using kanban to juggle multiple priorities

Using Kanban to Juggle Multiple Priorities

Tana Linback

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Why did you choose this session?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

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Take control with Kanban.

看板kan ban

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and complete work.

organize,

visualize,

Kanban is a way to

To DO Doing (2)

Done

The Board:Each column

represents one phase of your process.

The Card:Each card represents

a task or project.

The WIP:Numbers on top

represent WIP limits.

Developed process to track objects through

a production stream

Taiichi Ohno,Father of

Lean Manufacturin

g

Focus on transparency

Designed to empower line workers to be

able to improve

processes

Based on pull system where

work is controlled by

demand

Use of visual signals is the foundation of the system

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Industrial Kanban

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Kanban Features• Process light• Evolution, not revolution, you can adapt it at any step• Gain power over your work

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Two Basic Rules of Kanban

02Limit your

work in progress

(WIP)

01Visualize

your work

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Kanban Rule #1: Visualize

To DO

Doing

DoneA big board

+cards

+columns

Kanban Rule #1: Visualize

Kanban Rule #1: Visualize

While you are traveling down this road, there is a chance that one or more rocks of varying size may fall from the slopes on one or both sides of you. You should be aware of this before you travel this way so that you are cautious of this particular type of hazard.

Research shows that the brain can process visual information over 50,000 times faster than text.

...better communication through visual communication management!

15

We can’t manage what we can’t see, especially

delays....

...so Kanban allows us to tell a visual story about our work....

...it gives us a shape, form, storyline and flow of our work...

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Kanban Rule #1: Visualize• Simple, visual work

management systems can be used to create an “assembly line” to coordinate work

• Prioritization becomes easier, tasks become less daunting

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Kanban Rule #2: Limit WIP

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Kanban Rule #2: WIP LimitsWhy it Matters

• Myth: The sooner a project starts, the sooner it will finish.

• Myth: Processing work in large batches is faster.

• Myth: Free time = capacity

• Fact: Research shows that higher utilization (people or machines) = lower efficiency

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Kanban Rule #2: WIP Limits• By limiting the amount of Work in Progress, you can increase total delivery over

time• It’s impossible to process more than one string of information at a time (science

says so!)• By doing less, you accomplish more• Capacity is not a good measure of throughput

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Kanban Rule #2: WIP Limits • When using Kanban in teams, by limiting WIP you force team members to

collaborate through to completion• When using Kanban on your own, by limiting WIP you force yourself to work on

the stuff you don’t like to do• The more things you add to your juggling act, the likelier it is that you drop

something

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With Kanban’s Two Rules, Our Board:• Shows us the work we have in process (WIP)• Shows us the work we haven’t gotten to yet (backlog)• Shows us how efficiently we work• Shows us how we do what we do and how long it takes

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How you can do it

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What you need to get started

A board (white board, butcher

paper, etc.)

Lots of post-its in different colors

Sharpie

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Step 1: Build Your Backlog• The work you haven’t done yet, the big list of stuff you let pile up• Consider EVERYTHING, get everything out there• This first backlog session will be painful, you can do it!

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Step 2: Establish WIP Limit• This is the amount of work you can handle at one time• We have a tendency to leave lots of stuff half done • Start with a made-up number and learn from it• Over time, you will find the optimal amount of work to have in progress at one

time

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Step 3: Pull in Work• Take work from one stage to the next• Update your board in real time as work moves forward

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Pro Tips

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Pro Tip: Use Swimlanes

To DO

Doing

DoneResea

rchClass Prep

Service

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Pro Tip: Focus on Completion• Focus conversations and rewards on what is completed, not what is in progress• Lots of incomplete work creates inefficiencies as we jump from task to task,

losing clarity on what to do next and what is most important, and increasing the complexity of the overall workload

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Pro Tip: Orange DaysHave stuff you don’t like to do but that’s important (think administrative stuff)? Make those cards orange. Commit one day a week to plug through your orange

post-its.

To DO

Doing

Done

Thanks to Jim Benson at Personal Kanban

for this tip

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Pro Tip: Using Technology with Kanban

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Closing Thoughts

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Closing Thoughts• Focus on rewarding work completed, not work in progress• Appreciate learning – is just as, if not more important than delivering• Kanban should be an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary one• Have fun with it!

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Good Kanban Resources to Check OutWebsites• http://limitedwipsociety.ning.com/• www.agilealliance.com• www.LeanKit.com• www.InfoQ.com • www.trello.com

Books• Personal Kanban by Jim Benson• Kanban in Action by Marcus

Hammarberg, Joakim Sunden• Learning Agile: Understanding

Scrum, XP, Lean, and Kanban by Andrew Stellman, Jennifer Greene

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References in Presentation• http://limitedwipsociety.ning.com/• https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1018963/Multitasking-Name-Game/Multita

sking-Name-Game.pdf

• http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august24/multitask-research-study-082409.html

• https://books.google.com/books?id=PgmgUzP5LkIC&lpg=PT82&ots=GA2Cu-U6qW&dq=high%20utilization%20leads%20to%20delays&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=high%20utilization%20leads%20to%20delays&f=false