Kanban
Kanban is a lean method for managing and improving work across systems that emphasizes visualizing the workflow, limiting work in progress, managing flow, and making process policies explicit.
Explanation
Kanban originated from the Toyota Production System and was adapted for knowledge work. Unlike Scrum, Kanban does not prescribe roles, events, or fixed-length iterations. Instead, it focuses on optimizing the flow of work through a system by making work visible, limiting WIP, and continuously improving.
The core practices of Kanban include visualizing the workflow (typically using a Kanban board), limiting work in progress at each stage, managing flow by monitoring lead time and cycle time, making process policies explicit, implementing feedback loops, and improving collaboratively using models and the scientific method.
Kanban is well-suited for environments where work arrives unpredictably, such as maintenance teams, support desks, and operations. It is also commonly combined with Scrum in a hybrid approach sometimes called Scrumban. For the exam, understand that Kanban is a pull-based system: new work is pulled into the system only when capacity allows.
Key Points
- •Visualize the workflow, limit WIP, and manage flow
- •No prescribed roles, iterations, or events
- •Pull-based system: work enters when capacity is available
- •Focuses on continuous delivery and flow optimization
Exam Tip
Kanban is a pull system focused on flow. If a question describes a team that needs to manage unpredictable incoming work without fixed sprints, Kanban is likely the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Kanban Board
A Kanban Board is a visual management tool that displays work items as cards moving through columns representing stages of the workflow, making the current state of work transparent to everyone.
Work in Progress (WIP) Limits
Work in Progress (WIP) Limits are constraints placed on the number of work items allowed in each stage of a workflow at any given time, designed to improve flow and reduce multitasking.
Cumulative Flow Diagram
A Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD) is a stacked area chart that shows the number of work items in each workflow stage over time, used to monitor flow, identify bottlenecks, and track work in progress.
Lean Principles
Lean Principles are a set of practices derived from the Toyota Production System that focus on maximizing customer value while minimizing waste, forming a foundation for agile and Kanban practices.
Most-studied PMP concepts
High-yield topics our learners drill most before exam day.
Burndown Chart
A Burndown Chart is a graphical representation of work remaining versus time in a Sprint or release, showing whether the team is on track to complete the planned work.
Relative Estimation
Relative Estimation is an agile technique where work items are sized in comparison to each other rather than in absolute units like hours or days, providing faster and more accurate estimates.
Sprint Review
The Sprint Review is a Scrum event held at the end of the Sprint where the Scrum Team presents the Increment to stakeholders, gathers feedback, and collaborates on what to do next.
Sprint Backlog
The Sprint Backlog is the set of Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint, plus the Sprint Goal and the plan for delivering the Increment.
Timeboxing
Timeboxing is the practice of allocating a fixed, maximum amount of time for an activity, after which the activity stops regardless of whether it is complete.
Resource Leveling
Resource leveling is a resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to keep resource usage at or below a defined limit, often resulting in a longer project duration.
Risk Register
The risk register is a project document that records the details of individual project risks, including their identification, analysis results, response plans, and current status.
Stakeholder Mapping
Stakeholder mapping is the visual representation of stakeholder relationships, influence, interest, or other attributes using grids, matrices, or diagrams to support analysis and engagement planning.
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
Cost Performance Index (CPI) is an EVM efficiency metric that measures cost performance as the ratio of earned value to actual cost: CPI = EV / AC.
Part of
Agile & Hybrid
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