Kanban
Kanban is an increasingly popular tool in the software world. Kanban can be used in almost all types of existing organizations in order to shed light on and continuously improve the whole value chain, from defining customer need to successful delivery. The implementation of Kanban makes the organization more agile and facilitates the adoption of the more well-known principles of Lean Software Development, which make it possible to:
- Focus on flows with short lead times – “to finish things quickly”
- See the bottlenecks
- Handle ongoing reprioritizations
- Achieve just-in-time production (pull instead of push)
Can your company benefit from Kanban?
- Are you a project manager who has a hard time balancing resource utilization with regard to large and small demands from different customers, error corrections, technical upgrades, etc.?
- Do you have a client who operates in a fast-paced market and who needs to be able to quickly reprioritize his/her needs?
- Do you run a support operation and feel that your support cases are handled too slowly?
These are several examples of situations where Kanban could be of use.
Kanban Quickstart
Softhouse offers a package which consists of three steps which help our customers efficiently establish and maintain Kanban as an improvement motor in the organization:
1. Introduction
A one-day workshop for the purpose of introducing Kanban to an organization which has not previously tested the method. The workshop allows the users to gain an insight into what Kanban is, how it is used, and what advantages it gives to the organization.
2. Start-Up
We help your company, or a department in your company, get started with Kanban during a four-day session. We dedicate the first day to mapping the flow in a value chain with a simple Value Stream Map. We discuss together which parts of the flow we wish to render visible on the Kanban board, how different types of priority cases, error corrections, etc., should be made visible, as well as which boundaries for the work in progress should govern the various parts of the flow. We also establish certain important measurement data, which gives control over cycle times and the amount of work in progress. Finally, Softhouse chairs the first three meetings in front of the board, and also tries to find quick measures for trimming the flow.
3. Continuous Improvement
The implementation of Kanban in an organization signifies a change which should lead to continuous improvement. The achievement of continuous improvement requires, among other things, energy, patience and new ideas. Our consultants provide this as coaches in your organization after we have completed step 1 and step 2 above. Coaching is provided in short iterations (normally 2 weeks) and we evaluate the result together with the customer after each iteration. When the customers themselves feel that that they have achieved sufficient drive in their improvement motor, the last step of the package is concluded.
