When a team or organisation have never come across Kanban for knowledge work, it is necessary to take a step back and explain the method and the benefits in simple words. This isn’t always easy! Kanban for Software Development and other knowledge work.Welcome to my “Back to basics” series. Occasionally in our practice we come across teams and individuals who have never experienced the benefits of using a certain method or practice to achieve an improvement of some sort. In this case we are going to explore using Kanban to help manage work. When a team or organisation have never come across Kanban for knowledge work, it is necessary to take a step back and explain the method and the benefits in simple words. This isn’t always easy! When we have become well too familiar with something we seem to forget how to explain it to beginners. I believe the appropriate term is “the curse of knowledge” - when we are so used to a particular skill or subject, that we forget that we need to go back to basics when teaching people who have never experienced it. Of course, you may come across instances when even the simplest explanation and your best efforts to go back to basics will not work very well but at least you’ll know you’ve tried your best to help. With this in mind I have prepared the text below as a simple introduction to the benefits of Kanban for knowledge work. Kanban is a visual project management tool that originated from the manufacturing industry in Japan. The word "kanban" means "billboard" or "signboard," and the technique was initially used to manage the production of goods in factories. However, over the years, the Kanban method has evolved, and it is now widely used in the knowledge work industry. In this article, we will explore the benefits of using Kanban for knowledge work. What is Kanban?Before we delve into the benefits of Kanban, it is essential to understand what it is. Kanban is a visual system that allows teams to make all their work visible, limit their work in progress, and focus on completing their tasks. A Kanban board is typically divided into columns that represent the different steps required to complete a piece of work. For instance, a software development team might have the following columns: To Do, In Development, Ready to review, In Review and Done. Tasks are represented by cards or sticky notes, and team members move them across the board as they complete each stage. The Benefits of Using Kanban for Knowledge Work
In conclusion, the above benefits prove that Kanban is a powerful tool that can help knowledge workers improve the flow of their work, reduce overburdening, increase collaboration, encourage continuous improvement, provide transparency, improve communication, and increase flexibility. Further reading Kanban coachingIf you are interested in improving your processes then you probably liked the benefits of Kanban. Some people find it easy to implement Kanban on their own but others require a bit of help. Perhaps you or your team can benefit from our Agile Delivery Kanban coaching? Please get in touch with us to arrange an initial, no-obligation, consultation and see if we can help you.
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Welcome to our blog!About the authorPlamen is a LeanStack coach and an experienced Software Delivery consultant helping organisations around the world identify their path to success and follow it. Archives
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