“Kanban” is a term quite familiar to those who are team managers, working in teams. Setting up a Kanban board is the ideal model to capture work progress. So What is Kanban? so effective? And what benefits will the application of Kanban method in work management bring?
Kanban system
The application of Kanban in work management will bring long-term effectiveness. So What is Kanban? or how to set up the Kanban board properly will be answered shortly.
What is Kanban? Related Concepts
Terms "Kanban” comes from Japan, in which the word “Kan” means sight and the word “ban” means a card. So What is Kanban?? Kanban is known as visual card in Japanese. However, in economics, this is known as the “Kanban Method of Management”. This method is applied by the Japanese in jobs related to production and engineering management to remind employees of the work to be done.
There are also other concepts that you need to know, some typical concepts when planning to build a Kanban system are:
What is Kanbban board? Kanban board is a tool for visualizing work. The Kanban board consists of columns corresponding to the status of the task and cards representing the tasks. Each job when in any state is classified in the corresponding column. We can use a physical board or a software that supports Kanban.
What is Kanban Card? A Kanban card is an image that represents a work item. Translated from Japanese, it literally means visual card. This is the core element of the Kanban system because it represents work that has been requested or is in progress. The Kanban card contains valuable information about the task and its status, such as summary of tasks, responsible person, deadline, etc.
How is the Kanban method built?
Kanban method is built and used in management work based on the following principles:
- The job details will be passed from the first stage to the next steps.
- Work will not be able to start without receiving the Kanban.
- The boxes on the production line must have a Kanban card that clearly shows information about product details, place of manufacture, destination and quantity.
- Each container or tray contains the correct quantity specified.
- Details or scraps are not handed over to the next stage.
- The lead time between deliveries and the number of Kanbans needs to be shortened.
4 principles of the Kanban system
To achieve the results as expected by users, Kanban method It works according to the following four principles:
- Work visualization
Using Kanban boards is an effective way to bring a visual perspective to work. So the table What is Kanban?? The Kanban board shows the columns corresponding to the job status. There are two commonly used forms of Kanban boards, physical boards and Kanban-enabled software like Trello.
- Limit Work In Progress (Limit WIP - Limit Work In Progress)
Kanban columns are allocated according to different states, which means that each state will have limited work in it. This principle is to limit the unfinished work in the working process, minimizing the time each job is set up through the Kanban system.
- Focus on the workflow
Applying the WIP limitation principle of Kanban will help develop group orientations. Helping the team to optimize the Kanban system, improve the work flow more smoothly.
- Continuous improvement
Work progress is effectively measured by monitoring quality, product completion time, etc., from there, providing analysis and testing to change the system in a positive direction.
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5 Benefits of applying the Kanban method properly
As answered the question "What is Kanban??” In the above content, many people have been oriented to work with Kanban effectively. So, specifically, what are the benefits of the Kanban method?
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Flexible planning
For work that has been split by column in the table Kanban, each group will only collect pages to do only one assigned work item. Once completed, the next task is assigned to the work in progress column. This means that the employer can push the previous backlog work without affecting the job performance. Everything will be fine as long as the operator keeps the important work items in the job.
Optimizing duty cycle time
Work cycle time is the amount of time it takes for a piece of work to go through the team workflow. With the principle of optimizing the time of each cycle, the manager will be able to predict the next division of work. In addition, the Kanban characteristic does not develop on an individual basis, causing bottlenecks in the operation process if performed poorly. Teams working under Kanban will have to be responsible for supporting and exchanging skills with each other, ensuring equality between each person and homogeneity in work.
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Minimize congestion
While applying the Kanban method will make it easy to multitask, it can bring about inefficiencies at work. This is also the reason why Kanban has the principle of limiting the amount of work done (WIP).
Therefore, using this limiting principle will increase the amount of backup time and reduce bottlenecks in the team's work.
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Visual figures
What are the benefits of “Visual metrics” when applying Kanban? Visual metrics are core values focused on improving efficiency and performance after each iteration. With the Kanban method, the work will be tracked in the form of a chart, ensuring that the team's work productivity is continuously improving. Thus, the detection and removal of bottlenecks will take place quickly.
Continuous transfer
Continuous Delivery - Continuous Delivery (CD) is understood as the process of working with customers on the delivery of products on a regular basis. When it comes to using Kanban at work, CDs are more advanced because both techniques focus on delivering value at the right time. Today, the faster teams bring innovation to market, the more competitive their products will be. The application of Kanban is the optimization of the customer's workflow, focusing on the above goal.
Applying Kanban method to effective work management
In day-to-day management, Kanban method very high applicability. How to use sticky notes on Kanban boards or Kanban applications all have the common purpose of maximizing work efficiency, eliminating work overlap. With just 4 simple steps, a standard Kanban board will be completed quickly:
- Step 1: Prepare props: The board can hold magnets and colorful sticky notes.
- Step 2: Set up the first column: “To do list” (To do list). This is a column of to-dos with important and urgent levels divided by the color of the memo.
- Step 3: Set up the second column: “Work in progress”. This column shows what is happening at the moment.
- Step 4: Set up the third column: “Done list” (Done list). The column is transferred the sticky notes from column two after it is completed. Following that sequence, steps 2 to 4 will be repeated continuously.
Notes when applying Kanban need to know
So what are the notes when implementing Kanban? Here are some notes when applying Kanban that new users need to know:
- Kaban Color: The choice of different colors will be necessary to divide the type of work, the order of priority of each task.
- Limit: set a limit of only 2-3 on-going tasks in column 2. This minimizes distraction and pressure during work.
- Set Deadline: Giving yourself a time limit for transferring notes and getting things done is an effective way to increase productivity and discipline at work.
- Assignment: Divide tasks among team members and let them transfer notes themselves when completing assigned tasks.
- "Complete": Fill out the third column (done list) at the end of each week so that everyone can see the results of the week's work, and encourage the will for the next week.
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Concept "What is Kanban??” explained in the above sections. Besides, the benefits of using the Kanban method at work cannot be ignored. Especially, for individuals who are team managers, project managers with many tasks and human resources, knowing how to use Kanban is the key to opening the correct and most effective direction.
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