The Kanban Guide

Kanban basics

What Kanban is, its principles, and how boards, cards, swimlanes and cadences work.

1. What Is Kanban? A Complete Guide to the Kanban MethodWhat Kanban is, where it came from, its core practices, how a Kanban system works, and how to start using Kanban with your team today.
2. Kanban Principles and Practices ExplainedThe principles and six core practices of the Kanban Method, what each means in day-to-day work, and how to apply them to your team.
3. Kanban Boards: How to Design and Use OneWhat a Kanban board is, its key parts (columns, cards, WIP limits, swimlanes), example boards for different teams, and step-by-step design tips.
4. Kanban Cards: What to Put on Them and WhyWhat a Kanban card is, the information each card should show, how to size work items, blocker markers, and examples of well-designed cards.
5. Kanban Swimlanes: Types, Uses and Best PracticesWhat Kanban swimlanes are, common ways to use them (classes of service, work types, teams), and how to avoid cluttering your board.
6. Personal Kanban: Manage Your Own Work With Two Simple RulesHow to use personal Kanban to manage your own tasks: the two rules, a simple board setup, WIP limits for individuals, and tips that make it stick.
7. Kanban Meetings and Cadences: Which Ones You NeedThe Kanban cadences explained: daily Kanban meeting, replenishment, delivery planning, service delivery review, operations, risk and strategy reviews.
8. Kanban Planning: How to Plan and Forecast Without SprintsHow planning works in Kanban: replenishment, commitment points, service level expectations, and probabilistic forecasting with throughput and cycle time.

Kanban compared

How Kanban relates to Agile, Scrum, Scrumban and Waterfall.

1. Kanban vs Scrum: Differences and How to ChooseKanban vs Scrum compared: cadence, roles, planning, change, metrics and boards, with guidance on when to choose each, or combine them.
2. Kanban vs Scrumban: What Is the Difference?How Kanban and Scrumban differ, what Scrumban takes from Scrum and Kanban, and when a team should choose one or the other.
3. Kanban vs Agile: How Kanban Fits Into AgileIs Kanban Agile? How Kanban relates to the Agile Manifesto, how it differs from other Agile frameworks, and how its Lean roots shape it.
4. Kanban vs Waterfall: Key Differences and When to Use EachKanban vs Waterfall compared: planning, flow, change, delivery and visibility, with guidance on when each suits a project, and how to combine them.

Flow and metrics

WIP limits and the metrics Kanban teams use to forecast and improve.

1. WIP Limits in Kanban: How to Set and Use ThemWhat work-in-progress (WIP) limits are, why they speed up delivery, how to set your first limits, and what to do when a limit is reached.
2. Kanban Metrics: The Flow Measures That MatterThe essential Kanban metrics: WIP, cycle time, lead time, throughput, work item age and flow efficiency, plus the charts that show them.
3. Cycle Time in Kanban: Definition, Calculation and How to Reduce ItWhat cycle time is, how to calculate it, how to read a cycle time scatterplot, set service level expectations, and practical ways to reduce cycle time.
4. Cycle Time vs Lead Time: What Is the Difference?Cycle time vs lead time explained with examples: where each starts and ends, why both matter, how they relate to Little's Law, and how to improve them.
5. Throughput in Kanban: How to Measure and Use ItWhat throughput means in Kanban, how to measure it, how to forecast delivery dates with throughput and Monte Carlo simulation, and how to improve it.
6. Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD): How to Read and Use ItHow to read a cumulative flow diagram: bands, slopes and gaps, how to spot bottlenecks and growing WIP, and how to approximate cycle time from it.
7. Flow Efficiency: How Much of Lead Time Is Real Work?What flow efficiency is, how to calculate it, why it is often surprisingly low, and practical ways to cut waiting time and improve it.
8. WIP Aging Chart: Spot Stuck Work Before It's LateWhat a WIP aging chart is, how to read it with cycle time percentiles, and how to use work item age in daily Kanban meetings to prevent delays.
9. Blocker Clustering: Find the Root Causes of DelaysHow blocker clustering works in Kanban: recording blockers, grouping them by cause, measuring their cost, and fixing the issues that slow your team most.

Lean foundations

The Lean and flow ideas behind Kanban: JIT, pull, constraints, value streams and DevOps.

1. Lean Kanban: How Lean Thinking Shapes the Kanban MethodHow Lean principles underpin Kanban: value, flow, pull and continuous improvement, the history of Lean Kanban, and how to apply both together.
2. Lean Manufacturing: Principles, Wastes and ToolsLean manufacturing explained: Toyota origins, the seven wastes, key tools such as 5S, kanban, JIT and kaizen, and lessons for project teams.
3. Just-in-Time (JIT): How It Works, Benefits and RisksWhat Just-in-Time production is, how kanban signals make it work, its benefits, its risks in disrupted supply chains, and how JIT ideas apply to projects.
4. Theory of Constraints (TOC): The Five Focusing StepsEliyahu Goldratt's Theory of Constraints explained: bottlenecks, the five focusing steps, drum-buffer-rope, and how to apply TOC alongside Kanban.
5. Pull System vs Push System: Differences and ExamplesPull vs push systems compared: how each works, examples in manufacturing and knowledge work, pros and cons, and why Kanban is a pull system.
6. Kanban Inventory Management: The Two-Bin System and MoreHow kanban inventory management works: two-bin systems, kanban cards, calculating the number of kanbans, benefits, and when it fits your business.
7. Visual Management: Make Work and Problems VisibleWhat visual management is, its Lean roots, tools such as boards, andon and 5S, examples for project teams, and tips for effective visual displays.
8. Value Stream Mapping: How to Map and Improve Your ProcessA step-by-step guide to value stream mapping: current and future state maps, key metrics like process time and lead time, and how to find waste.
9. Continuous Delivery: Principles, Pipeline and BenefitsWhat continuous delivery is, how a deployment pipeline works, how it differs from continuous integration and deployment, and how it supports Kanban flow.
10. What Is DevOps? Culture, Practices and MetricsDevOps explained: its origins, the CALMS model, the Three Ways, key practices, DORA metrics, and how DevOps connects to Lean, Agile and Kanban.

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