How do you define and visualize your workflow for Kanban?

Kanban is a lean management method that helps you optimize your workflow, reduce waste, and deliver value to your customers. It is based on visualizing your work, limiting your work in progress, and improving your process continuously. But how do you define and visualize your workflow for Kanban? Here are some steps to help you get started.

1 Identify your value stream

Your value stream is the sequence of activities that transform your input into output, from the customer's request to the delivery of the product or service. To identify your value stream, you need to map out the steps, roles, and resources involved in your process. You can use a value stream mapping tool or a simple paper and pen. The goal is to capture the current state of your workflow, including the lead time, cycle time, waiting time, and quality metrics for each step.

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KARINA UŠAJ ® ⭐ LEAN Management / Metodologías Ágiles ⭐

I help organizations and people make change happen | Action and Results Management & Mentoring | Agile Coach | Lean Analytics | MBA professor at the CEMA University
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Primero, hay que entender que Kanban es como un mapa del camino y debe servir para saber cómo va el trabajo desde que empieza hasta que termina, ¿me entendés? Y ahí es donde entra el tablero Kanban. Imaginate un tablero divido en tres columnas: "Por hacer","En proceso" y"Hecho". Esas son tus etapas. Cada tarea que tenés, por ejemplo preparar un informe, se anota en una tarjetita y se coloca en la columna correspondiente según en qué etapa esté. Así, de un vistazo, sabés qué hay que hacer, qué se está haciendo y qué ya está listo es decir "terminado". Pero ojo, no es solo visualizar el flujo, sino también mejorarlo. Eso es lo lindo del Kanban, que te permite identificar cuellos de botella y optimizar el proceso para hacerlo más eficiente.

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Daniel Ortiz

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Usando Trello nos facilito todo , lo recomiendo . Es un tablero de tarjetas , lo podes usar en pc o te bajas la app . Cualquier cambio es en el momento y para todos los colaboradores sea donde sea que estes tenes el estado de las tarjetas kanban actializadas . Es una herramienta de sistematizacion formidable . Nosotros empezamos hace 10 años con tablero kanban original por procesos y tarjetas fisicas . Que recuerdos !!!

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William Maurer

R&D Early Career Program Manager
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One of the reasons aligning your kanban system to the value stream (often with a VSM) is to ensure the connections with customer and supplier processes and signals. It doesn't matter how efficiently your process operates if it isn't what your customer needs, so validate what output your customer needs and how they need it (what is the value, from the perspective of the customer?)

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2 Design your Kanban board

Your Kanban board is a visual representation of your workflow, where you can track the progress and status of your work items. To design your Kanban board, you need to divide it into columns that correspond to the stages of your value stream. For example, you can have columns for backlog, ready, in progress, done, and delivered. You can also add sub-columns or swimlanes to indicate the priority, category, or type of work. Then, you need to create cards that represent your work items, such as tasks, features, or bugs. You can use physical cards and a wall or whiteboard, or use a digital tool like Trello or Jira.

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William Maurer

R&D Early Career Program Manager
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Using digital tools (even ones as simple as in MS Teams) often helps teams ease into running kanban. Here's why I often consider digital kanban boards: 1.) Greater integration into existing workflows (and eventually automation opportunities) 2.) Ability to support hybrid / remote teams 3.) It feels less like a Software development / manufacturing thing (for business teams outside of those functions, this is sometimes a hang up) 4.) Automated data collection & metric calculation

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3 Define your work in progress limits

Your work in progress (WIP) limits are the maximum number of work items that can be in each column of your Kanban board at any given time. They help you balance the demand and capacity of your system, prevent bottlenecks and overloading, and improve the flow and quality of your work. To define your WIP limits, you need to analyze your value stream and identify the constraints and variations in your process. You can use the Little's Law formula, which states that the average lead time is equal to the average WIP divided by the average throughput. Alternatively, you can start with a low WIP limit and adjust it based on your experience and feedback.

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4 Implement your pull system

Your pull system is the mechanism that regulates the flow of work in your Kanban system. It means that you only start working on a new work item when there is an available slot in the next column, and when there is a demand from the downstream stage. This way, you avoid pushing work that is not ready or needed, and you focus on delivering value to your customers. To implement your pull system, you need to follow the Kanban rules: visualize your work, limit your WIP, manage the flow, make policies explicit, implement feedback loops, and improve collaboratively and experimentally.

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5 Monitor and measure your performance

Your performance is the outcome of your Kanban system, which reflects how well you are delivering value to your customers and meeting your goals. To monitor and measure your performance, you need to use metrics and indicators that capture the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of your workflow. Some common Kanban metrics are lead time, cycle time, throughput, WIP, flow efficiency, flow rate, flow balance, cumulative flow diagram, and control chart. You can use a dashboard or a report to visualize and analyze your data, and identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement.

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6 Review and improve your process

Your process is the way you execute your workflow, which determines how you achieve your performance. To review and improve your process, you need to use feedback and learning mechanisms that help you understand the root causes of your problems and the potential solutions. Some common Kanban feedback loops are daily stand-up meetings, retrospectives, reviews, and improvement boards. You can use the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle or the Scientific Method to guide your improvement experiments, and test your hypotheses and assumptions. The goal is to create a culture of continuous improvement, where you constantly monitor, measure, review, and improve your workflow for Kanban.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you define and visualize your workflow for Kanban?

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1 Identify your value stream

2 Design your Kanban board

3 Define your work in progress limits

4 Implement your pull system

5 Monitor and measure your performance

6 Review and improve your process

7 Here’s what else to consider

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