planningIntermedio

Kanban Board

A visual workflow management system that maps work items through defined stages (columns) with explicit limits on how much work can be in progress at once (WIP limits). Kanban makes bottlenecks visible, reduces context-switching, and creates a pull-based system where new work only starts when capacity exists — rather than being pushed by deadlines or manager pressure.

Durata

1h–2h

Dimensione del gruppo

2–20 people

Materiali

Physical board or digital tool (Trello, Jira, Linear, Miro), Cards or sticky notes, Markers

Fonte

Workshop Weaver

Come eseguirlo

1
Define your workflow stages as columns (at minimum: To Do → In Progress → Done). Add columns that reflect your real process (e.g. In Review, Testing, Blocked).
2
Agree on WIP limits for each 'active' column — how many items can be there simultaneously. Start with: team size minus 1.
3
Create cards for all current work items. Put them in the appropriate column.
4
Establish a daily cadence: team reviews the board together, focusing on items closest to Done first (pull right before starting left).
5
When a column hits its WIP limit: no new work starts there until one item moves right. Swarm on the blocker instead.
6
Review and adjust WIP limits and column definitions in your retrospective.

Suggerimenti

WIP limits are the most powerful and most ignored element of Kanban. Enforce them.
Visualise blocked items clearly (a red sticker, a 'Blocked' label) — don't let them hide.
A Kanban board without WIP limits is just a to-do list. The limits are the system.
Measure cycle time (time from start to done) — it's more useful than velocity.

Variazioni

Personal Kanban: same system for individuals. Swimlane Kanban: add horizontal rows for different team members, workstreams, or urgency levels. Expedite lane: a fast-track row for truly urgent items that bypasses normal WIP limits.

Casi d'uso

Workflow managementTeam coordinationContinuous deliveryKnowledge work

Metodi correlati

FacilitationDaily Stand-up

planningPersonal Kanban

FacilitationSprint Planning

StrategyStory Mapping

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Workshop Weaver ti aiuta a combinare metodi come Kanban Board in un'agenda completa e temporizzata in pochi minuti.

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Method descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Workshop Weaver.