Kanban Method: An Alternative Path to Agility

dja@leankanban.com @lki_dja Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.
Kanban
follow your own path to agility
Evolve your own
unique process!
What is Kanban?
How do you implement it?
What are the benefits?
Scrum Gathering China
Hangzhou, October 2016

Bruce Lee’s Journey in Martial Arts

Bruce Lee rejected traditional teaching and
styles of Chinese martial arts
There are some parallels in
the story of Bruce Lee and the
emergence of his approach to
Kung Fu
Lee rejected the idea of
following a particular style of
Chinese Martial Arts

Snake
Monkey
Mantis
Tiger
Kung Fu Panda simplified the art to only four
styles

There are in fact very many styles…

“Dry land swimming” provides a false sense of
capability
The only way to learn is to train with a live opponent
Lee rejected the many styles of martial arts for various reasons,
mainly that they gave the practitioners a false sense of
capability, putting them at risk in real combat situations
He was against Kata (learning patterns without an opponent)
and described them in derogatory terms such as "dry land
swimming.“

Kanban rejects the idea of defined Agile
“methodologies”!

Lee wanted to start from first principles and
core concepts
Four ranges of combat
• Kicking
• Punching
• Trapping
• Grappling
*Apparently still called the Five Ways, there are actually now six **with the later inclusion of SAA
**The fact that The Five Ways has six elements is evidence of evolution in action
***Incorporated core ideas such as "center line" and single fluid motion from Wing Chun and parrying from Epee Fencing****
****Not a Chinese Martial Art and hence evidence of "no limitation as limitation"
Five* Ways of Attack***
• Single Direct Attack (SDA)
• Attack By Combination (ABC)
• Progressive Indirect Attack
(PIA)
• (Hand) Immobilization Attack
(HIA)
• Attack by Drawing (ABD)
• Single Angle Attack (SAA)

Lee’s approach still needed a name
He named his approach
Jeet Kune Do - the way of the
intercepting fist - after one of
the practices taught in his
method
He was quick to point out that it
was just a name, a way of
communicating a set of ideas.
He was passionate that
practitioners shouldn't get hung
up on the name or the inclusion
of any one move or action.

Kanban is just a name!
The Kanban Method is named
for use of kanban systems
- a single practice within a wider
philosophy

Jeet Kune Do
Using no
way as way
Having no
limitation as
limitation

Jeet Kune Do encourages development of a
uniquely personal style
a framework from
which to pick &
develop a personal
style
an evolutionary
approach where
adoption of
maneuvers is learned
& reinforced by
training with an
opponent
Nothing was sacred
"absorb that which is
useful“
discard the remainder

Training with an opponent provides the core
feedback loop to drive adaptation
Lee pursued ever
more elaborate
approaches to
protected real
combat training to
enable the closed
loop learning that
was core to the
evolutionary
nature of JKD

Kata are not adaptive
In comparison with JKD, patterned styles of martial arts
taught with "kata" were open loop and not adaptive.
There is no adaptation of style from practicing kata.
Instead you must follow the style precisely.

Kanban – follow your own path to agility!
Kanban is the Agile method
with a “methodology”!
There is no defined Kanban
Process!

What is a kanban system?
(かんばん)

A Kanban Systems consists of
“kanban” (かんばん) signal cards in
circulation

Kanban has two meanings
Kanban has two meanings in Japanese. Both meanings
are incorporated into the Kanban Method
Kanban written in Kanji (Chinese characters) 看板 means
“visual (or sign) board”
Kanban written in Japanese alphabet, hiragana (at
Toyota), かんばん means signal card(s)
In Chinese, only the 看板 version exists. It is usually
interpreted as a verb “looking at the board”
Visualization of invisible work is useful but it is the Toyota
signal card system that is most interesting and most
influential in changing how we work!

The Kanban Method
– an alternative path to agility!

Kanban Method
“a 2nd Generation Agile Method”
A “meta” approach intended to drive improved
agility without replacing your existing way of working
Not a Defined Process (or SDLC)
1st Generation Agile Methods are designed to replace
existing ways of working with a new way
Kanban is designed to enhance your existing way of
working, even when that existing way is Scrum (or
another 1st Generation Agile method)

The Kanban Method
Simple Underlying Principles
1. Intangible Goods (professional services)
businesses can be managed like physical, tangible
goods businesses
2. Represent intangible goods with tangible artifacts
3. Make invisible work & workflows visible
4. Control & limit inventory of intangible goods

The Kanban Method
Service Delivery Principles
1. Understand and focus on your customers’ needs and
expectations
2. Manage the work, let people self-organize around it
3. Evolve your management policies to improve
customer & business outcomes

Seeing Services
Learn to view what you do now as a set of services.
Don’t reorg, just see things differently!
Examples:
HR provides services throughout the organization, but they
also need services from IT
Marketing provides services to product development but they
need services from Sales and from IT
IT provides services to Customer Support. There is an
interdependency between Customer Support, QA, and IT
Engineering.
Different feature teams or product teams may have
dependencies on each other
Many groups are dependent upon specialist individuals

F
F
O
M
N
K
J
I
Pull
For each service implement a Kanban “pull” system
Ideas
D
Dev
Ready
G
5
Ongoing
Development Testing
Done
3 3
Test
Ready
5
F
B
CPull
Pull
*
There is capacity here
UAT
Release
Ready
∞ ∞
Pulling work from development will
create capacity here too –
the pull signals move upstream!
Now we have capacity
to replenish our ready
buffer
Kanban has been called
“Iterationless” Agile. Batches of
work are replaced with
continuous flow of work

Commitment is deferred
E
D
Commitment point
F
F
FF
F
F F
G
Pull
Wish to avoid aborting after commitment
Ideas
Dev
Ready
5
Ongoing
Development Testing
Done
3 3
Test
Ready
5
UAT
Release
Ready
∞ ∞
We are committing to getting
started. We are certain we want
to take delivery.
Ideas remain optional and
(ideally) unprioritized
Kanban implements the Lean
principle of “just in time”
through the practice of deferred
commitment

Test
Ready
F
F
FF
F
F F
Decoupled Cadence Improved Optionality
EG
D
Replenishment
Discarded
I
Pull
Ideas
Dev
Ready
5
Ongoing
Development Testing
Done
3 35
UAT
Release
Ready
∞ ∞
The frequency of system replenishment
should reflect arrival rate of new
information and the transaction &
coordination costs of holding a meeting
Lead time
The frequency of delivery should
reflect the transaction & coordination
costs of deployment plus costs &
tolerance of customer to take delivery
Delivery
For software development skill in
configuration management is an
enabling capability for Kanban

Agility = Capability x Optionality
Skills
Experience
Capacity
# Options x Frequency of decision making

Test
Ready
Flow Efficiency
F
E
I
G
D
GY
PB
DE MN
P1
AB
Customer Lead Time
Waiting Waiting WaitingWorking
* Zsolt Fabok, Lean Agile Scotland, Sep 2012, Lean Kanban France, Oct 2012
** Hakan Forss, Lean Kanban France, Oct 2013
Ideas
Dev
Ready
5
Ongoing
Development Testing
Done
3 35
UAT
Release
Ready
∞ ∞
Flow efficiency measures
the percentage of total lead
time is spent actually
adding value (or
knowledge) versus waiting
Flow efficiency % = Work Time x 100%
Lead Time
Flow efficiencies of 1-5% are
commonly reported. *, **
> 40% is good!
Working WaitingWorking
Multitasking means time spent in
working columns is often waiting
time

Waiting Waiting WaitingWorking Working WaitingWorking
Test
Ready
Implications of low Flow Efficiency
F
E
I
G
D
GY
PB
DE MN
P1
AB
Ideas
Dev
Ready
5
Ongoing
Development Testing
Done
3 35
UAT
Release
Ready
∞ ∞
Low flow efficiency means that most of lead
time is influenced by environmental factors
that are unlikely to change soon
Customer Lead Time
In a low flow
efficiency
environment, Class of
service is much more
likely to influence lead
time than any other
factor
As a result, lead time is
not very sensitive to the
size or complexity of a
single work item, or to
the specific people
involved or their
individual capabilities

Fragile lead time distribution
Weibull, k=0.8
Mode < 1
Median = 6
Mean = 9
Tail = 55
3 outliers > 55
High value = 77
High value = 100 x Mode
Typical of IT operations work or
very low organizational
maturity and capability
software development

More Robust Lead Time
Mode = 10
Median = 11
Mean = 12
Tail = 60
2 outliers > 60
High value = 105
High value = 10 x Mode
Typical of higher organizational maturity & capability software
development with Kanban.
Scrum teams often produce kappa ~= 1.2
Increased “focus” from WIP limits with Kanban improves shape,
shifting it right (up)
This is more desirable – shorter tail = more predictable

Delivery Capability has 3 Dimensions
Service Delivery
Agility
Commitment
frequency
Lead Time
Delivery
Frequency
LeadTime
Short
Long
Delivery
Service Delivery Agility
Commitment
Frequent
Seldom
Frequent
Seldom
More
Agile
Less
Agile
Kanban system dynamics

Avg. Lead Time
Avg. Delivery RateWIP
Pool
of
Ideas
Ready
To
Deliver
Little’s Law
Delivery Rate
(from the kanban system)
System Lead Time
WIP
=Delivery rate (or “velocity”) is
another measure of capability

When should we commit?
impact
When we
need it
Zone of
possible
delay cost
If we
start
here
Commitment point
timeJan
10
Nov
11
To consider the best time to
start something we can
examine the probable
opportunity lost by
multiplying the lead time
probability distribution
function against the Delivery
Delay Cost function.
By sliding the lead time
distribution across the
Delivery Delay Cost we can
compare the Probable Delay
Costs for a delay in starting

The Optimal Time to Start
impact
When we
need it
85th
percentile
Ideal Start
Here
Commitment point
If we start too early, we
forgo the option and
opportunity to do
something else that may
provide value.
If we start too late we risk
incurring the cost of delay
With a 6 in 7 chance of
on-time delivery, we can
always expedite to insure
on-time delivery

Discovery Kanban Prepares Options
Ready
for
Engin-
eering
F
I
Comm-
itted
D
4 Ongoing
Development
Done
3
J
K
12
Testing
Verification
3
L
Commitment point
4 -
Requi-
rements
Analysis
2412 -
Risk
Analysis
4824 -
Pool
of
Ideas
∞
Min & Max limits
ensure sufficient
options are always
available
Committed WorkOptions
Discarded
O
Reject
P Q
$$$ spent acquiring options
$$$ spent converting options
Embedded Options
Done
Delivery KanbanDiscovery Kanban

Roles
Ready
for
Engin-
eering
F
I
Comm-
itted
D
4 Ongoing
Development
Done
3
J
K
12
Testing
Verification
3
L
Commitment point
4 -
Requi-
rements
Analysis
2412 -
Risk
Analysis
4824 -
Pool
of
Ideas
∞
Service Delivery ManagerService Request Manager
Discarded
O
Reject
P Q
Marshals Options Manages Flow
Done

The Kanban Method
Change Management Principles
1. Start with what you do now
 Understanding current processes, as actually practiced
 Respecting existing roles, responsibilities & job titles
2. Gain agreement to pursue improvement through
evolutionary change
3. Encourage acts of leadership at all levels

The Kanban Method
General Practices
1. Visualize (with a kanban board 看板)
2. Limit work-in-progress (with kanban かんばん)
3. Manage flow
4. Make policies explicit
5. Implement feedback loops
6. Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally
(using models & the scientific method)

Strategy
Review
Risk
Review
Monthly
Service
Delivery
Review
Bi-WeeklyQuarterly
Kanban
Meeting
Daily
Operations
Review
Monthly
Replenishment/
Commitment
Meeting
Weekly
Delivery
Planning
Meeting
Per delivery cadence
change change
change
change
change
change
change change
change
info
info
info
info
info
info
info
info
info
change info
Kanban Cadences
Focus on Service DeliveryService Delivery Set
Improvement/Evolutionary Set

The Essence of Kanban in Action

Survivability = Agility x Adaptability
Capability x Optionality
Capability
(to manage change)
Frequency of change opportunitiesx
Skills
Experience
Org maturity

Capability
OptionalityAdaptability
Agility
Survivability
Out-maneuvered
Unfit for purpose
failure
failure
Fragile
Easily disrupted
Robust
Antifragile
Evolutionary
Capability

Conclusions

Capability
Delivered as
management training
& coaching
Focus on managers at
all levels
Business unit scale
Horizontal
Applicable to all
professional services
(not just IT)

Capability
Typical Agile
Method
Delivered as
methodologies,
process improvement
& coaching
Focus on individuals
and teams
Vertical
Tends to be IT, or
software engineering
specific

Conclusions
Kanban can improve the agility of any existing
process
Kanban installs a continuous improvement capability
across the organization
Kanban can be used to enhance Scrum
Kanban can help challenged or failed Scrum
implementations
Kanban works in circumstances where time-boxed
methods are inappropriate or problematic

Conclusions
1st Generation Agile methods such as Scrum help you
adapt to changing requirements by improving
optionality
Kanban also helps you adapt to changing economic,
political and business conditions by installing a
capability for continuous improvement and process
change management in your organization

The future of creative work should be inspired by
the philosophy of Bruce Lee
Our opponents are uncertainty & risk.
Engage directly
Visualize & make them explicit with a
Kanban board
Start with what you do now, make
small changes, evolve your capability
Evolutionary methods are required to
help us respond to complex changing
external circumstances
Your own unique path to agility will
serve you better than a defined
process
Your capability to evolve will make you
robust to uncertain circumstances

Thank you!

About
David Anderson is an innovator in
management of 21st Century
businesses that employ creative
people who “think for a living” . He
leads a training, consulting,
publishing and event planning
business dedicated to developing,
promoting and implementing new
management thinking & methods…
He has 30+ years experience in the high technology industry
starting with computer games in the early 1980’s. He has
led software organizations delivering superior productivity
and quality using innovative methods at large companies such
as Sprint and Motorola.
David defined Enterprise Services Planning and originated
Kanban Method an adaptive approach to improved service
delivery. His latest book, published in June 2012, is, Lessons
in Agile Management – On the Road to Kanban.
David is Chairman of Lean Kanban Inc., a business operating
globally, dedicated to providing quality training & events to
bring Kanban and Enterprise Services Planning to businesses
who employ those who must “think for a living.”

Fragile Lead time distribution data courtesy Andreas Bartel, Hamburg,
Germany
Robust Lead time distribution data courtesy of an anonymous client in China
Acknowledgements

Appendices

Books

2010 – Kanban “blue book”

2012 Lessons in Agile Management
The heavily under-rated book
that underpins the Kanban
Coaching Masterclass and most
of the theory behind the
Kanban Method

2014 Kanban from the Inside

Kanban Method: An Alternative Path to Agility

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (13)

Ähnlich wie Kanban Method: An Alternative Path to Agility

Ähnlich wie Kanban Method: An Alternative Path to Agility (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Kanban Method: An Alternative Path to Agility

Hinweis der Redaktion