Kanban for Agile Teams: Principles and Practices

Kanban is a visual method for managing work that boosts efficiency in Agile teams. Here’s what you need to know:

Kanban uses boards with columns to show work stages
It limits work-in-progress to prevent overload
Kanban focuses on continuous flow and improvement
It’s flexible and can work with other Agile methods

Key Kanban principles:

Start with what you’re doing now
Make small, incremental changes
Keep current roles and responsibilities
Encourage leadership at all levels

Main Kanban practices:

Visualize workflow
Limit work-in-progress (WIP)
Manage flow
Make process policies explicit
Implement feedback loops

Quick Comparison: Kanban vs. Scrum

Feature	Kanban	Scrum
Work Flow	Continuous	Fixed sprints
Roles	Flexible	Defined roles
Changes	Anytime	Not during sprint
Key Tool	Kanban board	Sprint backlog
Focus	Smooth workflow	Sprint goals
Main Metric	Lead/Cycle time	Velocity

Kanban helps Agile teams by making workflows clear, encouraging steady delivery, allowing flexible planning, and supporting constant improvement.

Key Kanban Principles

Kanban

Kanban’s core ideas boost Agile team performance. Here are the main principles:

Begin with Current Processes

Kanban doesn’t demand a complete overhaul. It builds on your existing methods. This makes adoption smoother and less disruptive.

David J Anderson, Kanban’s creator, puts it this way:

“Kanban recognizes the value of your existing processes and practices.”

To get started:

Examine your team’s current workflow
Map it out
Spot areas for improvement

Make Small, Steady Changes

Kanban is all about gradual improvements, not big shake-ups. This approach:

Cuts down on change resistance
Allows quick tweaks
Helps teams adapt over time

For instance, a team might start by just visualizing work on a board. Later, they can add work-in-progress limits.

Keep Current Roles and Tasks

No need for new job titles or a complete restructure with Kanban. It works with your existing setup, reducing stress and pushback.

Anderson notes:

“Being respectful helps reinforce the idea that Kanban will not be overly disruptive or completely change established operating models.”

Encourage Leadership in All Team Members

Kanban empowers everyone to identify and fix issues. This:

Boosts team engagement
Speeds up problem-solving
Improves overall efficiency

To implement this:

Give all team members access to Kanban boards and metrics
Encourage improvement suggestions from everyone
Celebrate team member initiative

Main Kanban Practices

Kanban’s strength is in how teams use it. Here are the key practices that make Kanban tick:

Show the Work Process

Kanban is all about seeing your work. Teams use boards to map out their process. Think “To Do”, “Doing”, and “Done” columns.

Tools like Trello, GitHub, and ProductPlan offer digital Kanban boards. These help teams:

Set Work-in-Progress Limits

WIP limits keep teams focused. They cap tasks at each stage.

“We doubled our throughput from 60 to 120 tickets in just three days after setting WIP limits”, said an Aerosud IT manager.

To set good WIP limits:

Check your team’s capacity
Start low
Tweak based on data

Keep Work Moving

In Kanban, steady progress is key. To keep work flowing:

Have daily stand-ups
Fix blocked tasks fast
Pull new work when you can

Make Work Rules Clear

Clear rules help work move smoothly. Teams should:

Define when a task is “done”
Set rules for moving tasks
Write these down for everyone to see

Use Feedback to Get Better

Kanban is about always improving. Use feedback through:

Using Kanban in Agile Teams

Kanban can supercharge your agile team’s workflow. Here’s the lowdown:

Create a Kanban Board

Start simple: “To Do”, “Doing”, “Done.” Add task cards.

Pro tip: Use Trello or GitHub for remote teams.

Identify Work Types

Group similar tasks. It’s like sorting laundry, but for work.

Work Type	What’s That?
Features	New stuff
Bugs	Things to fix
Tech Debt	Code cleanup

Set Work Limits

Cap tasks in each column. It’s like a diet, but for your workflow.

Fun fact: Aerosud’s IT team doubled their output in 3 days by setting work limits. From 60 to 120 tickets. BAM!

Use Work Lanes

Organize by type or team. It’s like grocery store aisles, but for tasks.

Urgent	Standard	Low Priority
Task 1	Task 3	Task 5
Task 2	Task 4	Task 6

Use Pull Systems

Team members grab new work when ready. No overloading allowed.

Remember: Finish what’s on your plate before getting seconds.

Kanban Measurements

Tracking the right metrics helps Agile teams improve their Kanban workflow. Here are three key measurements:

Task Start to Finish Time

This shows how quickly tasks move through your system:

Lead Time: Task creation to completion
Cycle Time: Active work time on task

Metric	Measures	Why It Matters
Lead Time	Creation to completion	Process efficiency
Cycle Time	Active work time	Team productivity

Short lead and cycle times? Your team’s working efficiently.

Work Completion Rate

This counts completed tasks over time. It’s your team’s throughput.

Example:

Week 1: 10 tasks
Week 2: 8 tasks
Week 3: 12 tasks
Week 4: 10 tasks

Average throughput: 10 tasks per week.

Work Flow Charts

These visual tools spot bottlenecks and track progress:

1. Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)

Shows task distribution across workflow stages. Helps identify:

Process stability
Bottlenecks
Work in Progress (WIP) levels

2. Burn Down Chart

Compares planned vs. completed tasks. Great for tracking sprint progress in Scrum-Kanban hybrid teams.

The Wizards, a cross-functional Scrum team, used these metrics to overhaul their work process. They cut delivery times by 80% in under 2 months.

Want to improve? Review these metrics during daily stand-ups. Keep measuring, keep improving!

Kanban vs. Other Agile Methods

Kanban and other Agile methods aim for the same goals but take different paths. Let’s see how Kanban compares to other popular Agile frameworks.

Kanban and Scrum: A Quick Comparison

Scrum

Kanban and Scrum are both Agile, but they’re not twins:

Feature	Kanban	Scrum
Work Flow	Non-stop	Sprints (1-4 weeks)
Roles	None set	Scrum Master, Product Owner, Dev Team
Changes	Anytime	Not mid-sprint
Key Tools	Kanban board	Product/Sprint backlogs, Increments
Main Focus	Smooth workflow	Sprint goals
Key Metrics	Lead/Cycle time	Velocity

Kanban’s flexibility is great for teams with shifting priorities. Take Spotify‘s engineering team – they use a Kanban-like system to handle their work. It lets them quickly adapt to new feature requests and bug fixes.

Mixing It Up

Kanban plays well with others:

1. Scrumban

Scrumban is like Scrum and Kanban had a baby. It uses Scrum’s sprints with Kanban’s visual board and work limits.

“We tried Scrumban at our software company. In just three months, we saw a 40% boost in productivity”, says Sarah Chen, CTO of TechInnovate.

2. Kanban in SAFe

The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) uses Kanban principles at different levels. Teams use Kanban boards to see and manage work within the bigger SAFe structure.

3. Lean Kanban

Mix Lean principles with Kanban, and you get even more efficiency. Toyota, where Kanban started, still uses this approach. It’s helped them cut inventory costs by 20%.

Common Problems and Fixes

Kanban in agile teams can be tricky. Here’s how to tackle common issues:

Change Resistance

Teams often struggle with new methods. To smooth things out:

Run Kanban workshops
Show how it improves work visibility
Start small: basic board, few columns

Work Limits

Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits are key, but tough to stick to. Try this:

Set clear column limits
Make limits visible
Discuss limit breaches in stand-ups

Work Blockages

Stuck work slows everything down. Here’s how to fix it:

Flag stuck items
Daily “blocker busting” sessions
Add a “blocked” column

Problem	Fix
Outdated board	Daily updates
Ignored WIP limits	Strict enforcement
No refinement	Regular sessions
Lack of feedback	Demo sessions
Quality issues	Define “Done” per column

Robert Chittenden from TXM Lean Solutions says:

“Check all kanban cards regularly. Missing one means missing parts when you need them.”

Tips for Kanban Success

To make Kanban work for your team, focus on these areas:

Always Look to Improve

Keep refining your process:

Review your board setup weekly
Ask team members about bottlenecks
Try new column arrangements

Spotify’s teams hold monthly “health check” meetings to spot areas for improvement in their Kanban boards.

Communicate Clearly

Open communication is crucial:

Use daily stand-ups to discuss board updates
Create a shared language for task statuses
Encourage questions about work in progress

Atlassian found teams using Kanban with clear communication rules finished tasks 23% faster than those without.

Get Leader Support

Leader buy-in matters:

Involve managers in Kanban planning
Ask leaders to champion WIP limits
Get executives to use Kanban for project tracking

Leader Action	Team Benefit
Attend stand-ups	Shows process importance
Respect WIP limits	Prevents team overload
Use Kanban for own tasks	Leads by example

Toyota, where Kanban started, credits strong leadership support for its successful use across the company.

“Leader involvement in Kanban isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. When leaders actively use and promote Kanban practices, teams are 3.5 times more likely to stick with the system long-term”, says David Anderson, creator of the Kanban Method.

Conclusion

Kanban has become a go-to tool for Agile teams. It’s all about visualizing work, spotting bottlenecks, and getting more done. Here’s what you need to know:

Kanban boards make work visible and help teams work smarter
It limits work in progress to match what teams can actually handle
The method fits well with existing processes and encourages constant improvement
Teams often mix Kanban with other Agile methods, like Scrum (called Scrumban)

The numbers don’t lie: 56% of teams use Kanban, and 27% use Scrumban. Kanban-based methods are clearly on the rise in Agile circles.

What’s Next for Kanban?

Kanban’s future in Agile looks bright:

1. Going digital

With more people working remotely, digital Kanban boards are taking off. They offer:

Work from anywhere
Better for spread-out teams
Play nice with other project tools

2. AI and machine learning

Kanban’s likely to be big in AI and machine learning development. Teams using it can:

Keep the focus on what customers want
Make sure AI is used responsibly
Roll with the punches as tech changes

3. Mixing it up

We’ll see more teams combining Kanban with other methods:

Mix	What it is	Why it’s good
Scrumban	Scrum + Kanban	Structure meets flexibility
Kanban + Design Thinking	Visual management meets user-focused design	Better understanding of users

Akshay Kothari, CPO of Notion, said about their Product Hunt launch: “The Product Hunt launch exceeded our wildest expectations and kickstarted our growth in ways we hadn’t anticipated.” It shows how Agile methods like Kanban can help teams handle unexpected success and growth.

FAQs

How is Kanban different from Scrum?

Kanban and Scrum are both Agile methods, but they’re not twins. Here’s the breakdown:

Aspect	Kanban	Scrum
Focus	Cutting project time	Sprinting through work chunks
Work flow	Non-stop	Fixed time boxes
Changes	Flexible	Stick to the sprint
Board use	Always evolving	Fresh start each sprint

Kanban teams use boards to see work and boost flow. Scrum teams sprint to deliver shippable bits.

What are the 5 key elements of a Kanban board?

David Anderson pinpointed these five Kanban board must-haves:

Visual signals
Columns
Work-in-progress limits
Commitment point
Delivery point

These help teams see work, manage flow, and spot bottlenecks.

What are the 5 rules of Kanban?

Plot twist: Kanban has 6 core practices, not 5:

Show the work
Cap work-in-progress (WIP)
Keep work flowing
Spell out policies
Set up feedback loops
Team up to improve, test to evolve

These practices keep Kanban teams on track and constantly improving.