Kanban Mean

The Japanese word kanban means “billboard” or “visual card,” which is a simple yet accurate way to describe the visual approach to the kanban methodology for managing work in manufacturing, project management and software development.

Kanban software takes the basic visual approach of a kanban board and cards and digitizes it so the workflow can be seen by the whole team. It makes organization easier and helps project managers and teams manage the workflow better.

Build plans with Gantt, then execute in kanban boards and track with dashboards.

What Does Kanban Mean?

The Japanese word kanban means “billboard” or “visual card,” which is a simple yet accurate way to describe the visual approach to the kanban methodology for managing work in manufacturing, project management and software development.

What Is Kanban?

Kanban is a workflow management method that allows project managers to visualize their team’s work on easy-to-use boards that facilitate the process of planning, scheduling and tracking work. By using kanban boards, project managers have full transparency in the task management process. The kanban methodology consists of kanban boards, kanban cards, principles and practices and is typically used to manage manufacturing and software development projects. However, it’s a versatile methodology that can be used to manage any type of work.

What Is a Kanban System?

A kanban system is defined as the framework that organizations use for the practical application of the kanban methodology. A kanban system might use either analog or software tools to help project managers create kanban boards.

Kanban software takes the basic visual approach of a kanban board and cards and digitizes it so the workflow can be seen by the whole team. It makes organization easier and helps project managers and teams manage the workflow better. The software fulfills the lean project management core practice of continuous improvement. Cutting waste and automating some aspects of the process through kanban board software features allows agile teams to focus on their activities.

ProjectManager is a kanban tool that does all this and more. Build automated workflows for your kanban processes and even work in different views. Build plans with Gantt, then execute in kanban boards and track with dashboards. It’s all in one powerful project and work management software. Get started for free.

kanban software with kanban board

History of Kanban

Kanban was developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota in the 1940s. It was originally a task management system to execute lean manufacturing. It was designed to improve the Toyota just-in-time (JIT) production system efficiency by limiting supplies and resources to what was needed for the immediate work items. Today, kanban boards are used in nearly every industry, most notably in agile software development.

The kanban method was originally created as a lean manufacturing tool to maximize production efficiency. Since then, it’s become a great task management tool for DevOps and agile teams and is used in different industries such as software development.

When Should You Use Kanban?

As we learned above, kanban is a methodology that was first invented to improve existing manufacturing processes. Kanban is commonly adopted by manufacturing organizations to improve their efficiency and profitability by improving their operations. However, kanban might also be used for managing software development and other types of projects from scratch.

How Does Kanban Work?

As stated, kanban is a set of principles, practices and tools that are used to manage projects and improve how teams work. Here’s an overview of each of the elements that make up the kanban methodology. By using these together, you can create a kanban system or framework for your organization.

Kanban Principles

Before we learn about kanban boards, kanban cards and WIP limits, let’s learn the principles of the kanban methodology.

Start with what you’re doing now: The first step when implementing kanban is to focus on what the organization is currently doing. Don’t make changes to your process immediately, but use kanban to visualize your current workflow and begin making improvements.

Changes occur organically over time and shouldn’t be rushed: One of the key aspects of kanban is the notion of continuous improvement, which consists of making small, incremental changes based on careful observation of workflows instead of making radical changes.

Respect current roles and responsibilities: Implementing the kanban methodology doesn’t require any change in the organizational structure of teams. Changes in roles and responsibilities might come as the continuous improvement process advances but aren’t part of the kanban methodology.

Encourage leadership from everyone: Kanban promotes a collaborative atmosphere where team members can suggest improvement opportunities to help keep the mandate of continuous improvement for maximizing efficiency.