19 May 2013

Kanban-based Project Management

Did you comment on that last article? Has anyone de-bugged that yet? Where’s that design? Has anyone even started the architecture? How about the next steps on the latest partnership? Trying to keep an eye on where everyone on the team is at, what’s been accomplished or even started is a continuous challenge in nearly development environment, whether you’re making cars or apps.

Kanban is a solution used by thousands around the world to answer these questions in a simple and straightforward manner. Developed in Japan as a tool for inventory management, the term kanban translates to “signboard”. A fundamental precept is the idea of the three-bin system, which evolved to represent “To Do”, “Doing”, and “Done”.

Many companies no longer work in one place, but instead have branches throughout the world. For example, a team might be working on a project where all members are located in different places. Distributed teams have become an increasingly popular phenomenon. These dispersed work environments require strong structure and implementing some rituals alongside with powerful and convenient tools for organising their teamwork online where all members of a team has a visual sign of what they need to do and what others are doing.

Here comes kanban!

Teamwork effectiveness is estimated by the time it takes a team to complete the task and by value produced. Kanban method is based on visualising processes of producing value. It takes the form of a kanban board with columns that represent stages needed to achieve the final goal. Kanban cards represent specific tasks.

With kanban board project management gets way easier as all team members know what project team roles they have, who needs to do what, and when. Moving a card across the columns brings transparency and makes it easier to track progress throughout a project. It becomes obvious that Steve completed task “x” on day “y” and anyone in the process can see that. Furthermore they can see if it isn’t done and what questions or comments he may have.

Although the popularity of kanban in the area of non-manufacturing started nearly a decade ago, it continued to be commonly implemented in the traditional way with boards and cards. At the time no extensive selection of kanban project management software existed, however the concept has been gaining fans due to its simplicity and effectiveness. If you are currently looking for new ways to approach project management kanban is what you might want to try.

Kanban-based Project Management with Kanbanchi

Kanbanchi was designed as an online kanban project management tool. Many companies simply share documents in Google Drive, although better than nothing, a shared document is static and teams run the risk of communication failures. Kanbanchi is fully integrated with Google Drive making it simple to start using, easy to access, and available on any device. Use something besides Google Drive, don’t worry, you can still enjoy Kanbanchi!

Kanbanchi is a place where you can view your work dynamically as it evolves, changes, and progresses from step to step. An online kanban board can be shared with your team in real time. This not only allows you to see whether the task is done or not, but also what stage the task is at now, who’s responsible for it, and what problems or comments have been made by your colleagues about this task.

If you are looking for project management software, you might consider trying a kanban-based one. Kanbanchi offers several features to help you keep the project workflow on track.