Software engineeringLesson 2 of 2 in the course Software development processes

Kanban for Software: Workflow Design, WIP Control, and Evolution

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces Kanban as a way to visualize and manage work, explains its origins, and describes the essential elements of a Kanban board.

Kanban (Japanese: 看板, meaning “signboard” or “billboard”) is a lean method for managing and improving work across human systems. It helps balance demand with available capacity and makes system-level bottlenecks easier to identify and address.

All flashcards

What is Kanban?
Kanban is a lean method for managing and improving work. It makes work visible, balances demand with capacity, and helps teams identify and address bottlenecks.
What is the difference between pulled and pushed work?
Pulled work enters a workflow when capacity is available. Pushed work is assigned into the process when requested, even if the team or workflow may already be overloaded.
What does a Kanban board represent?
A Kanban board visualizes the team's Definition of Workflow: its work items, states or activities, progress, and relevant policies and controls.
What is WIP?
Work in progress consists of items that have started but have not yet reached their defined finish point.
What is a service level expectation?
An SLE is a forecast of how long a work item should take to flow from its defined start point to its finish point. It communicates an expectation rather than a guarantee.

Quiz questions

  1. Which set names the three practices for operating a Kanban system described in the Kanban Guide?Answer: Define and visualize workflow, actively manage workflow items, and improve the workflow.
  2. A workflow step has reached its WIP limit. What is the most useful response for the team?Answer: Help work move through the constrained step before adding more work to it.
  3. A workflow activity has Ready and In Progress sub-columns, and its WIP limit controls the whole activity. Which items count toward that limit?Answer: Items in both the Ready and In Progress sub-columns.
  4. Which pair describes the two primary practices of the Kanban Method?Answer: Visualize work and limit work in progress.
  5. What was the intended purpose of Toyota's late-1940s just-in-time production system?Answer: Produce according to customer demand and reveal possible material shortages.

Based on the Wikipedia article Kanban (development), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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