Kanban for Dev Teams | Git Integration, WIP Limits
Developer-focused Kanban boards with GitScrum. Native Git integration, automated PR status updates, WIP limits, and keyboard-first design for engineering teams.
5 min read
Kanban helps development teams visualize work, limit work-in-progress, and optimize flow. GitScrum's kanban boards are designed specifically for developers—with native Git integration, automated status updates from PRs, and WIP limits that prevent bottlenecks in your development pipeline.
Developer Kanban Basics
Core Principles
KANBAN FOR DEVELOPERS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ KEY PRINCIPLES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 1. VISUALIZE WORK │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ See all work on the board ││
│ │ • Tasks represent work items ││
│ │ • Columns represent states ││
│ │ • Movement shows progress ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 2. LIMIT WORK-IN-PROGRESS (WIP) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Prevent overload and context switching ││
│ │ • Set column limits ││
│ │ • Stop starting, start finishing ││
│ │ • Focus on completion ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 3. MANAGE FLOW │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Optimize for smooth movement ││
│ │ • Identify bottlenecks ││
│ │ • Reduce cycle time ││
│ │ • Measure lead time ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ 4. MAKE POLICIES EXPLICIT │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Define what "done" means for each column ││
│ │ • Definition of Ready ││
│ │ • Definition of Done ││
│ │ • Pull vs push rules ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
GitScrum Kanban Board
Developer-Focused Columns
DEVELOPMENT KANBAN BOARD:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ BACKEND API PROJECT │
├────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┬────────────────┤
│BACKLOG │READY │DEV │REVIEW │TESTING │DONE │
│ │(WIP:5) │(WIP:3) │(WIP:4) │(WIP:2) │ │
├────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│ ┌────────────┐ │
││Search││││User ││││Auth ││││API ││││E2E │││ Order API │ │
││API ││││Export││││Token ││││v2 ││││Tests │││ │ │
││ ││││ ││││ ││││ ││││ │││ ✓ Deployed │ │
││M: 5 ││││M: 3 ││││🔀 #42││││🔀 #40││││QA │││ │ │
│└──────┘│└──────┘│└──────┘│└──────┘│└──────┘│ └────────────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│┌──────┐│ │ ┌────────────┐ │
││Cache ││││Report││││Notif ││││DB ││ ││ User CRUD │ │
││Layer ││││Gen ││││Svc ││││Index ││ ││ │ │
││ ││││ ││││ ││││ ││ ││ ✓ Deployed │ │
││M: 8 ││││M: 5 ││││🔀 #43││││🔀 #39││ │└────────────┘ │
│└──────┘│└──────┘│└──────┘│└──────┘│ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
└────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┴────────────────┘
🔀 = Linked to Pull Request
M: = Size estimate
WIP Limits
Preventing Bottlenecks
WIP LIMIT STRATEGY:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SETTING EFFECTIVE LIMITS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ FORMULA: WIP limit ≈ Team size × 1.5 (per column) │
│ │
│ EXAMPLE (5-person team): │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ READY: 5 items (buffer for planning) ││
│ │ DEV: 3 items (≈ 1 per developer pair/solo) ││
│ │ REVIEW: 4 items (slightly higher for async review) ││
│ │ TESTING: 2 items (focused QA attention) ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ WHEN LIMIT REACHED: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ ⚠️ REVIEW column at limit (4/4) ││
│ │ ││
│ │ Action: Stop starting new work ││
│ │ Instead: Help review existing PRs ││
│ │ Result: Unblock the flow ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ BENEFITS: │
│ • Reduces context switching │
│ • Identifies bottlenecks early │
│ • Improves cycle time │
│ • Better quality (focused work) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Git-Integrated Kanban
Automatic Status Updates
GIT + KANBAN AUTOMATION:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AUTOMATIC FLOW │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ DEVELOPER WORKFLOW: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ 1. Pick task from READY column ││
│ │ → Task moves to DEV ││
│ │ ││
│ │ 2. Create branch: feature/GS-123-auth-token ││
│ │ → Branch linked to task automatically ││
│ │ ││
│ │ 3. Commit: feat(auth): add JWT validation [GS-123] ││
│ │ → Commit appears in task timeline ││
│ │ ││
│ │ 4. Open PR referencing GS-123 ││
│ │ → PR linked, task can auto-move to REVIEW ││
│ │ ││
│ │ 5. PR approved and merged ││
│ │ → Task can auto-move to TESTING or DONE ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ VISIBILITY: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Task Card Shows: ││
│ │ • Branch name ││
│ │ • PR status (open/approved/merged) ││
│ │ • Commit count ││
│ │ • Pipeline status ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Metrics & Flow
Measuring Effectiveness
KANBAN METRICS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ KEY MEASUREMENTS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ CYCLE TIME (time in active work): │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ DEV start → DONE ││
│ │ ││
│ │ This Sprint: 3.2 days average ││
│ │ Last Sprint: 4.1 days average ││
│ │ Trend: ↘ 22% improvement ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ THROUGHPUT (items completed per period): │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ This Week: 12 items ││
│ │ Last Week: 10 items ││
│ │ Average: 11 items/week ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ BOTTLENECK DETECTION: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ REVIEW column: avg 1.5 days (⚠️ high) ││
│ │ Action: Add dedicated review time ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘