Kanban Project Management – Easy Guide for Beginners in 2022

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The benefit of understanding Kanban Project Management is that you can handle projects when you join a company as a beginner using insights from this article.

Table of Contents:

• Origin of Kanban Project Management
• An Overview of Kanban Project Management
• Need for Kanban Project Management
• Kanban Project Management Principles
• The Key Elements of Kanban Project Management Methodology
• Benefits of Kanban Project Management
• List of Best Kanban Project Management Tools
• Summing Up
• Frequently Asked Questions

Origin of Kanban Project Management

The Kanban approach evolved from Toyota’s “just-in-time” (JIT) production system and was developed by Taiichi Ohno, who desired a simple planning system to assist Toyota in managing and controlling the manufacturing process efficiently. Kanban project management also reduced the high-cost inventory of raw materials, semi-finished goods, and finished goods.

David J. Anderson was the first to apply the Kanban method of project management in 2004 to their IT, software development, and knowledge work. In 2010, Anderson published a book titled “Kanban: Successfully Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business” that expanded on the techniques used to establish the Kanban approach.

An Overview of Kanban Project Management

Kanban project management consists of Kanban boards, cards, and core procedures.

The Kanban method tracks and streamlines job workflow in agile management. When using this project management methodology, project managers have total control over the task management process. As each stage of your workflow is completed, you may view it on a Kanban board using this process.

Kanban is a project management method that can assist you in better understanding the tasks that must be completed or have reached the completed stage. Its primary component is a physical or digital board with three columns (To Do, In Progress, and Done) and story cards representing the chores you must perform.

It depicts a wide picture of a process and depicts the many stages of the project from beginning to completion. It also allows you to assure project completion by defined deadlines and assists project managers in detecting bottlenecks that impede job flow.

Need for Kanban Project Management 

Kanban takes its unique approach to dealing with the challenges of managing projects by implementing a software-based system where teams work in shifts rather than projects at the same time. It’s a process that focuses on a visual card system in which cards represent the different steps in project management which can easily move from one person’s “front of the line” to the next.

The ability to visualize things in terms of a flow of work is the beauty of this technique, but Kanban also provides simplicity and an incredibly flexible approach to project management. Kanban works for software projects and hardware prototypes that are utilized for evaluation or testing before creating the actual hardware.

Despite having its origins in lean manufacturing, the Kanban framework has been widely embraced by teams in the IT, service delivery, project management, and operations sectors across numerous industries.

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Kanban Project Management Principles 

Because Kanban doesn’t require any particular setup or setup procedures, teams may instantly adopt it or overlay it on top of existing workflows. To see if Kanban project management lives up to its promise of increasing output, enhancing quality, and reducing waste, many teams put it to the test.

As a best practice, the five guiding principles listed below should be applied to Kanban initiatives:

1. Visualize the Process

You must have the mental capacity to comprehend and see the job in order to manage it utilizing Kanban methods. It is simple to visualize the task with the aid of a real-time and current Kanban board. This enables you to solve issues at the beginning.

2. Restricting Work In Progress  (WIP)

WIP restrictions, or work-in-progress limits, outline the time frame. Additionally, it displays how quickly teams can accomplish various stages of work. They also offer tracking options for onboard workflows. In order to increase productivity and velocity, Kanban focuses on reducing WIP.

3. Enhancing and Organizing the Flow

Multiple Kanban boards govern the workflow or other job functions. Following that, you can improve the workflows. It is critical to compute and search for action metrics to accomplish this step.

4. Creating Customized Workflows

It is critical for increasing the overall efficiency and productivity of your workflows. You must also ensure that everyone on the team is familiar with the procedures and approaches. You must check your steps on a regular basis to ensure these factors. It gets more efficient by constantly re-examining the processes in the workflow.

5. Constant Enhancement

It is not over after ensuring all of these steps. You must improve them and ensure that they are up to date with the current modifications. If your team uses the Kanban project management system, then they should observe and solve any difficulties. It is also beneficial to provide feedback on the method to secure the main results.

The Key Elements of Kanban Project Management Methodology

1. Kanban Board

Kanban boards are either virtual or physical boards that managers use to visually show their project process. They depict how tasks go through each level and current progress data.

This diagram assists team leaders and members understand where a specific activity fits into the overall design. It also indicates which organization is in charge of what and which jobs to prioritize.

A standard Kanban Board has three columns:

• To Do: Tasks that must be completed
• Work In Progress: Tasks that are presently being worked on
• Done: Tasks have been completed

While you may name the columns anything you wish, they should reflect jobs that you have yet to begin, those that you are presently working on, and completed tasks.

You might also add more columns based on the nature of your project and the demands of your team. Complex projects may necessitate large Kanban boards.

2. Kanban Cards

Each task is represented by a “card” on the board. It is put in the column that displays its status at the moment (to do, in progress, or done). As tasks are completed, cards go through the workflow.

As your work develops, a Kanban card might be pictured as a physical or digital sticky note that can be moved to a different column.

A Kanban card includes details about a specific work task, including:

• A brief explanation of the project
• Who is in charge of the task?
• The estimated time frame for the work
• Criteria for moving the job on to the next stage

On the card, the assigner’s and assignee’s names should also be included.

More information such as files for support and connections to other files could flow with virtual cards.

Benefits of Kanban Project Management

Kanban is a less organized project methodology than other ones. With an emphasis on planning and design before the project begins, the tasks are produced using the typical project management approach (TPM) in a linear order. While Kanban lacks a process framework and takes a more relaxed approach, your team and company may benefit from this in the following ways:

• Work is broken down into smaller, more manageable jobs.
• Gathers all important information required for a task, allowing for more focused and efficient work.
• The approach evolves over time and can be tailored to your specific needs and team.
• Fits a variety of applications.
• Process adaptability.
• Create a workflow that meets the demands of the team.
• Improves and simplifies the delivery flow by being simple to install and understand.
• Enables continuous workflow.
• An event-driven approach rather than a time-driven one.
• Works effectively for teams that are cohesive and self-motivated.

List of Best Kanban Project Management Tools

While real Kanban boards are useful, they are ineffective in a virtual context. You’ll need software that can interface with other apps and promote collaboration. The ideal solution should allow a virtual team with each group member having access to the board and being able to update the status of their tasks.

It is also preferable to use a system that includes an agile project management framework. Most agile solutions include built-in Kanban boards. So, you may have a look at these and make sure they tick the correct boxes.

Among the best software apps are:

1. Trello
2. Monday
3. Asana
4. Jira 
5. ClickUp

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Summing Up

Kanban project management is a method that helps organizations and individuals to release value in a more systematic manner. The Kanban project management system is effective because it is an approach that does not involve the traditional Waterfall methodology which is wasteful and can lead to significant delays in production. Kanban project management is now widely used in many organizations due to its simplicity and effectiveness.

Visualizing progress is important for determining the specific actions required to finish a project successfully. It’s crucial to pick a Kanban project management tool that doubles as a fully-featured, comprehensive task and project management system that will assist propel your team to success as you and your team work toward amazing results.

For more information on project management software and methodologies read our blogs.

For courses on project management and tools please check our course list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!