What is Kanban?
Kanban is a method for managing work as a continuous flow. You put every task on a board split into columns such as To do, In progress, and Done, and you move cards across as work proceeds. The core rule is a work-in-progress (WIP) limit: each column can hold only so many tasks at once, which stops the team from starting more than it can finish.
Unlike sprints, Kanban has no fixed time boxes. You pull a new task when you have free capacity, not when a calendar says so. The board makes the state of work visible to everyone, so bottlenecks are easy to spot and address.
In plain words
Picture a kitchen with a rule that only three dishes can cook at the same time. A new order starts only when one finishes. That cap keeps the kitchen calm and food moving, instead of twenty half-cooked plates going cold at once. Kanban does the same for a team's tasks.
When to use it
- Steady, unpredictable work like support, maintenance, or operations, where tasks arrive at irregular times.
- Teams that want to start without ceremony. Kanban layers onto your current process; you do not need to restructure into sprints.
- Spotting bottlenecks. When cards pile up in one column, the board shows you exactly where flow breaks down.
- Reducing context switching. WIP limits push people to finish what they started before grabbing something new.
Common pitfalls
- A board with no WIP limits. Without caps, Kanban becomes just a to-do list and the main benefit disappears.
- Columns that hide real steps. If review or testing happens but has no column, the board lies about where work actually sits.
- Ignoring the blocked cards. A card stuck for days is a signal, not wallpaper. Make blockers visible and resolve them fast.
- Confusing it with Scrum. Kanban is about flow and limits, not sprints and fixed roles. Borrowing pieces of both without intent creates confusion.
Related articles:
- What is a Definition of Done? - The shared bar that tells you when a Kanban card can move to Done.
- What are DORA metrics? - How to measure delivery flow once work is visible.
- What is technical debt? - What quietly grows when WIP limits are ignored and everything is "in progress".
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