Kanban means a visual card in the Japanese language and is a framework that assists in work management. In addition, it is used to implement agile and DevOps software development. Above all, it helps in improving the product and services delivery quality and requires transparency and real-time communication. The Kanban system consists of six major types that are as follows.
- Production Kanban- It deals with the kind and quantity of product that must be processed.
- Withdrawal Kanban- It deals with the movement of items and components.
- Supplier Kanban- It lets companies include suppliers as part of the system.
- Emergency Kanban- It is concerned with unexpected situations that require immediate attention.
- Express Kanban- It deals with the problems that need an immediate solution.
- Through Kanban- This is a combination of production and withdrawal Kanban.
Features Of Kanban
Kanban focuses on completing the task instead of starting it. In addition, it consists of no prescribed roles and comes with visual metrics. These visual metrics help in knowing about the quality of a growing product and identifying the pace of development. Moreover, there are several Kanban System Design KMP-1 Training Institute in Delhi that provide courses in it. Apart from these, here are some of the features of Kanban.
- Provides Transparency in Workflow- Kanban ensures proper visualization of various stages in a workflow. In addition, it also lets a user bring transparency to specific activities. This transparency helps in finding issues and problems in a workflow and prevents them from damaging the entire work process.
- Ensures Customer Satisfaction- One of the most significant features of this system is that it only starts work when there is a real demand for it. This results in enhancing customer satisfaction. In addition, it is also useful in removing excess waste from the work process. Moreover, the final product given to the customer is refined and fit to use.
- Speeds Up Work Process- This system enhances the flow efficiency by executing things faster without much stress. However, a user first needs to remove wasteful activities to achieve flow efficiency. Above all, it lets a user track the flow efficiency by allowing them to see what tasks are generating waste and then act according to it.
- Provides Self Organization- Kanban system ensures Self Organization delivers a product to the customer without using strict organizational policies. In addition, this helps a team in knowing what each member has to do without having to be constantly told and results in increasing the throughput levels.
- Supports Team Morale- Kanban promotes incremental improvement that helps in getting immediate customer feedback after the team finishes its task. It further, relieves team members from getting out burdened as it is capable of eradicating the problem of context switching.
What Makes Kanban Unique
Kanban has a flexible and visual nature which is unlike the common project management tools. Moreover, these can be customized and modified according to the requirements. Above all, Kanban acts as a platform capable of answering countless questions about work. if used in an effective way. Due to its significant features, this tool has various uses for IT managers and software development teams. Given below are some of the aspects that make Kanban a unique platform.
- The steps in a process are represented by the vertical lanes. In addition, these vertical lanes can add to represent a particular step in the work process.
- It further consists of cards that represent work items. Moreover, these cards move from left to right in a process.
- Card details like card types and custom icons help in communicating information such as work type and work status.
- Process policies are beneficial in defining how cards move in aboard.
- The pull approach refers to the situation of pulling work just when it is ready. It helps in reducing waiting time and prevents work from piling up.
Benefits Of Using Kanban
This tool was developed with the primary objective to clarify the work process, improve the workflow and ensure more efficiency and effectiveness in the work. They are useful for an organization in staying aligned and focused, collaborating more effectively & delivering real value. It is a very beneficial framework and has various job opportunities. Moreover, one can look for Kanban System Design KMP-1 Online Certification to make a career in it. Above all, due to Kanban’s features, this tool has been widely adopted by all types of organizations and teams. Given below are some of the benefits of using the Kanban System.
- Provides Better Visibility- Kanban system provides better visibility by letting a user see how are the tasks moving in a process.
- Increases Team Focus- It doesn’t allow new tasks into the process before finishing the old ones. Thus, helps in increasing the team focus by allowing them to focus on a single task.
- Increases Productivity- As Kanban focuses on finishing work rather than starting work, it automatically increases productivity and efficiency.
- Improves Collaboration- It improves collaboration by performing various tasks such as organizing the priorities of the day. In addition, the Kanban Meetings allow the stakeholders to exchange useful info and data.
- Reduces Waste- Waste is any action that uses resources and doesn’t add any value. Above all, this system helps in reducing such waste by reducing waiting time idle tasks.
- Provides Flexibility- It lets a user swiftly respond to your customers’ needs and competitors’ actions. In addition, it ensures the flexibility of building a competitive advantage.
- More Predictability- This tool assists a company in making data-driven decisions. However, to track the historical data a user needs to use third-party tools like nave. It results in making accurate estimates about the future delivery dates.
Conclusion
Kanban is a visual system that helps in work management. It consists of six major types that are production Kanban, Withdrawal Kanban, Supplier Kanban, Emergency Kanban, Express Kanban, and Through Kanban. In addition, its basic functions include visualizing the workflow, limiting WIP, and measuring the lead time. Above all, this is a flexible tool that ensures better collaboration and helps in improving focus and efficiency. In conclusion, it helps in unifying the distributed teams and reducing waste.
