Tony's Tech Terms: Kanban

Last fall we adopted Kanban as a formal process. Kanban is a visual workflow management method that helps teams manage tasks and projects. Originating from Japanese manufacturing and now widely used in various industries, Kanban uses a board with columns representing different stages of a process, such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done." Tasks are represented by cards that move across the board as they advance through the stages, providing a clear, real-time view of the work's progress and status.

One of the key principles of Kanban is limiting work in progress (WIP). By restricting the number of tasks that can be in each stage at any given time, teams avoid overloading and ensure that work is completed more smoothly and efficiently. This also helps prevent context-switching.

Half way through the year, I decided to take a high-level look at our stories from 2023 vs. 2024. In 2023, we had a less formal process, and we weren't as intentional about creating and scoring stories for our work. We delivered 185 stories for a total of 368 story points. So far in 2024, we've delivered 460 stories for a total of 697 story points. I don't think we've had a 250% increase in productivity this year. Rather, I think this reflects two things:

• We're tracking more of our work.
• We've gotten better at breaking stories down so they're smaller.

For example, in 2023 our story point average was 2.0. So far in 2024 it's 1.5. That indicates to me that we're creating and delivering more small stories. Small stories paint a better story about what work we do and better communicate our progress while we work.