How to apply the Kanban method to project management

By
Cátia Marreiros's picture
Cátia Marreiros
· 20/06/2022

Edmund Burke said that "good order is the basis of all things", and although the father of British conservative liberalism lived in the 18th century and we are now in the 21st century, his quote is still very accurate.

A tidy company is the first step on the road to success, also when it comes to project management. In order to improve efficiency and productivity, order is fundamental and nowadays there are numerous systems that can help us. One of them is the so-called Kanban method.

What is the Kanban method

This project management tool, which can be applied to any company, was born for use in the manufacturing processes of the Toyota Production System in the late 1940s. The term "Kanban" means "sign card" in Japanese, and is a system for visualizing the status of tasks. At a glance you get all the information on how the project is going.

It was developed in Japan to minimize waste in the Toyota production line in order to reduce costs. Sign cards were used for employees to mark material needs at different stages of the production line, so that each stage had what was needed, when it was needed and in the quantity of materials needed.

Although it was first used in the automotive world, it was soon found to be applicable to any company, large or small. Today the Kanban method is used to improve productivity in all types of businesses, from a small neighborhood florist to a large marketing agency. No limits. 

Advantages of the Kanban method

As we told you at the beginning, it is a very visual system with which we will order the processes included in our project. The first of the benefits is that we will save time finding out where each task is. Think of a company with several departments working together on the same project. Digging through email threads to find out how each department's task is doing is much simpler if we only have to look at one dashboard.

It saves time and allows us to see the workflow at all times, which optimizes project management and execution time. Knowing which task has been blocked or is taking too long allows us, for example, to allocate more resources to stagnant areas. In addition, as it is a visual system, we can detect errors and unforeseen events and address them earlier.

It gets us to prioritize tasks within project management, and eliminate those that are unnecessary or redundant. If applied properly, the Kanban method optimizes resources and allows the team to achieve a constant workflow that is easy to integrate into their day-to-day work.

How the Kanban method works

In its simplest form, the Kanban board has three columns in which the different tasks are divided: those that are to be done or pending, those that are in process and those that are finished. Although the most basic is three columns, we can add as many as we need. 

For example, if our project management involves third party suppliers or services, we can add a "supplier" column, or if we want to signal when the ball is in the client's court because we are waiting for an OK from them, we can add a "client" column. The possibilities are endless and we can adapt the Kanban method to our business, whatever it is, adding more or less.

In each of the columns the tasks will be placed, which will move from one to another until they are all in the rightmost column. And as it is a flexible and constantly moving system, the task can fluctuate between the different columns according to the moment.

Analyze and divide your project

Before we start filling a wall with hundreds of post-it notes and columns, it is essential that we make an analysis of the project we are going to tackle, the tasks it needs and the process we want to follow to achieve it. 

The first step to apply the Kanban method in any project is to divide it into the different phases of execution, including everything you need for the completion of the project.

Once we have this analysis of the phases, it is time to order them. The order will always be from left to right, with the leftmost being the first and the rightmost being the last. Following a chronological order in this scheme is vital for the Kanban method to be effective.

Once the columns have been established, it is time for the tasks. Just as we have ordered the columns, we will order the tasks in descending order of priority, within the columns. It is important to analyze well at this point what is really a priority for the progress of the project. Think also that as it is a flexible and dynamic system, the "cards" can be moved if we need it and change their priority within Kanban.

The six must-do practices for Kanban success

According to the expert David J. Anderson "there are six practices that must be present for a successful implementation" and that are essential if we talk about the Kanban method for project management.

  • Visualize the workflow. If we cannot see the workflow at a glance, we are not doing Kanban.

  • Limit the work in process (WIP). The WIP limit is a controller that ensures that you start the same amount of work that has been completed within the organization. That is: we do not start new tasks if we have not finished the previous ones. If a task is finished, a new one is added to the workflow. In this way we avoid having a thousand tasks open and unfinished and prevent multitasking from killing our productivity.

  • Manage the flow. When we include the Kanban method in the management of a process we do it to generate a constant and uninterrupted workflow, which we will measure and analyze within each phase to make sure it is fluid and fast.

  • Explain the method to everyone involved. What is not understood is not applied, and the Kanban method must be a joint movement, like a classical orchestra in which every instrument is important. Even if the project manager is the conductor, each musician must understand the score before they start playing it.

  • Add feedback loops. Without analysis during the process, this system would never work. You can hold control meetings to help you analyze what happens during the process in order to improve it, as you would a social media strategy, for example.

  • Improve collaboratively. Think of the Kanban method as a joint and collaborative process with which to grow and adapt.

This type of organizational system is designed to make teamwork as effective and productive as possible and that is exactly what we are looking for with its implementation in the management of a project. Whatever it is, we can help you.

Main principal: SZM

Share 
How can we help?Get in touch