Frederick Jace
With the competition in every firm reaching a neck-wrenching level, you can’t compromise on some of the essential aspects of your business. And one such aspect of your business that you should never ignore is project management. Whether it is the launch of a new product or the introduction of a unique solution, every project must be handled impeccably; otherwise, you will be left behind in the challenging race of competition. And for managing a project successfully, you need a good project management approach.
You might have scoured the internet and found a long list of project management approaches but finding an ideal project management approach is a big challenge for even experienced businesses; This is where Kanban comes into the picture.
It doesn’t matter which type of projects you are managing or how small your budget is; Kanban methodology always acts as a panacea for every business. What can be better than a long list of benefits and that too at economical pricing? Well, this is what Kanban offers to the firms.
But if you are new to the world of Kanban and planning to learn more about it, then stick around as we will show you the ropes.
Why is using a Kanban board for your project necessary?
Kanban has been around as one of the most successful project management approaches for many decades for a reason. In addition to streamlining the project and helping the team focus, it is easy to use and versatile.
Every firm has to deal with processes. Whether it is knowledge-based work or a physical creation, you have to deal with processes for completing the task.
Kanban methodology takes these processes and presents them in front of your team members in a visual format. Even a simple Kanban board can help you in streamlining your project. And it is the simplicity of the project that makes the team members familiar with the tools and features of the tool.
A glimpse of Kanban
Kanban is a Japanese word that means signboard. Kanban originated in Toyota, Japan, and the primary purpose of using this methodology was to reduce wastage in the inventory management system. Instead of relying on the push system, the Kanban methodology relied on the pull system. This meant that instead of restocking based on forecasting, the refilling was done on actual sales.
So, the Kanban board is simply the visual representation of the tasks involved in a project, and the tasks on the board are represented through specially designed cards.
Creating a Kanban board
You have to use a simple three-step process for creating a Kanban board online for your firm.
Map the workflow
You might be feeling excited to use the Kanban board as soon as you buy an app for it, but you need to slow down. Before beginning your hunt for a Kanban board, you must identify the steps to make up your board. It’s true that using a to-do, the progress-and-done approach might work, but it will never be effective in giving you expected results.
The real goal here should be to match the Kanban board online with what is happening in real life, as this helps in using the board as an effective information compass. With this type of approach, you can find bottlenecks, collect data about the process and know what’s pending.
For mapping the workflow, you must have your team members with you. This ensures that you have everyone’s point of view as to what goes into the process. And if it is not possible to get everyone under one room, try to get a single perspective from every group.
Choosing between physical and online kanban board
After mapping out the entire process, you must decide whether to stick with the physical board or the online kanban board.
You must understand that the physical board is an excellent way to start as it gives you basic details of the different features of the board and helps the team members get used to the board quickly. And when you have your entire team in one room, the physical board is an ideal solution.
But we live in an era where anywhere, anytime access, remote working, and work from cultures have become a new normal for every firm. In such circumstances, Kanban board online is the only option you have.
Using the board
Now, it’s time to line up all your tasks and allow these tasks to flow through the Kanban board online. Keep track of the progress and make changes in the board to improve the performance of the team. And if any new policies are introduced in the firm, you must include these policies in the board to be accurate with your approach.
