What are the foundational principles of Kanban development methodology?

1 Visualize the work

One of the core principles of Kanban is to visualize the work and the workflow using a Kanban board. A Kanban board is a tool that displays the different stages of the development process, such as backlog, analysis, development, testing, and deployment. Each stage has a column on the board, and each work item, such as a feature, a bug, or a task, has a card that moves across the columns as it progresses. Visualizing the work helps you see the status, priority, and dependencies of each work item, as well as the bottlenecks, risks, and opportunities for improvement in the workflow.

2 Limit the work in progress

Another key principle of Kanban is to limit the work in progress (WIP) in each stage of the workflow. WIP is the number of work items that are being worked on or waiting to be worked on in a given stage. Limiting the WIP helps you reduce multitasking, waste, and context switching, and improve focus, quality, and throughput. You can set WIP limits for each column on the Kanban board, and enforce them by using a pull system. A pull system means that you only start working on a new work item when there is an available slot in the next stage, and not when there is a new request or demand.

3 Manage the flow

The third principle of Kanban is to manage the flow of work items across the stages of the workflow. Managing the flow means measuring and optimizing the speed, efficiency, and predictability of the delivery process. You can use various metrics and indicators to monitor and manage the flow, such as lead time, cycle time, throughput, work item age, and cumulative flow diagram. These metrics and indicators help you identify and eliminate impediments, balance demand and capacity, and forecast delivery dates and deadlines.

4 Make policies explicit

The fourth principle of Kanban is to make policies explicit for each stage of the workflow. Policies are the rules and guidelines that define how work items are created, prioritized, assigned, moved, reviewed, and completed. Making policies explicit helps you align the expectations and behaviors of the team members, stakeholders, and customers, and ensure consistency and transparency in the delivery process. You can make policies explicit by documenting them, displaying them on the Kanban board, and reviewing them regularly.

5 Implement feedback loops

The fifth principle of Kanban is to implement feedback loops at different levels of the workflow. Feedback loops are the mechanisms that enable you to collect and act on feedback from various sources, such as customers, users, team members, and managers. Feedback loops help you improve the quality, value, and satisfaction of the products and services you deliver, as well as the performance, collaboration, and learning of the team. You can implement feedback loops by using various practices, such as daily stand-ups, retrospectives, demos, reviews, and surveys.

6 Improve collaboratively and evolve experimentally

The sixth and final principle of Kanban is to improve collaboratively and evolve experimentally. This principle means that you continuously seek and implement improvements in the workflow, the work items, and the team, based on the feedback loops and the metrics and indicators. It also means that you test and validate your assumptions and hypotheses using experiments and data, and learn from the results. Improving collaboratively and evolving experimentally helps you foster a culture of innovation, adaptation, and excellence in your software development process.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?