Kanban in IT Operations

It is very common that when we talk about being Agile in the Technology field, our focus goes directly to software development, and there is nothing wrong with that to be honest.

But we should remember that going Agile means going full fledge across the whole organization, and IT Operations is a core that should not be left out.

Here are a couple of insights on why Kanban could be a very useful methodology for going agile in IT Operations

?? Kanban in itself is a pull system with a controlled amount of WIP; when the team is ready to start a new task, they pull an item from the queue that is already prioritized. Unlike development which has a predefined backlog for some time ahead and a roadmap, in IT Ops, some items will come up unexpected, resulting from issues, bugs and problems requiring different types of activities from different resources. A Kanban board surely helps in that, which takes us to the second point.

???With advanced Kanban boards, you can create horizontal swim lanes across the buckets. These swim lanes could be for the different type of activities, for example Production Issues, Routine Maintenance, Business as Usual (BAU) and so on. This method can really enhance the visualization of the progress and current status of each item, as well as the different resources involved to tackle them.

?? Some items might be of a highly critical nature that cannot follow the traditional flow. Using the above mentioned swim lane method, you can create a “Fast Track Lane” and anything put there will be of highest priority.

????IT Operations span across multiple functions and systems within the technology department. This entails different teams with different expertise. Using Kanban can drastically improve the communication and visibility across all members

Any other point or advice? Feel free to share your insight.?

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