Different software approaches offer flexibility in different ways and offer specific needs, however, Agile methodologies, particularly Kanban, are generally considered the leaders in providing teams with the flexibility they need for project delivery.
Kanban is a methodology that is designed to manage and optimise workflow in a flexible and visual way, built on a philosophy of continuous improvement. Items are “pulled” from a product backlog into a workflow, providing a visual way to represent items of work.
Project planning in Kanban
With an emphasis on continuous improvement, Kanban is an iterative approach that will adapt to the changing needs of your project. Before you start planning your project, you’ll need to define clear objectives which can help you prioritise tasks and track progress.
Using Kanban boards will help you transform the way you manage your work, offering your team complete transparency, collaboration, and accountability.
During your project planning meeting, you and your team need to make sure you follow best practices in order to successfully deliver your project.
1. Identify and prioritise
Break down your project into smaller, manageable tasks using a prioritisation framework so that you can rank tasks based on their impact and effort.
2. Visualise your workflow
Create a Kanban board with columns representing each stage. At Koderly, we use “To Do”, “Refined”, “Doing”, “Done”, “Deployed”. It can be helpful to define a Definition of Done for each column.
3. Limited Work in Progress (WIP)
Make sure that you set limits for each stage, so that your workflow can run smoothly by allowing the developers to focus on a small number of cards and see them through to completion.
4. Pull instead of push
Once the tasks are ready for development, they should be chosen when team members have capacity, making sure that the critical tasks are picked up first. Communicate as a team to make sure everyone is aware of the team’s capacity and where cards are up to.
5. Monitor and adapt
Review your board, prioritise tasks, and adjust WIP limits when needed.
Benefits of using Kanban
Increased efficiency and flow
Tasks move steadily and are released when they are ready, which reduces bottlenecks and shortens lead times.
Enhanced transparency and collaboration
The Kanban board provides the team with a real-time overview of progress and dependences, which will spark communication and problem-solving.
Flexibility and adaptability
Quickly adapt to changes by adding, removing, or moving cards on the board based on the business needs. This is especially useful when priorities change, or new developments are required.
Continuous improvement
Regular Kanban board reviews and retrospectives will help you optimise the . For example, we adjust our release plans, reprioritise cards, and discuss improvement to our processes during a retrospective.
Conclusion
Kanban is an effective tool for agile development, allowing you to adapt your board to your requirements and providing the flexibility to continuously improve your process as time goes on.
There are lots of free tools out there for you to start your Kanban board, you just need to find the right one for you!
If you don’t think Kanban is the best process for your Agile development, take a look at our blog “Effective scrum sprint planning in agile development”.
Looking for an external development team to pick up your project? Head to our software development page for more information or contact us today!
