In this interactive workshop we will examine multiple examples of Antipatterns observed in real-world Kanban boards. In each case we will identify the issues and discuss ways to improve the situation. We will review a number of better alternatives and see how the improvements map to the core principles of Kanban such as visualization, managing flow, and making policies explicit. Brand new to Kanban? Learning by example is a great way to get started! A long-time Kanban veteran? Come to see how many antipatterns you recognize and help firm up our Kanban Antipattern taxonomy and nomenclature!
Kanban is an extremely versatile and effective Agile method that has seen significant growth in popularity over recent years. Kanban’s flexibility has led to widespread adoption to manage business processes in disparate contexts such as HR, loan processing, drug discovery, and insurance underwriting, in addition to Information Technology. Like snowflakes, no two Kanban boards are alike. The downside to this flexibility is there is no well-known and easily accessible library of patterns for designing effective Kanban boards. Like Apollo engineers, teams are expected to design their board starting from first principles. Unfortunately, sometimes teams get stuck with board designs that may not provide the visibility and insight into their workflow they hope to see. Worse, some designs actually may serve only to obscure the situation. Working within the limitations of an electronic board can exacerbate the problem even further. Is all hope lost? Certainly not!
Let’s learn more about effective Kanban system design by examining what to avoid and why. Learning by example is effective and fun!
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Antipattern 4: Expedite Exploitation
a. Using the expedite lane for non-expedite work. Show the examples from Dan
Vicanti actionable agile metrics.
Options Discover (8) Implement (10) Verify (6) Done
Doing Done DoneDoing
Expedite
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Parting Thoughts
Don’t just copy another board, analyze
Lessons learned, current pain points
Sources and pattern of demand
Delivery capability
Workflow
Classes of service
Make sure your board speaks to you
If you encounter a bad situation and the board didn’t telegraph
it, time to review the board design!
Use swim lanes, colors, and card design