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Getting Started with Kanban
Kanban emphasizes visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and optimizing flow for continuous delivery. GitScrum's customizable boards with WIP limits, swimlanes, and flow metrics make implementing Kanban straightforward while providing the analytics needed to continuously improve team performance.
Kanban Core Principles
| Principle | What It Means | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Visualize Work | See all work on board | Transparency |
| Limit WIP | Cap items per stage | Focus, flow |
| Manage Flow | Optimize throughput | Predictability |
| Make Policies Explicit | Clear rules | Consistency |
| Improve Continuously | Evolve process | Better over time |
Setting Up Your Kanban Board
BASIC KANBAN BOARD SETUP
Backlog │ To Do │ In Progress │ Review │ Done
(no limit)│ (10) │ (5) │ (3) │ (∞)
───────────┼──────────┼───────────────┼───────────┼────────
│ │ │ │
[Feature A]│[Feature B]│ [Feature D] │[Feature F]│[Done 1]
[Bug 1] │[Bug 2] │ [Bug 3] │ │[Done 2]
[Feature C]│[Task 1] │ │ │[Done 3]
[Task 2] │ │ │ │
[Task 3] │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
← Pull from left │ WIP Limit enforced │ Completed →
Column Design
RECOMMENDED COLUMNS FOR DEV TEAMS
SIMPLE (Start here):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Backlog → To Do → In Progress → Done │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
STANDARD:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Backlog → Ready → Dev → Review → Test → Done │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
WITH EXPLICIT WAITING:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Backlog → Ready → Dev → [Waiting] → Review → │
│ → Test → Done │
│ │
│ [Waiting] columns expose blockers │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
SPLIT COLUMNS (Doing/Done):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Dev │ Review │
│ ┌─────────┬─────────┐ │ ┌─────────┬─────────┐ │
│ │ Active │ Review │ │ │ Review │ Approved│ │
│ │ │ Ready │ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────┴─────────┘ │ └─────────┴─────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ "Done" = ready for │ Visual handoff │
│ next stage to pull │ within stages │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
WIP Limit Strategy
SETTING WIP LIMITS
Step 1: Count team members actively working
Step 2: Set WIP limit per stage
FORMULA (starting point):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ In Progress WIP = Team Size × 1.5 │
│ │
│ Example: 4 developers │
│ In Progress limit: 6 items │
│ Review limit: 3 items │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TOO HIGH (no effect):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Everyone has 5 items → constant switching │
│ No pain → no improvement signal │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TOO LOW (blocking):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ People idle waiting for capacity │
│ Artificial bottlenecks │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
JUST RIGHT:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Slight pressure to finish before starting │
│ Bottlenecks visible and addressed │
│ Flow is smooth │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
ADJUST: If WIP limit rarely hit → lower it
If always blocked → investigate why
Kanban Metrics
KEY METRICS TO TRACK
LEAD TIME
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Time from request to delivery │
│ Example: 8 days average │
│ Goal: Reduce or stabilize │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
CYCLE TIME
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Time from work started to done │
│ Example: 3 days average │
│ Goal: Reduce │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
THROUGHPUT
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Items completed per time period │
│ Example: 12 items/week │
│ Goal: Increase or stabilize │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
CUMULATIVE FLOW DIAGRAM
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Visual of items in each stage over time │
│ Flat areas = stuck work │
│ Bulges = bottlenecks │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Best Practices
- Start with current workflow don't invent
- Set WIP limits from day one even if generous
- Prioritize finishing over starting new work
- Address bottlenecks when they appear
- Use swimlanes for work types (bug, feature)
- Have regular replenishment meetings
- Track cycle time to measure improvement
- Evolve gradually based on data
Anti-Patterns
✗ No WIP limits (just a to-do list)
✗ Pushing work instead of pulling
✗ Ignoring blocked items
✗ WIP limits that never get hit
✗ No regular review of flow metrics
✗ Treating board as status report only