introduction to kanban
DESCRIPTION
Are you trying to introduce change into your organization, and feel like you’ve hit a brick wall? Do you want to move forward with Lean initiatives, but are not sure how to apply them “in the trenches”? Have you adopted Agile principles and practice Scrum, but find it limiting when dealing with multiple teams and/or cross-functional organizations? Kanban is an increasingly popular system for introducing incremental, evolutionary process into an organization. Based on Lean principles, it offers a way to move beyond basic Scrum and improve process in a consistent, manageable fashion. Dev9 has helped clients transition to Kanban, and we would like to share our engagement experiences.TRANSCRIPT
Kanban
Integrating Lean Into Software Project Delivery
Why should I care• Improve current process (in
increments)• Reduce task switching• Detect bottlenecks• Predict instead of react• Priorities change rapidly
Origins
Photo By ColinCC BY-SA
What is Kanban1. Visualize workflow2. Limit work in progress3. Manage flow4. Make Policies explicit5. Feedback loops6. Evaluate improvement with models
Key Concepts
Photo By badrkhanCC BY
Story 1 Story 2Story 3 Story 4
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Workflow Visualization
Workflow
Backlog Develop QA Deploy Done
Priority
WIP Limits• Limit work in progress for each
activity• Reduce context switching• Expose bottlenecks– Upstream tasks – Drives pulling
• Forces addressing blocked items
WIP Workflow
Story 1 Story 2Story 3 Story 4
Story 5Story 6
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Story 9
Backlog Develop QA Deploy Done6 3 3 2
Story 10
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Flow Management (Measure)
• Every work item timed per state– Outliers may expose problems with work
breakdown
• Measure lead and cycle time• Keep a cumulative flow diagram– See cycle time over project’s life– Predict based on trends
Cumulative Flow Diagram
Story 1 Story 2Story 3 Story 4
Story 5Story 6
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Story 9
Backlog Develop QA Deploy Done
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BacklogDevelopment2QADeployDone
Lead Time Cycle Time
WIP
Remain
Explicit Process Policies• Start with existing policies • Definition of done• Visible• Explicit policies are a handhold for
change.• Leverage your tools
Process Improvement• Hold retrospectives• Listen to the team• Watch the data• Don’t hesitate to adjust• Revert changes that don’t work
Sample Policies
Develop Feature
• Code is reviewed by another developer
• Unit test coverage at 80%
• Design impacts documented
Test Feature
• Integration tests reviewed by other QA developer
• Test cases documented in test case managament tool.
• Feature reviewed with BA to ensure completeness.
Incremental Improvement• Periodically review the process • Follow the data– Set goal and measurement– Data should determine success or failure
• Retrospectives should influence process
Real world examples
PhotoBy Super touristCC BY
Scrum Development
Cross-func matrix enterprise team
Cross-func evolved
IT Operations
Q&A
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers
are simple.” ― Dr. Seuss