Kanban Quick Start Guide

One 、 The past and present life of Kanban

People who are just beginning to contact Kanban , Most will “ Kanban ” Simply understood as a visible board , This is a misunderstanding that people who come into contact with Kanban for the first time . Before starting Kanban , We need to clarify the previous life and present life of Kanban , In this way, we can make better use of Kanban .

Kanban From Japanese , Translated into “ Signal board ”. At Toyota , It means “ Signal card ”, It is a record card used to track and control work . Translated into Chinese is “ Kanban ”, Meaning for “ Look at this board ”, It also refers to the daily station meeting . Because of this 3 Both meanings are crucial to Kanban methods , therefore kanban It's a fitting 、 A name that contains many meanings .

20 century 50 years , Toyota is inspired by the operation model of American supermarkets , We began to pilot the introduction of post process in supermarkets , Then Toyota invented a more effective production management system —— Lean . In the process , Toyota invented a tool from lean manufacturing —— Kanban . Over the next few years , With this Kanban method , Toyota's production efficiency has been greatly improved , And won many awards around the world , until 1973 year , Due to the worldwide oil crisis, countries all over the world began to realize the Kanban method . Now it has been gradually applied by many enterprises in many industries all over the world .

Two 、 Four basic principles of Kanban

Before starting Kanban , We need to understand the basic principles of Kanban first , In this way, Kanban can be better implemented .

1、 visualization

The things presented by vision are always the most intuitive and effective . Kanban is like a traffic light , When to start 、 When to slow down 、 When to stop , It can effectively control the quantity and order , Ensure the normal operation of traffic .

2、 Limit work in process （WIP）

Limit the maximum number of work items that each step can hold （ Record card ） Number .

3、 Management process

Process is the foundation of teamwork , Kanban process needs to define the upstream and downstream connection process , Specify upstream and downstream completion rules , And you can see through the process WIP The flow process of , Kanban can help the team analyze and adjust to improve the process , So as to reduce the time required to complete each work .

4、 Build a feedback mechanism

Build feedback , Can help the team implement various feedback loops - Check the stages in the Kanban workflow , Indicators and reports and a series of visual tips , Provide the team with the progress of work in the system （ Or lack of progress ） Continuous feedback .

3、 ... and 、 Kanban Quick Start Guide

Here are some ways to quickly start Kanban , Take Zen as an example , Similarly, it can also be directly used in physical Kanban ：

1、 Record the routine work of the team

Team members will have many different types of work , But first of all, record some routine work , Search for example 、 Evaluate and repair defects and O & M problems ; Tracking feedback ; Improve products and infrastructure, etc . Although all work is important , But the Kanban approach focuses on the most essential one ： Improve products and infrastructure . You can start with from “ analysis ”“ The implementation of ”“ verification ” and “ deliver ” This process lists the work items of the team one by one . Complex processes are not recommended here , Because this leads to more steps to implement or validate work items . Share two The principle of simplicity of work steps ：

• Include only steps that involve your own team . Regardless of the steps before the work item is handed over to the team or handed over to the customer 、 Next steps for partners .
• If two consecutive steps are completed by the same person , Then merge into one step .

2、 Layout physical Kanban wall and virtual Kanban

After recording the routine work steps of the team , Present these steps on the Kanban , Members use display boards to visualize progress . There should be... On the left side of the display board “ To do list ” Area , The rest of the steps consist of two columns . Take the R & D Kanban function of Zen as an example .

On the left is “Backlog（ Tasks to be done ）”,“ Get ready ”“ Development ”“ test ”“ Accepted ”“ The published ” and “ closed ” Seven Kanban Columns , The development column and test column are divided into 2 Look at the board column ：“ Have in hand ” and “ complete ”. The team only needs to work according to the broken down work items , Correspond to the Kanban of Zen one by one . You can also modify the Kanban according to the actual needs ; The operation method of physical Kanban is the same , It's just more here .

3、 Limit the number of work in progress （WIP)

By limiting the number of work in progress, we can reduce confusion in the team . Attention should be paid to , The limit number is the sum of cards in each step , For example, the sum of R & D columns is 10, that “ Have in hand ” and “ complete ” The sum of must also be equal to 10. Zen Kanban will give a prompt in the setting ： How to set up WIP？ The easiest way , Export from the number of team members . According to the number of people in the team , Multiply by a reasonable parallelism factor （ The slowest step , That is, the least number of tasks completed in the team ）, Get the initial limit value . This method is relatively simple , And there is a factual basis , Easier to be accepted by the team . In Zen, when the column count exceeds the limit , The column count is displayed in red , Prompt the team to make adjustments . Limit the important role of WIP ：

• Limits changes due to priority 、 Workload caused by demand change or design change , Quick response that allows the team to respond with little loss ;
• Limit the working flow rate , Match it to the slowest step , Adjust other steps to match , You can get the highest efficiency and productivity .

4、 Define completion rules

Kanban is a pull Management , So before entering the next Kanban column, you have to meet “ Pull condition ”. When a work item satisfies certain rules （ It must be clear ）, In order to start from the... In each step “ Have in hand ” Move column to “ complete ” Column .

such as ,“ Development ” Column into “ test ” Column , Need to complete the code 、 Comment and run against the current version ; Reviewed code statistics , Meet team standards ; Error free generation and other rules , To enter the testing phase . The whole completion rule allows the team to define , This matches the slowest step , It can also complete the project better and faster .

5、 Hold a daily station meeting

Through the daily station meeting , Build a feedback loop , Synchronize tasks between team members , This is also in line with agile management principles . Focus on problems that hinder work , The project manager asks if anyone needs help （ The only question to ask in the station meeting ）, The project manager arranges the questions raised , Find a solution after the meeting , Immediately adjust and optimize the project situation . In addition, there are three tips ：

1. Available on demand , Set the emergency channel . Emergency response stoppage , Ensure the normal operation of the whole Kanban .
2. Available on demand , Adjust WIP limits and completion rules . Make sure the work flows smoothly on the display board , Finally, complete the project with high quality .
3. Kanban is subject to change , Don't spend too much time making Kanban look beautiful .

Four 、 Conclusion

Kanban is simple and easy to operate , The team can keep track of progress through kanban 、 Find problems and solve them , But Kanban is not just a simple board that can be seen , It's a system 、 The scientific 、 Theoretical methods of knowledge , Master Kanban , Can help the organization effectively and on time 、 Provide customers with high-quality value according to budget .