benefit or outcome of Kanban project management is faster work delivery.
This is achieved through two factors: WIP limits and clear processes. By limiting WIP, Kanban ensures each team member is only working on one task at a time, which results in better concentration and a faster outcome.
By visualizing and setting a clear process, less time is needed to decide what to do next, which translates to faster delivery.
3. Easy adaption to changes – more agility
Another benefit of Kanban project management is the ability to react and adapt to changes.
Kanban in itself asks the teams to constantly review and improve their process, which works perfectly for when there are third-party or market changes as well. The team knows how to reprioritize tasks and regroup within themselves.
Thus, they become more agile and better at handling anything new that is thrown at them.
4. Better breakdown of tasks
With an Advanced Kanban board and visualization of the subtask process, it becomes easier to monitor and execute even the smallest tasks. This way, you can expand the complicated process steps and always be on top of the task status without making any additional inquiries to the team.
5. Fewer meetings
Choosing Kanban project management can also mean fewer meetings for your team to hold.
As the process is clearly visualized on the board, checking the project status becomes much easier and does not require preparing reports anymore.
Moreover, the team can communicate and share project information in the task details, thus promoting asynchronous communication and minimizing the need to discuss tasks live.
6. More accountability
Lastly, Kanban project management brings more accountability to the teams using it.
Kanban asks the team members to be active in taking on tasks and, as such, promotes ownership over the work that has to be done. Also, as all tasks are visible on the Kanban board, team members feel more inclined to move them through the process steps instead of having them sit in one place for weeks.
After mastering Kanban basics, explore these additional resources:
25 Kanban Board Examples for Your Team
The 4 Core Kanban Principles and 6 Practices
7 Kanban Templates for Your Team
Free Kanban Board Excel Template
Kanban Estimation – Tools & Best Practices
What Projects Benefit Most From Kanban?
Projects that get the most out of Kanban project management are those that require firm monitoring, breakdown, and classification of work. This is achieved by visualizing work on a Kanban board, iterative planning, and prioritization. Such projects are usually concentrated towards:
- Introducing a new product or service. Kanban allows the team to focus on the goals, react to changes, and take the project on in certain phases, thus avoiding the feeling of being overwhelmed.
- Supporting a current product or operations. The visualization and classification of tasks on the Kanban board really shine in this case. It becomes easy to see everything that has to be done and accommodate any urgent tasks without overloading the team.
- Quality assurance. Using the priority columns and task classification with Kanban swimlanes, teams can create a smooth process that ensures continuity and efficiency.
Overall, Kanban can accommodate any team or industry.
While it is best suited for certain scenarios, this does not mean other teams or processes will not benefit from work visualization and tracking on a Kanban board.
These Kanban board examples show how to use this approach in engineering, accounting, marketing, and various other projects.
Kanban Board
All of this is done using a Kanban board. The process steps are visualized using columns, and the tasks or products are visualized using Kanban cards that move through the process steps as the team continues to work on them.
This allows teams to visualize and understand their process from start to finish. In the following video, learn how to create a simple Teamhood Kanban board and develop it into an advanced project management solution.
Learn more about defining a Kanban board from this visual guide.
Kanban vs Scrum
When comparing Scrum and Kanban, each methodology offers distinct approaches to project management.
Scrum resets boards after each iteration, typically lasting 1-4 weeks, with specific roles like Product Owner and Scrum Master.
Kanban, on the other hand, maintains continuous boards with no specific roles, focusing on flexibility and demand-based planning.
The Kanban board provides a comprehensive view of the team’s process. It features a Backlog for task prioritization and columns representing each step, such as Design, Manufacturing, Testing, Quality Assurance, and Done.
In contrast, the Scrum board typically consists of Sprint Backlog, Progress, and Completed sections, focusing on tasks committed to the current sprint.
Compare Scrum vs Kanban in our following in-depth guide.
Kanban Cards
A Kanban card is like a digital or physical sticky note used by teams to track tasks as they move through different workflow stages, much like sticky notes on a whiteboard.
These cards contain essential details like task summary, responsible person, and deadline, providing a clear overview of each task’s status and history at any given time.
Check out Kanban Cards Uses, Benefits, and Examples in the following post.
Kanban Templates and Examples
Kanban’s adaptability allows for incremental change, making it applicable across industries. Teams start with a core framework and customize it as needed. You’ll find Kanban boards in various processes, from to-do lists to software development and manufacturing. Creating templates for repeatable processes is the next logical step.
Online tools like Teamhood offer pre-made templates or let you create your own easily.
Kanban Team Roles
Interestingly, formal roles in Kanban aren’t as emphasized as in other methodologies like Scrum. Even among the best Kanban software tools, you’ll rarely find discussions or articles highlighting Kanban roles. The reality is, that there is no requirement to have any official roles just because of doing Kanban. However, some teams opt for applying the roles that make more sense for their processes.
In such cases, the two Kanban roles you will most likely come across are – Service Delivery Manager and Service Request Manager.
1. The Service Delivery Manager (SDM) is responsible for improving workflow efficiency. This role is not the same or directly equivalent to a Scrum Master, although there are some similarities.
The main goal of the SDM is to ensure a smooth flow of work. This is why the role is often known as Flow Manager or Flow Master. The SDM helps the project team to focus on increasing the speed of delivery and shortening response times – in other words, increasing productivity and efficiency by focusing on workflow.
The SDM is expected to:
- Optimize workflow efficiency
- Lead the daily stand-up / Kanban meeting
- Ensure smooth, punctual delivery
2. The Service Request Manager (SRM) understands and interprets the client’s needs and expectations. In that respect, it is similar to – and sometimes confused with – the role of the Product Owner in Scrum.
In this way, the SRM functions primarily as a risk manager and facilitator. They should apply a pre-defined set of criteria around value to rank work items by priority according to the value they offer.
The SRM is expected to:
- Order work items from the backlog and facilitate prioritization
- Own the policies for the system
- Improve corporate governance
- Reduce the risks
Software for Kanban Project Management
Kanban board tools allow the team to implement the practice and track results live regardless of location. One of the biggest advantages digital Kanban boards offer is flexibility, which cannot be found in physical boards. Here is a short video of what the Kanban project management tools can do.
Here is an interactive example to help you get a feel of Teamhood! Open the item details and get a feel of what running a project with Kanban feels like.
Kanban Project Management Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Agile Kanban | An approach combining Agile principles with Kanban techniques to enable iterative, flexible, and customer-centric delivery of products and services. |
| Cadence | A regular pattern or rhythm of activities, such as meetings or workflow stages, in Kanban, facilitates coordination, communication, and predictability. |
| Flow Efficiency | The ratio of value-added time to total lead time in Kanban indicates how efficiently work moves through the system without delays or bottlenecks. |
| Kanban Board | A visual representation of workflows and systems from start to finish in Kanban, aiding in visualizing progress, communicating effectively, and improving efficiency. |
| Kanban Evolution | The ongoing adaptation and refinement of Kanban practices, systems, and processes over time to address changing needs, challenges, and opportunities in project management. |
| Kanban Governance | Establishing policies, rules, and decision-making structures to govern the use of Kanban methodologies and practices within an organization or team. |
| Kanban Implementation | The process of introducing and integrating Kanban principles, systems, and practices into an organization or team to improve workflow, productivity, and service delivery. |
| Kanban Metrics | Quantifiable measures, such as cycle time, lead time, throughput, and WIP, are used to track and evaluate the performance of a Kanban system. |
| Kanban Portfolio Management | The strategic management of multiple projects or initiatives within an organization using Kanban principles and practices to prioritize, allocate resources, and optimize outcomes. |
| Kanban System Design (KSD) | The intentional design and setup of a Kanban system to fit the unique needs and workflow of a team or organization, aiming to optimize flow, minimize waste, and improve efficiency. |
| Kanban Tool | Software applications or platforms specifically designed to support and facilitate the implementation of Kanban project management methodologies and practices. |
| Kanban Training | Educational programs and workshops aimed at teaching individuals and teams the principles, practices, and techniques of Kanban project management for improved productivity. |
| Kanban Visualization | Kanban boards, charts, and diagrams are used to graphically represent workflow stages, tasks, and progress and to enhance understanding, transparency, and decision-making in Kanban. |
| Kaizen | A Japanese term meaning continuous improvement, often applied in Kanban to encourage small, incremental changes to processes and workflows to achieve greater efficiency. |
| Lead Time | The total time taken for a work item to progress from request to delivery, including both active and inactive periods, in Kanban project management. |
| Pull System | A method in Kanban where work is pulled into the next stage only when there is capacity, ensuring a continuous flow of work and preventing overburdening of team members. |
| Service Delivery Manager (SDM) | This is a Kanban role responsible for ensuring efficient service delivery, managing flow, and optimizing processes to meet customer needs and expectations. |
| Service Request Manager (SRM) | A role in Kanban responsible for managing and prioritizing incoming service requests, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and resource availability. |
| Visual Management | The use of visual cues, such as Kanban boards, cards, and charts, to convey information, track progress, and facilitate communication in Kanban project management. |
| Work In Progress (WIP) Limit | A constraint is applied to work stages on a Kanban board to manage team capacity and prevent blockers, allowing new tasks to be pulled only when the total items in a stage are below the limit. |
The Core Principles for Kanban Project Management
The idea behind Kanban project management is rather simple – visualize your process and continuously improve. To help teams implement this in practice, Kanban defines certain principles you should follow.
1. Visualize Work
Once you decide to start using Kanban, the first thing to do is understand and visualize your current situation. Use the Kanban board to replicate your processes and add your current and planned tasks to see what you have going on. Use a Kanban board to visually represent tasks and workflows, enabling teams to understand the status and progress of work at any given moment.
2. Limit Work in Progress (WIP)
As you do, observe how tasks move through the process steps and where they get stuck. To prevent bottlenecks, restrict the number of tasks allowed in each stage of the workflow, ensuring that the team can focus on completing tasks before taking on new ones. If this limit is reached, the team members must move one task to the following process step before they can start working on a new task. The WIP limit is usually equal to the number of team members, thus allowing each of them to work on only one task at a time.
3. Focus on Flow
As your project progresses, you will see an accumulation of tasks on your Kanban board. To ensure this board stays clear and easy to use, introduce Kanban swimlanes (rows). Streamline the work process to enhance speed and efficiency, allowing tasks to move smoothly from one stage to the next without unnecessary delays.
Initially, Kanban teams used an expedited swimlane at the top of the Kanban board to highlight urgent tasks that should be given priority over everything else.
However, today, the usage of swimlanes is much broader.
Kanban teams use them to classify tasks based on various criteria such as classes of service, type, teams, projects, etc. To find the best way to classify your board, consider what task grouping would make the most sense for your project.
4. Make Process Policies Explicit
With the help of Kanban, all of your processes are clear and transparent. Establish clear, defined guidelines for how tasks should progress through the workflow, reducing ambiguity and ensuring everyone understands the process. As such, it becomes much easier to see what needs to be done next and where the team should focus their efforts.
Set up priority columns in your backlog (or To-do section), prioritize tasks, and let your team members pick and choose what they will work on. This will encourage responsibility and motivation to perform.
Here is an in-depth overview of actively managing items on your Kanban board.
6. Track the Kanban metrics
Another important principle for Kanban project management is measuring your team’s performance. For this, Kanban uses two metrics: lead and cycle time. These metrics measure the average time it takes the team to complete tasks and thus indicate issues in the process if this time suddenly extends.
Teams using more Advanced Kanban board tools can also take advantage of actionable Agile metrics. That uses the lead and cycle time information to identify troublesome tasks on the team’s Kanban board and to suggest where the team should place their focus next.
Learn more about how to track Kanban flow metrics in the following post.
With the ability to analyze your team’s data and past performance, you can make informed estimations about future timelines. There is no need to stress about data analysis—Teamhood does it for you.
Simply activate the ‘When will it be done‘ layer, choose your timeframe and desired accuracy, and receive instant forecasts. Keep your task board updated, and let Teamhood handle the rest.
7. Improve Collaboratively
Lastly, Kanban project management is all about constant improvement.
Thus, the process, tasks, and results must be reviewed regularly. By doing so, the team can ensure they are always working on the most important part of the project and doing so effectively. To enforce this principle, teams hold regular planning, stand-up, and review meetings.
Learn more about Agile Retrospectives in the following post.
How to Choose the Kanban Board That Fits You?
When choosing a Kanban board tool, prioritize flexibility and customization. Keep it simple to meet organizational needs, and be cautious with popular tools. Focus on the process and look for features that support collaboration.
We suggest starting with a basic Kanban setup and expanding as needed within your chosen tool. Teamhood is an excellent choice, tailored for Kanban with ample customization options. Alongside ClickUp and Asana, Teamhood easily handles teams of 200 or more.
However, remember that success in Kanban relies on the process more than the tool itself.
Other Kanban Sources to Explore
I understand. There’s a wealth of information on Kanban. But we’ve got even more to prepare you for success!
Check out more resources at Teamhood’s Kanban category and find the best online Kanban board software tools, Kanban classes of service, understanding Kanban metrics, and more in our extensive Kanban resources section. These extra sources will help you master Kanban and improve your project management skills.
Wrap Up
Regarding project management, there are various methods teams can use.
In this guide, we’ve shown how to visualize each development stage on a digital board, from design to deployment. Tasks are displayed as cards, making it easy to see what needs to be done and track progress in real time.
Kanban project management is a great option for those working in uncertain industries and with complicated processes. It helps visualize what has to be done and ensures the projects are delivered in a clear and timely fashion.
I trust you’ve gained valuable insights into Kanban and are feeling prepared to tackle your next project with confidence!
If you’re eager to see how Teamhood can take your Kanban project management to the next level, we invite you to explore the tool tailored for precision in managing your projects with Kanban.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 6 rules of Kanban?
The six Kanban rules help you manage work efficiently: visualize tasks on a board, limit work in progress to avoid bottlenecks, manage flow for steady progress, define clear processes, use feedback loops to improve, and evolve through collaboration. These principles keep your team productive and adaptable.
What are the 4 principles of Kanban?
Kanban emphasizes improving workflows without disrupting existing processes. It starts with your current practices, building on them rather than replacing them entirely. By focusing on incremental, evolutionary change, Kanban ensures adjustments are manageable and minimizes resistance. It respects existing roles and responsibilities, fostering collaboration and preserving effective workflows. Additionally, Kanban encourages leadership at all levels, empowering team members to take initiative, address challenges, and drive continuous improvement, creating a culture of transparency and growth.
What is Kanban vs Scrum?
Kanban and Scrum are both Agile approaches, but they work differently. Kanban is all about flexibility, with a focus on visual workflows and constant progress. It doesn’t set fixed timelines, and instead uses WIP limits to avoid jams. Scrum, on the other hand, is more structured, using set-length sprints and defined roles like the Scrum Master to deliver value in small chunks. Kanban suits teams needing flexibility. Scrum is for those who prefer structure and predictability.