In today’s dynamic business world, it is crucial to look for innovative methods and approaches. This research aims to optimize the conduct of projects and activities efficiently. Among the methodologies that have emerged to meet this need, the KANBAN method stands out from the whole. Discover here, the entire kanban method for effective visual management.
Understanding of the Kanban method visual management
It is exposed here, to the basic principles, origins, and fundamental concepts of the kanban method.
Origins and Fundamental Concepts
The origins of the visual management kanban method date back to the time of the Japanese manufacturing industry. The term “Kanban” literally means “card” or “label” in Japanese. The idea is to create a visual system to manage production by minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency.
The essential foundations of the Kanban method are based on the visual representation of work processes. They also involve the constant and progressive management of tasks. At the heart of the method is the Kanban board. This visual tool represents the different steps of a process in the form of columns.
Each column symbolizes a particular stage of task progress, such as “To be completed”, “In progress” and “Completed”. Designing a trusted employee review platform can help get workers’ perspectives. Impressions can be gained about the effectiveness of the Kanban strategy within the company.
Basic principles
Visualization, limiting work in progress, and continuous improvement are the basic principles of the Kanban method. Find them below.
Visualization
The Kanban method simplifies the understanding of the work process through a visual representation. This approach is particularly relevant for successful performance management in companies. With a Kanban visual management board, each step of the work process is represented by a column. Work items are designated by maps. This instant visualization allows team members to track the progress of work and identify obstacles.
Limitation of work in progress
The Kanban approach advocates limiting the number of tasks or cards in progress at each stage of the work process. This limitation avoids the overloading of tasks that can cause delays and quality degradation. By focusing on a small number of task sets at once, it is possible to:
- pay more attention to each work item,
- to ensure a smoother flow of work,
- Reduce wait times.
The three previous points bring together the various advantages of limiting work from the Kanban method.
Continuous improvement
Rather than looking for fixed solutions, Kanban encourages the team to identify and solve problems incrementally. Feedback is systematically taken into account. This makes it possible to experiment with new approaches and maintain constant evolution in response to changing needs.
Advantages of the Kanban method
It is exposed here, priority management, communication, adaptability to change, continuous improvement, and stress reduction.
Priority management
The limitations of the work in progress encourage teams to focus on the most urgent and priority tasks. This avoids overload, improves focus on key objectives, and ensures proper resource management.
Adaptability to change
Kanban promotes agility and adaptability by enabling teams to react quickly to changing priorities or new requirements. Adjustments can be made based on changing business needs. This factor reduces disruption and ensures more flexible management of work.
Collaboration and communication
Visualizing workflows on the Kanban board creates a common visual language that everyone can understand. Team members can quickly see where each task is and what steps they’ve taken. This creates a solid foundation for discussions, as they are based on tangible and up-to-date information. The application of the Kanban method offers the opportunity to discern the advantages and disadvantages of participatory management.
Continuous improvement
In an ever-changing environment, priorities and requirements can change frequently. Kanban allows teams to manage these changes by easily adjusting the workflow. When a new priority emerges or a requirement changes, the team can quickly reallocate resources. Thus, the latter will be able to reorganize the tasks in progress to respond to the new situation.
Stress reduction
By providing a clear overview, Kanban helps reduce stress within the team. Team members can manage their workload more efficiently. They can maintain a more manageable pace of work. This reduces anxiety related to uncertainty about upcoming tasks or deadlines.
Steps to implement the Kanban methodology
The implementation of the Kanban method requires the follow-up of several steps. Find them below.
Understanding the context
Identify the challenges you face, areas that need improvement, and goals you want to achieve. This in-depth understanding will allow you to effectively adapt the visual management method Kanban board to the requirements of your professional environment.
Areas where visualization and work management could be improved also need to be identified. These include:
- internal communication,
- transparency of processes,
- coordination of tasks,
- priority management.
The Kanban method particularly shines in these areas by providing a clear and precise structure that promotes better communication. The regular integration of feedback management in companies strengthens collaboration within the team during work. Such cohesion allows the company to succeed in every step of the implementation of the kanban method.
Identify the steps in the process
Take each process or project and break it down into separate steps. For example, if you are working on a software development project, the steps might include:
- planning,
- design,
- codification,
- tests,
- production.
Each of these steps is a potential column on your Kanban board.
These steps must be meaningful and reflect the actual transitions from one phase to the next. This ensures that each Kanban card can be moved from one column to another logically and consistently. The steps should be designed in such a way that the work progresses naturally. Thus, delays will be easily identified.
Create the Kanban board
After identifying the steps of the work process, define the different columns of the Kanban board corresponding to each step. Make sure that these columns correspond to each step in the process, and that their order represents the sequence of the job accurately. This creates a clear visual representation of the workflow, allowing the team to easily track the progress of tasks. Thus, it will be able to quickly identify potential challenges.
Establish the boundaries of the work in progress
The limitations of the work in progress favor better management of priorities. When a column reaches its limit, the team should focus on it before adding new tasks. This avoids the common phenomenon of starting many tasks without completing them. Transgression of limitations can cause an accumulation of unfinished tasks.
In addition, setting limits for the number of tasks in progress helps make the workflow more consistent. They also make it possible to quickly identify places where work could be slowed down. If one column is full, the others must not be empty. In the absence of such a situation, this indicates a disparity in the flow of operations. This observation should prompt the team to focus its efforts on solving this specific problem.
Initialize the board
During this step, all team members must know how to use the board. They must be aware of the meaning of each column and the stage of the process it represents. This ensures that the work is correctly positioned and that the steps are met. The team must have a clear understanding of the limitations of the work in progress to avoid overloading certain steps in the process.
Track progress
As tasks progress, Kanban cards are transferred from one column to another. This visual movement provides immediate transparency of the workflow. This makes it easier to understand the steps taken and the next steps to be taken.
The most notable benefit of real-time tracking is the ability to quickly identify issues. If a column fills up quickly, the team can immediately spot the challenges and take action to address them. This direct visualization encourages responsiveness and immediate problem resolution.
Hold regular meetings
Meetings are an opportunity to discuss the current state of the Kanban board. This is the time when the team comes together to:
- share information on the progress of tasks,
- move Kanban cards,
- Evaluate workflow.
Thus, each member can understand the overall status of the project or current tasks. During meetings, you will be able to know what type of approach to choose for the management of a company.
The updates provided during these meetings are essential to maintain communication within the team. They allow everyone to stay informed of recent developments, identify potential problems, and share successes.
Meetings are also an opportunity to resolve any problems. If obstacles arise, the team can discuss possible solutions and plan actions to overcome them. These discussions allow us to take advantage of the diversity of perspectives and explore different approaches to solving problems.
