Glossary: Kanban

Glossary: KANBAN

What is KANBAN?

There are multiple meanings of the word Kanban. Originally it means “a card”. To understand the process deeply, visualization and transparency are necessary. That’s the reason for having everything that needs to be done placed on the card. Kanban card.

In the software industry, Kanban is an agile framework for continuous development and delivery, moving a small number of tasks fluidly to completion.

What is LEAN?

Lean is a set of work management principles based on Japanese Management for achieving quality, speed, and customer satisfaction.

Lean focuses on waste reduction, improvement, respect. There are seven fundamental principles in Lean which are very important even in Lean Software Development:

  1. Eliminate waste
  2. Build Quality In
  3. Create Knowledge
  4. Defer Commitment
  5. Deliver Fast
  6. Respect People
  7. Optimize the Whole

What is QUEUING THEORY?

The waiting lines theory explains why traditional development is slow and how to speed it up. Simply to say, finishing work in progress first is better than having multiple tasks open at the same time.

What is WORK IN PROGRESS LIMIT?

The Work In Progress Limit (WIP limit) limits the work in progress to achieve faster delivery based on The Queuing Theory.

It is usually agreed upon by the development team before work begins. WIP is supported by agile tools as well to indicate when breakage of this principle can lead to slower delivery.

What is CUMULATIVE FLOW DIAGRAM?

The cumulative flow diagram (CFD) shows the progress of work items for a given time period split by a status of work items.

What is LEAD TIME?

The Lead Time starts when the request is created and ends at its delivery. It is the total duration of the existence of a work item from creation to completion. Do not change it with effort! It is the most important indicator of how well your process works.

It is used for predicting how big items should be and in which takt your team is able to deliver results.

scrumdesk lead cycle time kanban

What is CYCLE TIME?

A measure that elapses from the moment when work starts on an item until its completion. Simply to say, it is a duration between putting a card into In Progress column till Done column.