The kanban framework encompasses predefined elements that come together to provide a functional project management system for your agile teams.
Kanban board - The kanban boards is composed of cards and columns that are presented in swimlanes. Setting WIP Limits to enable teams to visualize and gauge their process and productivity.
Kanban Cards – Kanban card visually represent tasks in the project. The card holds details related to the tasks. This could include the progress level, start and end dates, assignees for the task, task description, etc.
Kanban Columns – The columns on the board stand for the various stages of flow of the task. The cards are passed through these to reach completion.
Work-in-Progress Limits – The limits for WIP tasks in each of the stages helps the team maintain the pace of progress for the selected tasks and ensure the tasks are completed within the set date.
Kanban Swimlanes – Swimlanes provide a horizontal grouping structure to separate the tasks based on activities, teams, users, etc.
Commitment Point – This is the point in the flow of the work process where a task is ready to be committed into the system.
Delivery Point – This is the point in the flow of work process where a task is considered to be completed and good to be delivered.
Planning on a Kanban Board
Planning on a Kanban board can be compared to something simple as sticky notes on a board that is divided into timelines. The items are placed in different times of progress and are moved across the board to attain completion.
The items taken up need to be delivered with the said timeline. The focus of the team is often on moving a particular item to the subsequent stage within the decided timeframe. This helps sticking to stipulated deadlines while delivering each of the items. The prime motive of Kanban is to avoid wasting resources and time. The crucial part of planning is coming up with the timeline and the items doable with the said timeline. Reordering the cards helps prioritize tasks and run your project efficiently.
The daily and weekly activities for the team can be planned and scheduled on the Kanban board. It provides a bird's-eye-view of all the work items and their status. This shared view helps the team assess capacity for work and prioritize items in the queue.
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