Kanban – An Alternate Path to Enterprise

Agility

(An Introduction to the Kanban Method)

AgileCamp SV 2016

Agenda

What is Kanban?

The Kanban Method

The value of “Upstream Kanban”

Applying Kanban to Scrum

Resources

Q&A

Digite, Inc.

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Introduction

Digite, Inc.

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Mahesh Singh

Co-founder, SVP – Head of Marketing, Digité, Inc.

Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP)/ AKT-in-the-making

@maheshsingh/ mahesh@digite.com/ +1 (408) 761-2238

Digite, Inc.

SwiftKanban/ SwiftALM/ SwiftSync

Lean/ Agile ALM/ PPM company

125+ customers/ 750k+ users

www.digite.com

2010 – Kanban “blue book”

2014 – Kanban from the Inside

What is Kanban?

Kanban – Japanese term for “signboard” or

“Billboard” that indicates “available capacity

(to work)” or a visual cue to begin work.

Kanban System - A visual system for managing

work moving through a process – the “value

stream”

The Kanban Method

Digite, Inc.

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Change Management Principles

1. Start with what you do now

Understanding current processes, as actually practiced

Respecting existing roles, responsibilities & job titles

2. Gain agreement to pursue improvement

through evolutionary change

3. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels

Kanban Method uses…

… uses kanban boards to visualize invisible work,

workflow & business risks together with kanban

systems which limit work-in-progress

Kanban Method delivers…

… faster, more predictable service delivery and an

adaptive capability that enables you to respond

effectively to changes in customer demand or your

business environment

Digite, Inc.

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So Why Should you Care?

Kanban will Help you Get Lean!

Visualize and Map your Value Stream

Continuous Flow

Incremental Change, Continuous Improvement

Be Data Driven

What is Lean?

Preserve and deliver value

Eliminate waste

Any resources not being used to drive value are being

wasted

Continuously reflect and improve

How Do you Become Lean?

The 5 Pillars of Lean

Map the Value Stream

Pull

Continuous Flow

Continuous Improvement

Deliver Value

Kanban & Lean

Kanban Applied the 5 Pillars of Lean

Value Stream Mapping ✔

Pull ✔

Continuous Flow ✔

Continuous Improvement ✔

Deliver Value ✔

The Kanban Method is not…

A project management method

nor

A software development lifecycle

process

Digite, Inc.

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Digite, Inc.

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In the absence of an existing methodology/

process, the Kanban Method cannot be applied/

used!

The Kanban Method15

Digite, Inc.

The Kanban Method

Digite, Inc.

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Change Management Principles

1. Start with what you do now

Understanding current processes, as actually practiced

Respecting existing roles, responsibilities & job titles

2. Gain agreement to pursue improvement

through evolutionary change

3. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels

Start with What you do Now

What do you do Now?

Waterfall?

Iterative?

TDD?

Scrum?

Digite, Inc.

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The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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Move from here….

Backlog Next DoneIn-progress

Digite, Inc.

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….to here!

DoneNext

Ongoing

Development Testing

Done Ongoing Done

Deploy

Digite, Inc.

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• Team should be able to observe Flow

• Handoffs should become defined

• All Process Steps should be visible

The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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Implement WIP Limits

DoneNext

5 ∞Ongoing

Development Testing

Done Ongoing Done

3 3∞ ∞

Deploy

Digite, Inc.

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• Defining constraints helps Flow

• Communicates available capacity to the team

and stakeholders

A Kanban System consists of a

quantity of “kanban” (かんばん)

signal cards in circulation

A Kanban System consists of a

quantity of “kanban” (かんばん)

signal cards in circulation

Overburdening is a common Problem

Multi-tasking is a commonly expected performance measure in most team. We are expected to be able to handle multiple things at the same time.

Digite, Inc.

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Multitasking is Bad! Kanban helps you Reduce it

“It’s unequivocally the case that workers who are doing multiple things at one time are

doing them poorly,” said Clifford Nass, director of the Communication Between Humans

and Interactive Media Lab at Stanford University.

“The human brain just really isn’t built to switch rapidly from one task to another.

Workers who constantly multitask are hurting their ability to get work done, even when

they are not multitasking. People become much more distracted, can’t manage their

memory very well.”

Companies that demand multitasking may be damaging productivity. “It would be a total

tragedy if when we have so much potential to make the work force more intelligent, we

are actually making the work force dumber,” Nass said. “Companies that are demanding

that workers multitask might not only be hurting their productivity, but may be making the

workforce worse thinkers.”

*Ruth Mantell, Wall Street Journal Market Watch, July 12, 2011, “Multitasking: More

work, less productivity”Digite, Inc.

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Multi-tasking is one reason

we have too much WIP

1 - 10 I – X (Roman) A - J

Start timer for 1 minuteFill in each row left to rightStop when timer goes off or you reach the limit shown at the top of each column

Digite, Inc.

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Multi-tasking is one reason

we have too much WIP

1 - 10 I – X (Roman) A - J

Start timer for 1 minuteFill in each column top to bottom starting at the left columnStop when timer goes off

Digite, Inc.

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Stop Multitasking

Stop STARTING! Start FINISHING!

Digite, Inc.

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WIP Limits benefits

Controls Multi-tasking

Signal that capacity is available;

Can be by person, by workflow, by work item

type, or by total number of items in progress;

Promote finishing & quality;

Provoke important discussions;

Digite, Inc.

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The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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Implement Pull. Manage Flow.

(Flow is the movement of the work)

Flow – from Engineering

Ready to Release Ready

FLOW

Digite, Inc.

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Optimizing Capacity, Maximizing Flow

Digite, Inc.

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Flow vs. Batching of Work

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The Essence of Kanban in Action

Digite, Inc.

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The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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Make Policies Explicit

Digite, Inc.

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What goes on

the board?

What is written

on a ticket?

How does the

board work?

Cadence

Who can

modify?

Digite, Inc.39

Risk Dimensions

(also called Class of Service)

• “What will happen if you

don’t finish the work item on

time” (Cost of Delay)

• A set of policies that apply

to a type of work.

• Can be indicated with colors,

shapes, stickers, etc.

• Can affect prioritization

Digite, Inc.40

Cost of Delay is a critical business risk

time

imp

act

time

time

time

imp

act

imp

act

imp

act

time

imp

act

time

imp

act

imp

act

Expedite – critical and immediate cost of delay; can exceed other kanban limit (bumps other work)

Fixed date – cost of delay goes up significantly after deadline; Start early enough & dynamically prioritize to insure on-time delivery

Standard - cost of delay is shallow but accelerates before leveling out; provide a reasonable lead-time expectation

Intangible – cost of delay may be significant but is not incurred until much later; important but not urgent

time

Kanban Board based on Risk Dimensions

Backlog Next Done

3

In-progress

3

Expedite

Fixed Date

Standard

Intangible

∞ ∞

Digite, Inc.

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The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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Implement/ Continue with Feedback Loops

Daily Standup Meetings/ Retrospectives

Kanban Metrics

Cumulative Flow

Lead Time

Kanban Board

WIP Limit violations

Blockers

Review Stages

Digite, Inc.

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Focus on Delivery to Customer Early, Often,

Faster

Digite, Inc.

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Kanban Board – Information Radiator

Digite, Inc.

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The Kanban Method

General Practices

1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)

2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanbanかんばん)

3. Manage flow

4. Make policies explicit

5. Implement feedback loops

6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally

(using models & the scientific method)

Digite, Inc.

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Improve Collaboratively, Evolve

Experimentally

(Using models and the Scientific Method)

Look for opportunities for improvementBottlenecks

Blocker Analysis

Sources of rework/ defects

Manage variability in incoming Demand with “Classes of Service”

Implement 2-Phase Commit

Digite, Inc.

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Evaluate Bottlenecks

Digite, Inc.

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Common Challenges in Software

Development

Upfront Planning and Prioritization

Conflict of priorities between various stakeholders

Shifting Business Priorities

Internal and External Sources of Demand

Different type of work and different classes of service

High levels of Discard Rates

Upstream Kanban and 2 Phase Commit will help

Streamline the Inflow of Work to the Dev Team

Digite, Inc.

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Go “Upstream” with Kanban

DoneNextOngoingDevelopment Testing

Done Ongoing DoneDeploy

SpecOngoing

PrioritizationDone

Pool of Ideas

ReadyOngoing Done

Digite, Inc.

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In Flow Systems, Commitment is

deferred

E

I

D

Commitment point

FF

FFF

F F

G

Pull

Wish to avoid aborting after commitment

IdeasDev

Ready

5Ongoing

Development Testing

Done

3 3

TestReady

5

UATReleaseReady

∞ ∞

We are committing to getting started. We are certain we want

to take delivery.

Ideas remain optional and (ideally) unprioritized

Digite, Inc.

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Software Teams often see High Discard

rates

E

I

DF

FF F

G

I

Reject

IdeasDev

Ready

5Ongoing

Development Testing

Done

3 3

TestReady

5

UATReleaseReady

∞ ∞

Discarded

The discard rate seen at a Microsoft team in 2004 was 48%.

~50% is commonly observed

Options have value because the future is uncertain

0% discard rate implies there is no uncertainty about the future

Digite, Inc.

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TestReady

FN

K

M

L J

F

Specific delivery commitment may be

deferred even later

E

I

GD

2nd

Commitmentpoint*

Discarded

I

IdeasDev

Ready

5Ongoing

Development Testing

Done

3 35

UATReleaseReady

∞ ∞

We are now committing to a specific release date

*This may happen earlier if circumstances demand it

Digite, Inc.

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Long Term…

Move towards Iteration-less delivery?

Use models such as Monte Carlo

simulation to forecast capability and set

customer expectations

Digite, Inc.

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Am I Lean Now?

We Improved 300%

Kanban Knows No Boundaries

Internally We Also Use Kanban for• HR

• Finance

• Sales

• Marketing

People use Swift-Kanban for

All of the above plus

Legal Transaction Management

Book Publishing

Video Game Development

Personal Kanban

And more

Kanban for Kids

https://micknelson.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/kanban-for-kids/

Applying Kanban to your Scrum

Processes

Digite, Inc.

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Digite, Inc.

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“Scrum vs. Kanban”

Is it an emotional thing?

So, how well is Scrum working for you?

It is working just fine for me!

I think it is working fine – but I’d like

to know how we can get better..

I need serious and immediate help to

improve!!

Digite, Inc.

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Some Challenges in Scrum

Estimation Challenges

Missed Scope/ Deadlines; Stories leak out

Software is not necessarily working or tested

Overwhelming focus on “rituals”

how to calculate the right velocity,

what % of time to allocate to surprises,

estimation inaccuracies and other such problems.

The Challenge of Batch Sizes

Disruptive Role-changes and Org Changes

Digite, Inc.

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Should you be applying Kanban to Scrum?

If everything is going well – and you are delivering

software to your customer as per their expectations –

perhaps there is no need to!

If you know – or have niggling doubts – that you could

be doing better, then by all means, look at Kanban!

Even if you don’t and you’d like to explore Kanban,

that’s a great reason as well.

Digite, Inc.

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Start with What you do Now

Start with What you do Now

Continue with your current Scrum processes and rituals, roles and titles

Continue to do Sprints and Releases, and use Scrum metrics and measures

Visualize your Dev team’s process more granularly

Agree to Improve Incrementally

Allow acts of leadership at all levels

Digite, Inc.

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Implementing Kanban in a Scrum

environment

Short Term: Start with what you have

Start with all the Standard Practices of Kanban

Implement WIP Limits and Manage Flow

Medium Term: Evaluate Improvement Opportunities

Evaluate/ Implement 2-Phase Commitment

Tweak WIP Limits and Process Steps

Long Term:

Consider moving to faster/ on-demand replenishment

Use models such as Risk Assessment and Monte Carlo Simulation for better Demand Management and Delivery Forecasting

Digite, Inc.

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Scrumban or Kanban? (What’s in a Name?)

Scrum + Kanban =

Scrum or Scrumban

or Kanban – YOUR

Choice!

The Kanban Method provides a number of

tools and techniques to boost the

performance of Scrum teams.Digite, Inc.

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Scrum and (not vs.) Kanban

Kanban does not compete with

Scrum.

Kanban complements and

supplements Scrum!

Digite, Inc.

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Resources

http://yuvalyeret.com/so-what-is-scrumban/

http://blog.venturepact.com/19-proven-benefits-of-

scrumban/

http://www.deloittedigital.com/us/blog/scrumban-a-

different-way-to-be-agile

https://www.agilealliance.org/what-is-scrumban/

Scrumban – and other Essays on Kanban Systems for

Lean Software Development; by Corey Ladas

Kanban and Scrum – making the most of both; by

Henrik Kniberg & Mattias Skarin

Digite, Inc.

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Thank you!

Mahesh Singh

Co-founder, SVP – Head of Marketing, Digité, Inc.

Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP)/ AKT-in-the-

making

@maheshsingh/ mahesh@digite.com/ +1 (408) 761-

2238

www.digite.com

Digite, Inc.

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