Is it reasonable to work on 1000 things at once?
Too much work? Limit WiP to enable better work balance.
WiP
WiP Limits = Focus
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 there is often a lack of focus in the organisation. Often when teams are doing many of …
Large Batch Death Spiral
This is a term I first come across in Don Reinertsen’s “Principles of Product Development Flow” book (“B9: The Batch Size Death Spiral Principle”), but I’m constantly reminding myself of its importance . Essentially, this describes the behaviour of how large batches with their infrequent delivery seem to attract more and more work – becoming …
Constant WiP
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 put on the parts of their flow. One possible solution to this scenario is the Constant WiP …
Per Person WiP Limits
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 yet or might not want to go straight to WiP limits. This technique has the advantage of …
Right to Left
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 time can be confronting for many teams and organisations. For those who have been utilisation or specialisation …