Your Guide to Kanban

Whitepaper Your Guide to Kanban Visualize information, simplify project management, and get work done planview.info/kanban Clarity from complexity How does kanban work? Tame complexity with visualization Streamline communications and grow accountability Manage a responsible workforce The technology is here Clarity from complexity Moore’s Law bears out: every year, technology is speedier, more capable; every year, users must keep pace faster and accomplish more. But people are not subject to the same evolutionary standards as technology, so what are they to do with the deluge of “helpful” information that threatens to overwhelm? There is a simple yet revolutionary concept that brings clarity to projects and project data. Nearly 70 years old but entirely modern, kanban – Japanese for ‘visual card’ – is a method that helps teams achieve their potential and projects, their goals. Kanban was originally developed by Taiichi Ohno of Toyota Motor Corporation in 1947 as a just-in-time system for Toyota’s warehouses; the idea behind it was to control production and increase productivity by being more flexible and efficient. Seeing its great success, project managers saw how the concept could be leveraged for project management, and ran with it. Kanban boards allow teams to visualize work and absorb large amounts of information quickly, while providing instant clarity to even the most complex projects. How does kanban work? Project management kanban systems feature a board onto which cards can be placed in different columns to represent project workflows. The simplest boards have three columns – To do, In progress, and Done. As tasks progress, cards move through the columns. Kanban boards allow teams to visualize work and absorb large amounts of information quickly while providing instant clarity to even the most complex projects. Because all team members can see who is working on what, the status of every task, and what is next in the queue, the approach has been shown to engage team members, facilitate collaboration, and boost team productivity. Now digitized to accommodate mobile workforces and today’s always-on culture, kanban boards often serve as the pivot point for geographically dispersed teams, giving them clear, up-to-the-moment, visual insight into project goals and status. Often cloud-based and allowing mobile device access, digital kanban boards can improve both individual performance and the management of projects by clarifying and simplifying processes. Tame complexity with visualization In a complex business environment, project teams often feel bombarded by data from many sources – often too many to keep up with, and all of them seemingly important. What results is information overload, inevitably followed by confusion, missed deadlines, and inefficient use of resources. This last, according to CIO.com, is the number one reason for project failure.1 These challenges can be mitigated. It has been scientifically proven that office workers are more productive – nearly 20% more – when the information they need is visually displayed, rather than the way traditional office software usually makes it available.2 This is not surprising. Studies show that individuals process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, and that 60% of people are visual learners.3 Kanban boards, with their visual approach to information distribution, can help neutralize cognitive overload, create certainty, clarify next steps, and promote easier buy-in and team spirit. Over time, a ripple effect can take place. Knowledge transfer, joint problem solving, and the ability to coordinate individual commitments is transformed. 1 Florentine, Sharon. "Why Are So Many IT Projects Failing?" CIO.com. 1 Dec. 2013. Web. 2 "Scientific Experiment Reveals Office Workers Are Wasting 20 per Cent of Their Mental Resources by Using Traditional Office Software." MindJet. 2015. Web. 3 Wilson, Ken. "Infographic: Why Visuals Communicate Better than Words." SmartDraw. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. Office workers are more productive – nearly 20% more – when the information they need is visually displayed. Streamline communications and grow accountability Open communication and transparency reinforces good behavior and develops personal accountability. The best digital kanban tools are underpinned by social features such as conversation chains, feedback features, and activity streams. Among other things, these allow team members to discuss issues with each other – issues that may have bottlenecked projects in the past when discussion was limited to scheduled meetings. These social attributes provide insight not only into who is working on what and which tasks have been completed, but who is in possession of what information. This can speed time to project delivery, and reduce frustration for individuals tasked with ferreting out key data in a timely manner. Using these tools effectively can help project managers show, reward, and shape team behavior. They will benefit from a work atmosphere characterized by the will to help, the desire for project and team success, and members who feel accountable for their own performance. Kanban tools can help team members obtain information and make swift decisions, then connect effectively to others within the organization who can contribute to their work. The best digital kanban tools are underpinned by social features such as conversation chains, feedback features, and activity streams. Manage a responsible workforce Research conducted by the Boston Consulting Group shows that managers in complex organizations spend up to 40% of their time writing reports and up to 60% coordinating meetings.4 The kanban ethos is one of self-organization and engagement. Team members are empowered to get started on projects; they can view project and task status, and don’t have to wait for permissions to engage with each other. Once the project manager sets the goals and milestones, the team can move forward. And with insight into the project and resources from anywhere, the project manager won’t have to schedule – or attend – endless touch-base meetings. A modern, increasingly popular alternative to traditional, top-down management is the flatter organizational structure. Digital kanban boards can be key to facilitating this process. Managers can prioritize tasks as team members become more involved in decision-making and self-organization. The upshot of this approach is that individual employees feel like team members, included in the process and as part of the decision-making mechanism. Engaging employees isn’t just a workshop exercise: there’s value in it. According to a Gallup study on employee engagement, companies with 9 engaged employees for every disengaged employee experience 147% higher earnings per share than their competition.5 In today’s market, every edge over the competition is one worth fighting for. Companies with 9 engaged employees for every disengaged employee experience 147% higher earnings per share than their competition. 4 Trapp, Roger. "Operating In A Complex World Does Not Have To Be Complicated." Forbes. 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 5 Sorenson, Susan. "How Employee Engagement Drives Growth." Gallup. Gallup, 20 June 2013. Web. The technology is here Today’s world is 24/7. Near-ubiquitous connectivity creates an ever more compelling case for a better approach to project management, one that strips away complexity and shows what’s needed in a format that’s easy to act on. For organizations looking for a new way to get work done, there’s Projectplace, a part of Planview®, kanban-driven, project collaboration. It supports goal-driven team collaboration with an intuitive approach that empowers teams no matter where they are in the company or geographically, to deliver work on time. This secure and scalable tool was designed to help organizations by: • Empowering teams to self-organize • Using intuitive kanban boards and integrated Gantt charts to plan and execute projects • Streamlining document collaboration with robust sharing, security, and version control • Supporing collaboration across and beyond the enterprise – even beyond the firewall Teams can kick-off projects in minutes, including members across the aisle or time zones. No matter if teams are coordinating a product launch between Marketing and Engineering, managing the day-to-day activities of IT, or creating professional services SOWs, Projectplace can help organizations manage, communicate, and collaborate on projects to drive results. The secure platform encourages communication and document sharing, and its integrated Gantt chart autocreates timelines, including milestones and activity scheduling, that maps to the kanban board, for complete visibility and management oversight. This complete approach enables virtual teams to move communication out of siloed emails and gives all members a more visual and complete understanding of project scope, status, milestones, and issues. It supports goal-driven team collaboration with an intuitive approach that empowers teams no matter where they are in the company or geographically, to deliver work on time. About Planview Planview is a global leader in portfolio management and project collaboration. From small teams to large enterprises, leaders in every industry rely on the company's cloud solutions to empower organizations to reach their goals and drive results by optimizing the capacity of their people and financial resources. Planview's singular focus fuels a deep commitment to innovation and customer success. For more information, visit Planview.com and Projectplace.com. Take Projectplace for a test drive and see if it’s right for your organization. Visit Planview.info/kanban to experience it. © 2015 Planview, Inc., All Rights Reserved.521