Kanban: Complete Definition and Guide

What is Kanban?

Kanban (看板, "visual board" in Japanese) is a work management method originating from the Toyota Production System in the 1950s. Adapted to software development by David J. Anderson in the 2000s, it proposes a radically different approach from Scrum: instead of working in fixed-length sprints, Kanban manages a continuous flow of tasks moving through a board of columns representing process stages.

The central principle of Kanban is simple but powerful: visualise work, limit work in progress, and manage the flow. By making every task's state visible and limiting simultaneous tasks, Kanban enables identifying bottlenecks, reducing cycle time, and improving delivery predictability. Unlike Scrum, Kanban does not prescribe roles, ceremonies, or fixed durations: it is an evolutionary system that adapts to existing processes.

Why Kanban Matters

Kanban excels in contexts where work arrives continuously and unpredictably, making it particularly suited to application maintenance, support, and teams managing multiple projects in parallel.

• Maximum flexibility: No fixed sprints or rigid planning. New priorities can be integrated immediately without waiting for a sprint to end.
• Permanent visibility: The Kanban board offers a real-time view of all work in progress. Every stakeholder can instantly see what's underway, what's blocked, and what's coming.
• Bottleneck reduction: WIP (Work In Progress) limits force the team to finish current tasks before starting new ones, accelerating overall flow.
• Gradual change: Kanban doesn't require radical reorganisation. It applies on top of existing processes and improves them progressively ("Start with what you do now").
• Objective metrics: Lead time (total time from start to finish) and cycle time (actual working time) provide factual metrics to measure and improve performance.

How It Works

A Kanban system revolves around four fundamental practices:

1. Visualise the workflow: Create a board with columns representing process stages (e.g., Backlog, In Progress, In Review, Test, Done). Each task is represented by a card that moves from left to right as it progresses.

2. Limit work in progress (WIP): Set a maximum number of tasks per column. For example, if the "In Progress" column is limited to 3, a developer cannot start a new task until one of the three current ones moves to the next stage. This constraint is what gives Kanban its power.

3. Manage the flow: Measure the time each card takes to traverse the board (cycle time) and identify columns where cards accumulate (bottlenecks). Adjust WIP limits and processes to smooth the flow.

4. Continuously improve: Regularly analyse metrics (cycle time, throughput, lead time) and experiment with adjustments to improve system performance.

At Kern-IT, we use Kanban for application maintenance and client support. Requests arrive continuously (bugs, improvements, technical questions) and must be handled without disrupting ongoing development projects. Our Kanban board has 5 columns: Inbox, Triaged, In Progress (WIP: 3), In Review, Deployed. The WIP limit of 3 on the "In Progress" column forces us to finish tasks before starting new ones, which reduced our average cycle time from 5 days to 2 days.

Concrete Example

One of our healthcare sector clients entrusted us with platform maintenance after production launch. Each week, 5 to 15 requests came in: bug fixes, small improvements, configuration questions. With Scrum, these requests had to wait for the next sprint, frustrating users.

We switched to Kanban with a dedicated board. Urgent requests (blocking bugs) were handled immediately via a priority swim lane. Minor improvements followed the normal flow. Within 3 months, the average resolution time dropped from 8 days (sprint mode) to 3 days (Kanban mode). Client satisfaction soared because users could see their requests progressing in real-time on the shared board.

Implementation

1. Map your current process: Identify the steps a task goes through from request to delivery. Don't create an ideal process—start from reality ("Start with what you do now").
2. Create the Kanban board: Use a digital tool (Trello, Jira, Linear) or a physical board. Each column represents a stage, each card a task.
3. Set WIP limits: Start with conservative limits (e.g., number of developers + 1 per column) and adjust based on experience. Limits too high have no effect; limits too low create under-utilisation.
4. Establish flow policies: Clearly define criteria for moving from one column to the next (e.g., "a task moves to Review when tests are written and passing").
5. Measure cycle time: Start tracking how long each card takes to traverse the board. This metric will be your primary improvement indicator.
6. Hold regular reviews: Analyse metrics every 1 to 2 weeks, identify bottlenecks, and experiment with adjustments.

Associated Technologies and Tools

• Trello: Simple and visual Kanban tool, ideal for small teams and modest-sized projects
• Jira: Advanced Kanban boards with flow metrics (cycle time, throughput) and cumulative flow diagrams
• Linear: Modern project management tool with built-in Kanban views and polished UX
• GitHub Projects: Kanban boards integrated with GitHub, perfect for teams centralising everything on GitHub
• Notion: Databases with Kanban views for teams combining project management and documentation

Conclusion

Kanban is the ideal approach for teams that need flexibility and responsiveness. By visualising work and limiting work in progress, it eliminates bottlenecks and accelerates the delivery flow. At Kern-IT, Kanban is our preferred method for application maintenance and client support, while Scrum remains our choice for structured development projects. Kanban's true strength lies in its simplicity: it doesn't ask you to change everything, but it progressively transforms how your team works.