Kanban Boards: Why To Use Them For Excellent Project Management
Kanban boards have proven to be quite useful in project management since they provide managers and teams with a clear view of the status of tasks and projects.
Project management and team collaboration software help project managers and their teams execute enthusiastic ideas into actionable plans.
These applications allow large and complex projects to be divided into manageable tasks and subtasks, assign them to the right people, track time spent on performing tasks, and much more.
Task management is an integral part of project management. Every project has tasks. And bigger, complex tasks are divided into smaller sub-tasks to make them more manageable.
For smart and effective task management, you can use Kanban boards to evenly distribute top-priority tasks amongst the most skilled team members. You can also use these boards to eliminate time spent on low-priority tasks and any wasteful activities.
Now, if you are wondering what a Kanban board is, here’s a little introduction to it.
What Is a Kanban Board?
Toyota, the largest automobile manufacturer in Japan, invented the Kanban system in the early 1940s.
A Kanban board is a tool designed to visualize your workflows and tasks to give you the bird’s eye view of your processes and gain an overview of your workload.
This creates a system of transparency and you’ll identify which tasks are progressing in the right direction as well as know about the problematic work stages.
A basic Kanban board is divided into three stages — To-Do, Doing, and Done. You can also customize Kanban boards and add more sections to it, depending on your workflow.
For example a basic workflow for a content marketing team can have stages like these, Ideas, Topics Approved, Keywords, Outline, Production, and Submitted.
Kanban Board Basics
Be it in the 1940s Toyota factory or contemporary PM apps, Kanban boards have three basic elements to them: Board, List, and Card.
1. Board: A board that includes and summarizes a workflow or a project.
2. List: A list contains a set of related cards, usually those in the same stage of a process.
3. Card: A card includes items that represent a task or an idea related to your project.
How Project Managers Could Benefit From Kanban Boards?
Working on a project that involves both strategy and execution is not easy and getting started is the most challenging part. It takes considerable time to establish goals and the vision, and when it comes to execution, the approach is more like “just getting things done.”
Kanban takes into account the organization’s current roles, titles, etc., and starts the improvement process from that point. One thing that is of great value to project managers when using a Kanban board is that you’re always working on high-priority tasks first.
Here Are The Top Benefits Of Kanban Boards To Project Managers
- Transparency And Overview For Improved Workflow Management
One of the USPs of the Kanban system and why it is so popular among project managers is due to the visual information representation it provides. Having a project displayed on the board helps project teams understand the workflow better and the correlation between tasks. This enables them to plan and collaborate better.
2. Easy to Get Started
The visual nature of Kanban boards makes it easy to understand and intuitive, which doesn’t necessitate teams to learn a whole new methodology. Modern Kanban boards enable you to automate tasks and optimize their workflow within the system.
3. Minimizes Cycle Time
The cycle time is the time it takes for a unit of work to travel through the team’s workflow, from starting point to the final delivery. The project teams can optimize the cycle time for improving and predicting the delivery of future work. To achieve this, teams use WIP (work in progress) limits that fuel them to concentrate on one thing at a time and collaborate to move tasks to the Done column swifter.
4. Effective Time Management
Kanban methodology is concerned with resource allocation and reduction in time waste. Kanban makes it easier to visualize if some team members are overburdened or do not have tasks in hand to do. Project managers can notice these problems and address them just in time.
5. Continuous Improvement And Delivery
Continuous integration is vital for sustaining quality, and it goes hand-in-hand with continuous delivery. Kanban can combine these two practices successfully to increase productivity and team focus. This also leads to better efficiency and reduced overhead.
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Must-Have Features in Kanban Apps
There are different types of Kanban board apps available today. Each software offers a different set of tools, but there are some common features that you’ll find in most Kanban board apps.
The names and specifics of these features could vary from app to app, which is easily noticeable in the screenshots. However, the core functionality of these common features is still the same.
When you’re looking for one to use for your project management, be sure that the tool you’re considering has these features.
- Customized Workflows: The Kanban boards are made up of columns, and you should be able to add columns according to your workflow requirements. This will give you a Bird’s eye view of your current work situation.
- Subtasks: Dividing your bigger, complex tasks into smaller, manageable tasks makes it easier for project managers to track the progress made on it. When a subtask is completed, you can check it off directly on the board.
- Easy Drag and Drop: Moving cards between columns is important to make the most of a Kanban board. You are likely to use this feature the most; moving existing cards more than creating new ones. Most Kanban board apps allow changing the placement of a card by simple drag and drop.
- Assign And Subscribe Individuals To Kanban Cards: When you assign and subscribe individuals to the Kanban board, they’ll be able to add, edit, move cards, leave comments, and more. They’ll be able to keep up with the project even if they’re not directly involved in it.
- Attach Checklists or Tasks To Cards: With the Kanban tool, you can attach checklists or task lists to cards. Like comments and descriptions, you can @ mention other members to assign roles in your workflow.
- Include WIP (work in progress) Limits: Too many tasks in a list at the same time can overwhelm processes. That is why some Kanban tools limit the number of tasks you can add to a list with WIP limits. These constraints are applied to a column, which limits the cards you can add to that column.
- Filter Tasks: You can filter tasks by choosing to view tasks that are assigned only to your team or someone else. You can also see which work items are unassigned.
- Recurring Tasks: If you’re working on tasks that repeat every day, weekly, or monthly? Set tasks to recur if it needs to be done regularly so that you don’t have to add them manually over and over again.
- Put Due Dates On Kanban Cards: You can put a start and due dates for tasks on Kanban boards. This will enable you and your team members to prioritize tasks and set their work pace accordingly.
- Documents And File Attachments: Attach your files and documents to your tasks directly from your computer, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box to the tasks.
- Mobile App: You can access your Kanban boards even when you’re not in the office with the help of a mobile application. Simply install it on your home screen and use it on your mobile or tablet.
Bottom Line
As you can read, Kanban methodology is about finishing work and not starting more and more new work. Now that you already know the importance of Kanban boards and the value that they put in the project management, you should look forward to choosing the right Kanban tool.
There are many options available today, but take into account your workflow requirements, budget, ease-of-use, and scalability before you put your hard-earned money into the tool and reap its benefits. Good luck!
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