why limit wip?
DESCRIPTION
Why Limit WIP? -Why it's important -Why it's hard -What you can do about itTRANSCRIPT
• Why it’s important• Why It’s hard• What you can do about it
Chris Hefley, CEO of LeanKit@indomitableHef
Kanban: An Evolutionary Approach to Agility
Why Limit WIP?
Chris Hefley, CEO and Co-founder of LeanKit, is a practitioner and thought leader in the global Lean/ Kanban community. In 2011, he was nominated for the Lean Systems Society’s Brickell Key Award.
After years of coping with “broken” project management systemsin the world of software development, Chris helped build LeanKit as a way for teams to become more effective.
Prior to LeanKit, Chris worked with globally distributed teams in leadership positions at HCA Healthcare and IMI Health. He believes in building software and systems that make people’s lives better and transform their relationship with work.
follow @indomitableHef
ABOUT CHRIS HEFLEY
What is Work-In-Process?
all materials and partly finished products that are at various stages of the process
Value Demand that has been started, but is not yet providing value to the customer
What is Work-In-Process?
Total Story Lead Time
30 days
Development Time5 Days (~ 15%)
Testing Time 2 Days
Defect Rework 2 Days
Release / DevOps Time 1 Day
Blocked and Waiting Time 9 Days
Waiting Time 3 Days
Waiting Time8 Days
By Troy Magennis, FocusedObjective.com – used by permission
What is Work-In-Process?
Total Story Lead Time
30 days
Development Time5 Days (~ 15%)
Testing Time 2 Days
Defect Rework 2 Days
Release / DevOps Time 1 Day
Blocked and Waiting Time 9 Days
Waiting Time 3 Days
Waiting Time8 Days
By Troy Magennis, FocusedObjective.com – used by permission
What is Work-In-Process?
Total Story Lead Time
30 days
Story / Feature Inception5 Days
Waiting in Backlog25 days
System Regression Testing & Staging 5 Days
Waiting for Release Window5 Days
“Active Development”30 days
Pre Work
30 days
Post Work
10 days
Total Story Lead Time
30 days
Story / Feature Inception5 Days
Waiting in Backlog25 days
System Regression Testing & Staging 5 Days
Waiting for Release Window5 Days
“Active Development”30 days
Pre Work
30 days
Post Work
10 days
9 days (70 total)approx 13%
What is Work-In-Process?
Partially Done Work Has Zero Value
1. Visualize your Work2. Limit your Work in Process
3. Focus on Flow4. Continuous Improvement
What is Kanban?
This is Greek to me. So are many/most project deliverables to non-specialists
A picture translates complexity into a simple pattern we can all digest
ReadyIn Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)(6)
- Daniel and Stephen, Developers
Yay! More Codez to write!
This queue replenishment process is a example of “Push”
- Jon (Product Manager)
It’s my job to replenish the ready queue – I prioritize the top 6 items every 2-3 days
Day 1
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
- Daniel and Stephen, Developers
Finished One!
Day 2
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9- Chris (Tester)
Now I have something to pull
- Jon (Product Manager)
Better replenish the queue…
Day 3
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
- Chris (Tester)
This one is ready to deploy…
Day 4
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
- Scott (DevOps)
I’m on it…
Day 5
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
Day 6
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2F3
F4
D1F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9 - Chris (Tester)
This one isn’t working…I’ll go ahead and pull some more to test…
Day 7
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6F7
F8
F9
F10
D2
F11- Daniel and Stephen, Developers
Rock and Roll…We’ve been very productive these last couple of days
Day 8
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1F2
F3
F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
D2
F11- Daniel and Stephen, Developers
Oops…can’t do that…it would break the WIP limit
What can we do to help?
F2 is broken…
Ok, we’re on it
Day 9
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7F8
F9
F10
D2
F11
F12
Work is flowing nicely now…
Day 10
In Process Done
Development Test
Done DeployIn Process Done
F1
F2
F3F4
D1
F5
(3) (3)Ready(6)
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
D2
F11
F12
- Scott (DevOps)
Now we’re really getting some stuff done!
Day 11
Why Kanban Systems Work
1) The means to observe the flow of work
2) The mechanics to improve the flow of work (WIP Limits, Explicit Policies)
3) The evidence to show improvement, run experiments, and make adjustments
A KANBAN SYSTEM GIVES YOU
From the Book: Stop Starting, Start Finishing, by Arne Roock
Three Kinds of WIP Limits
• Personal WIP Limits
• Team (Execution) WIP Limits
• Organizational (Structural) WIP Limits
The Zeigarnik effect:
When we finish tasks, we get
closure and move on. When we
don’t finish tasks—we don’t.
Managing Team (Execution) WIP Limits
• Why: To Improve Flow
• Challenges: –Variability–Constraints–Personal WIP
Lowering WIP Surfaces Problems
From the book: Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash by Mary Poppendeick and Tom Poppendeick
Managing Organizational (Structural) WIP Limits
• Why: Clear Focus, Limit Options to increase the chance of achieving goals
• To Make It Work–Limit your options–Systems Thinking–Watch for Hidden WIP
Limiting WIP at LeanKit
The Focused Intent
Standup Meetings, Kanban-Style
1. What are we going to finish today?2. What is needed to push this item over the line?3. Is there any hidden WIP?
All work is the Team’s Work
Resources
• Stop Starting, Start Finishing, by Arne Roock
• available on Amazon.com
Resources
• The Phoenix Project, a Novel About DevOps, IT, and Helping Your Business Win, by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford
• available on Amazon.com
Resources
• Why Limit WIP: We are Drowning in Work, by Jim Benson
• Available in a 2-3 weeksat moduscooperandi.com
Resources• KANBAN Roadmap: How to Get Started in 5 Steps, by Chris
Hefley and Liz Llewellyn
• Available at the LeanKitbooth at PathToAgility2014 and at LeanKit.com
• Download the electronic copy at http://leankit.com/path-to-agility