Project management is easier said than done. It requires extensive strategic planning and continuous progress review to identify issues and implement solutions. However, the Lean Kanban methodology helps to simplify this process.
This method can help you organize your projects, assign tasks to team members, and gain insights into performance without spending too much time. The organized arrangement of tasks and the details do the work for you!
This article describes lean kanban, gives examples to elaborate on the concept, and provides a process for creating it using a simple tool.
In this article
What Is Lean Kanban?
A Lean Kanban is a project management approach combining Lean principles with Kanban's visual task management system. The lean method was originally introduced for manufacturing in Japan after WWII by the engineers Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda. The aim was to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process, reduce waste, and streamline the production process.
The five principles of a lean kanban include:
- Identify value: Define what delivers value to the customer.
- Map the value stream: Outline all steps in the process and identify what is not needed.
- Create flow: Ensure tasks move smoothly through the production process.
- Establish a pull system: Create tasks based on demand rather than forecasting.
- Strive for continuous improvement: Continuously refine and improve processes.
Combining these principles, the lean kanban methodology maximizes value by minimizing waste while organizing tasks in a visual workflow to improve efficiency. Due to its effectiveness, Lean Kanban is widely used across various sectors to optimize project workflows.
Lean Kanban Examples
Since lean kanban can be used for multiple reasons, to make one that suits your requirements needs careful evaluation and understanding of the project you are working on.
Here, I have listed three examples of lean Kanban boards that you can utilize for managing multiple projects:
Lean Kanban for managing projects
This lean kanban board is a good illustration of visually organized projects. To Do, This Week, In Progress, and Done columns cover the elongated period where you can manage your projects' progress and due dates.
This is an all-in-one template that you can use for projects as a marketing manager, sales or development head, content manager, etc. To use it, you need only replace the text for all these cards with your project details. You can also add or remove cards according to your requirements.
Lean Kanban for mobile app development
A Kanban board for a mobile app development project is ideal for software developers. It has four columns with three cards each for adding the details of multiple project processes. The template also allows you to add more columns and cards.
Developers, project managers, content creators, teachers, and students can also use this for their software-related projects.
Lean Kanban for marketing projects
Marketing projects have many details to cover; when presented visually, there is less chance of missing anything. The board, with four columns covering steps from ideas to completion, gives you a starting point for organizing the project.
You can duplicate the board template and add your details if you have multiple projects aligned. This template is beneficial for marketing managers, experts, and students.
Why Use a Lean Kanban?
Lean kanban can positively affect your team’s performance and can get you the following benefits:
- Improved visibility: By providing a clear visual representation of tasks and workflows, team members get a transparent view of what is being worked on, what is completed, and what is pending.
- Increased efficiency: By implementing lean principles, team members can identify and eliminate unnecessary steps, delays, and redundancies. This leads to a more efficient workflow, allowing tasks to move through the process faster.
- Enhanced focus: With Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits, Lean Kanban reduces task switching and enables team members to concentrate on completing tasks before starting new ones.
- Flexibility and adaptability: Lean Kanban is inherently flexible, so you can adjust your team's processes and priorities in response to changing project demands. This adaptability is particularly valuable in dynamic environments where project scopes and requirements may evolve.
- Better collaboration: Due to the visual nature of lean kanban, everyone on the team can see their progress in tasks and quickly identify areas where they need to collaborate or assist each other.
- Data-driven decisions: Lean Kanban allows you to track metrics like cycle time and lead time so you can understand your team’s performance and optimize workflows based on evidence rather than assumptions.
- Customer-centric approach: Through lean kanban methodology, you can align your tasks and processes with customer value and increase customer loyalty and satisfaction.
How to Create A Kanban
EdrawMind is an easy-to-use mind mapping and project management tool that offers Kanban capabilities. With this simple tool and powerful features, you can create and customize your Kanban boards and visualize your workflow easily.
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Here’s how this tool can enhance your Kanban experience:
- User-friendly interface: EdrawMind’s clean, visual layout makes it easy to drag and drop tasks, customize columns, and adjust your board to fit your workflow.
- Customizable Kanban boards: You can set up columns to reflect your unique stages—like To Do, In Progress, and Done—or add more specific stages such as Review or Testing.
- Task management features: EdrawMind enables you to add task descriptions and deadlines and assign members to each card, so all information is readily available to team members.
- Visual enhancements: Use colors, icons, and tags to categorize and prioritize tasks, helping you and your team identify high-priority items at a glance.
- Collaboration tools: With EdrawMind, multiple users can access and edit the board, making it easy to stay updated and aligned on task progress.
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