Kanban Overview And Experience Report Export

Kanban Overview and Experience Report

David JoyceBBC Worldwide

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Kanban Overview

Kanban is a transparent, work-limited, value pulling system.

Eric Willeke - Kanbandev Yahoo! group

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Use a transparent method for viewing work, and organising the

team

Limit WIP and pull work when the team has capacity.

Stop Starting - Start Finishing!

Evolve from there by recognising bottlenecks, waste and variability that affect

performance

Start with what you do now.

Modify it slightly to implement pull

David Anderson3

Work in Process

Because we want to deliver new value quickly, we want to limit the amount of work that we take on at one time

We want to finish items before starting others

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Pull Work not Push

There is a queue of work, which goes through a number of stages until its done.

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Kanban Pull

Step 1 DoneStep 2 Step nBacklogIn

ProcessIn

ProcessIn

Process

Flow

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Kanban Pull With Limits

That looks very like a typical Agile Task Board.

However, there is one more important element which really defines a Kanban system - limits. 

There are two basic limitsWIP limits and Queue limits

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WIP Limits

Governs the maximum number of work items that can be in that state at any instant

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Queues and Queue Limits

A queue distinguishes work that is eligible to be pulled, from work that is still in process.

The queue allows for slack

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Queues and Limits

…

Step 1 DoneStep 2 Step n…BacklogQueue In

Process QueueIn

Process QueueIn

Process(3) (2)

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Leading Indicators

Agile development has long rallied around “inspect and adapt”.

Early agile methods built their feedback around velocity.

This is a trailing indicator.

With the regulating power of limits, it tells you about problems in your process, while you are experiencing the problem!

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Bottlenecks - Stall

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Bottlenecks - Vacant Space

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Kanban Workflow

We ensure the right work is done at the right time, rather than who is doing the work.

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New Kind of Standup

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A New Kind of Planning

Planning can be ‘de-coupled’

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Releasing

Releasing can be ‘de-coupled’

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Iterations

Iterative Development Without Iterations

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length

time

Retrospectives

We have more choice on when and how to reflect and improve

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De-Coupling

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Metrics

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Metrics are a tool for everybody

The team is responsible for its metrics

Metrics allow for continuous improvement

Red, Amber, Green is not enough.

Cumulative Flow

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Work Breakdown

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Kanban for Everyone

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Lean Decision Filter

1. Value trumps flow 

Expedite at the expense of flow to maximise value

2. Flow trumps waste elimination

Increase WIP, if required to maintain flow, even though it may add waste

3. Eliminate waste to improve efficiency 

Kanban Usage

26

Kanban

John Seddon - Freedom from Command & Control

Summary

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Experience Report

Eric Willeke - Kanbandev Yahoo! group

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Continually evolving...

Kanban began in one product

team in mid 2008

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Continually evolving...

Kanban began in one product

team in mid 2008

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Application Support

The Kanban “flu”soon spreads to

other teams

Application Support

Product Teams

The Kanban “flu”soon spreads to

other teams

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Application Support

Product Teams

Design Team

The Kanban “flu”soon spreads to

other teams

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Application Support

Product Teams

Design Team

COTS Team

The Kanban “flu”soon spreads to

other teams

34

Had looked at Agile before

small team sizes didn’t fit

specialisation

constant mix of new development & support

irregular release cadence

Now entering newterritory

35

Future Media & Technology!

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Future Media & Technology!

!"#$%&'()*

36

No Single Solution

Based on a set of principles

Better practice NOT best practice

Focus on Quality

Reduce WIP, Deliver Often

Balance Demand against Throughput

Prioritise

Recipe for success

David Anderson

Coupled with sound engineering practices and a team willing to reflect, adapt and

improve

Reduce variability

Statistical Control

Let the data tell you,what to do with the data

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Lead Time

Mean reduced from 22 to 14 days (33%)50% drop in the spread in variation.Each of the outliers were proved to be special cause.

Data split at financial year end and in July38

Development Time

Mean reduced from 9 to 3 days (67%)77% drop in the spread in variation.The major reduction factor has been to limit work in process.

Data split at financial year end and in July39

# Live Defects

Reduction in lead and cycle times, and increase in throughput are not at the expense of quality. Number of live bugs is within statistical control, and seeing a reduction since July.

Data split at end and in July40

# Days Blocked

Mean reduced from 25 to 5 days (81%)Large drop in the spread in variation.The outliers was proved to be special cause, waiting for a 3rd party. # blockers actually increased.

Data split at financial year end and in July41

Throughput

Upward trend. Rising to almost every working day.Expected as code base is decoupled, work items broken into MMFs, and cycle time reduces.

Scrum to Kanban

Engineering Time

Mean reduced from 10 to 4 days (60%)64% drop in the spread in variation.

Data split at end and in July

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Kanban

John Seddon - Freedom from Command & Control

Summary

Scrumban

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Scrumban is useful for existing Scrum teams, who are looking to improve their

scale or capability

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More information on Kanban

My blog http://leanandkanban.wordpress.com/

Kanban community site http://www.limitedwipsociety.org

Kanban for Software Engineering http://bit.ly/hz9Ju

Soon to be published academic paper on BBCW and Kanban case study

Thank you

John Seddon - Freedom from Command & Control

Questions?