One of the really useful charts that I commonly use with Kanban implementations are lead time distribution charts. Given that lead time is one of the key metrics, at least from a customers perspective, understanding the nature of… Read More
Lead time scatterplots are an important tool for a team working with Kanban. Sometimes these are referred to as a “Control Chart” which is often the case in manufacturing. However, in knowledge work I think it’s less about… Read More
One word that I continually think of when I think of WiP limits is “Focus”. Essentially, WiP limits create a focus for working on the right things at the right time. The absence of WiP limits means that… Read More
A Listing of Kanban Related Books Over time, I’ve accumulated a number of Kanban books, however I don’t think I’ve seen a posting with all of the details of what they are so I thought I’d share my… Read More
I’ve heard this being said a number of times with teams and it often reminds me of the story the Jeff Patton told in his book “User Story Mapping” when he was talking about requirements. In that story,… Read More
I’ve recently been thinking about a number of experiences in my career where organisations who have a bias for delivery have uncovered options that were not previously available to them. I’ve also seen others who had a tendency… Read More
Often we become constrained in our thinking by the language we use – a good example is the use of the term “backlog” instead of “options”. Quite often if you say to someone “It’s on the backlog”, the… Read More
Dealing with Resistance to WiP Limits Sometimes teams will understand the concept of WiP limits and be reasonably open to them, but perhaps their process is still emergent or they don’t yet understand what WiP limits they should… Read More
Dealing with Resistance to WiP Limits Another technique for dealing with resistance to explicit WiP limits is to try limiting WiP per person. This can be useful for a team who is not used to working coherently together… Read More
Dealing with Resistance to WiP Limits This is one of what will become a series of blog posts that discuss and give options on how to deal with resistance to WiP limits. Having WiP limits for the first… Read More
I’ve seen a number of common patterns over the years in relation to assumptions. Sometimes using assumptions can be useful, you can proceed with an initiative and begin to make progress and check in on points as they… Read More
Why use Kanban? Kanban is more than just a “board” – the Kanban Agendas explain why you should start with kanban