Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business

274 Pages·2010·2.51 MB·English

by  David J. Anderson

Table of Contents

Praise for Kanban
Kanban
Foreword
Part One: Introduction
Chapter 1: Solving an Agile Manager’s Dilemma
My Search for Sustainable Pace
My Search for Successful Change Management
From Drum-Buffer-Rope to Kanban
Emergence of the Kanban Method
Kanban’s Community Adoption
The Value of Kanban is Counter-Intuitive
Takeaways
Chapter 2: What Is the Kanban Method?
What is a Kanban System?
Kanban as a Complex Adaptive System for Lean
Emergent Behavior with Kanban
Kanban as a Permission Giver
Takeaways
Part Two: Benefits of Kanban
Chapter 3: A Recipe for Success
Implementing the Recipe
Focus on Quality
Reduce Work-in-Progress and Deliver Often
WIP, Lead Time, and Defects
Who’s better?
Frequent Releases Build Trust
Tacit Knowledge
Balance Demand against Throughput
Create Slack
Prioritize
Influence
Building Maturity
Attack Sources of Variability to Improve Predictability
Recipe for Success and Kanban
Takeaways
Chapter 4: From Worst to Best in Five Quarters
The Problem
Visualize the Workflow
Factors Affecting Performance
Make Process Policies Explicit
Estimation Was a Waste
Limit Work-in-Progress
Implementing Changes
Adjusting Policies
Takeaways
Chapter 5: A Continuous Improvement Culture
Kaizen Culture
Kanban Accelerates Organizational Maturity and Capability
Sociological Change
Takeaways
Part Three: Implementing Kanban
Chapter 6: Mapping the Value Stream
Defining a Start and End Point for Control
Work Item Types
Drawing a Card Wall
Demand Analysis
Allocating Capacity According to Demand
Anatomy of a Work Item Card
Electronic Tracking
Setting Input and Output Boundaries
Coping with Concurrency
Coping with Unordered Activities
Takeaways
Chapter 7: Coordination with Kanban Systems
Visual Control and Pull
Electronic Tracking
Daily Standup Meetings
Release Planning Meetings
Triage
Issue Log Review and Escalation
Sticky Buddies
Synchronizing across Geographic Locations
Takeaways
Chapter 8: Establishing a Delivery Cadence
Transaction Costs of Delivery
Agreeing a Delivery Cadence
Improve Efficiency to Increase Delivery Cadence
Making On-Demand or Ad Hoc Deliveries
Takeaways
Chapter 9: Establishing an Input Cadence
Coordination Costs of Prioritization
Agreeing on a Prioritization Cadence
Efficiency of Prioritization
Transaction Costs of Prioritization
Improve Efficiency to Increase Prioritization Cadence
Making On-Demand or Ad Hoc Prioritization
Takeaways
Chapter 10: Setting Work-in-Progress Limits
Limits for Work Tasks
Buffer Bottlenecks
Input Queue Size
Unlimited Sections of Workflow
Don’t Stress Your Organization
Capacity Allocation
Takeaways
Chapter 11: Establishing Service Level Agreements
Typical Class-of-Service Definitions
Expedite
Fixed Delivery Date
Standard Class
Intangible Class
Policies for Class of Service
Expedite Policies
Fixed Delivery Date Policies
Standard Class Policies
Intangible Class
Determining a Service Delivery Target
Assigning a Class of Service
Putting Classes of Service to Use
Allocate Capacity to Classes of Service
Takeaways
Chapter 12: Metrics and Management Reporting
Tracking WIP
Due Date Performance
Throughput
Issues and Blocked Work Items
Flow Efficiency
Takeaways
Chapter 13: Scaling Kanban
Hierarchical Requirements
Decouple Value Delivery from Work Item Variability
Introducing Swim Lanes
Alternative Approach to Size Variability
Incorporating Classes of Service
Systems Integration
Managing Shared Resources
Takeaways
Chapter 14: Operations Review
Ante Meeting
Set a Business Tone from the Beginning
Inviting Guests Broadens the Audience and Adds Value
Main Agenda
Keystone of Lean Transition
Appropriate Cadence
Demonstrating the Value of Managers
Organizational Focus Fosters Kaizen
An Earlier Example
Takeaways
Chapter 15: Starting a Kanban Change Initiative
The Primary Goal for Our Kanban System
Secondary Goals for Our Kanban System
Know the Goals and Articulate the Benefits
Steps to Get Started
WIP Limits
Prioritization
Delivery/Release
Lead Time and Classes of Service
Takeaways
Part Four: Making Improvements
Chapter 16: Three Types of Improvement Opportunity
Bottlenecks, Waste Elimination, and Reduction of Variability
Theory of Constraints
Five Focusing Steps
Lean, TPS, and Waste Reduction
Deming and Six Sigma
Fitting Kanban to Your Company Culture
Takeaways
Chapter 17: Bottlenecks and Non-Instant Availability
Capacity-Constrained Resources
Elevation Actions
Exploitation/Protection Actions
Subordination Actions
Non-Instant Availability Resources
Exploitation/Protection Actions
Subordination Actions
Elevation Actions
Takeaways
Chapter 18: An Economic Model for Lean
Redefining “Waste”
Transaction Costs
Coordination Costs
How Do You Know if an Activity Is a Cost?
Failure Load
Takeaways
Chapter 19: Sources of Variability
Internal Sources of Variability
Work Item Size
Work Item Type Mix
Class-of-Service Mix
Irregular Flow
Rework
External Sources of Variability
Requirements Ambiguity
Expedite Requests
Irregular Flow
Environment Availability
Other Market Factors
Difficulty Scheduling Coordination Activity
Takeaways
Chapter 20: Issue Management and Escalation Policies
Managing Issues
Escalating Issues
Tracking and Reporting Issues
Takeaways
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Praise for Kanban

David’s work with Kanban Systems has been a significant influence on how I
approach software development and has changed the way I think about
processes. Rather than viewing work in terms of stories, points, and timeboxes, I
now see WIP, flow, and cadence. This book is a milestone in bringing this
perspective to a wider audience, and is a must-read for anyone looking for ways
of creating successful and sustainable development organizations.
—Karl Scotland Senior Practice Consultant, EMC Consulting

Kanban is a tricky subject to write on, since everyone’s implementation will be
tailored to their specific workflow and bottlenecks, but David manages to
provide a sound theoretical framework while maintaining a strict adherence to
practicality and real-world results.
—Chris Simmons Development Manager, Sophos

David Anderson’s book Kanban goes beyond the introductory level of how
kanban drives change, and provides clear explanation of the nuts and bolts,
giving rich examples and practical tips. Kanban for knowledge work powerfully
supports the emerging trend of autonomy in the workplace, one of the most
exciting management developments of our time.
—Christina Skaskiw Agile coach

Best new change methodology I have seen for software in the last ten years.
—David A. Bulkin Vice President, Lithespeed, LLC
Kanban

Successful Evolutionary Change
for Your Technology Business
David J. Anderson

Sequim, Washington
Blue Hole Press
72 Buckhorn Road
Sequim, WA 98382
www.blueholepress.com
Copyright © 2010 by David J. Anderson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
applied for; available at www.loc.gov
ISBN: 978-0-9845214-2-9 (e-pub)
Cover art copyright © 2010 by Pujan Roka
Cover photo copyright © 2010 by Laurence Cohen
Cover and interior design by Vicki L. Rowland
Photos on page 12 used with permission, Thomas Blomseth
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