You probably have heard of the Kanban system for project management someday, but you may not know the main reasons for using this methodology.
Kanban is a method of controlling and managing activities through the system of colored cards, which are generally known as post-it notes.
With the advancement of technology, it is increasingly necessary to have tools that facilitate working relationships, including those in the home office or even within the company itself. These can be something like a duplicator, or a laminator, something that is usually vital for any office space. You might be required to look at something like a paper folder as well depending on what company you work for.
And in addition to all this, the Kanban system allows you to keep up with technological advances and is now widely used in Excel spreadsheets, helping to optimize your productivity.
In addition, it also brings 5 other benefits that help to enhance the results of your activities and your business.
We will talk more about them in the course of this content.
But before…
What are the principles that drive the Kanban methodology?
Kanban can be used to improve processes and workflow efficiency without making changes to your team structure.
Before applying project management using Kanban to your business, it is important that you first understand the fundamental principles that govern this methodology:
- Start with what you are doing now – the system does not require a specific configuration and can be applied directly to your current workflow. This makes it much easier to implement, as there is no need to change the existing process.
- Be willing to make evolutionary and incremental changes – Radical changes can upset teams, disrupt the flow and hamper performance. Kanban was developed to encourage continuous, incremental and evolutionary changes.
- Follow the process, your roles and your responsibilities – There should be no organizational changes from the start. Kanban recognizes that existing processes, functions and responsibilities can be valuable and worth maintaining. Instead, Kanban encourages incremental changes to avoid emotional resistance from its team members.
- Encourage acts of leadership at all levels – teams using Kanban must encourage leadership and decision making among all members. If the team member with the lowest rating has a brilliant idea, it should be recognized and adopted. Everyone must promote a mindset of continuous improvement for the team to achieve optimal performance.
Which projects can benefit from this methodology?
Kanban is very likely to be a good project management system for your team if your project meets any or all of the following criteria:
- Projects with continuous workflows.
- Your workflow works, but it could be more efficient.
- You are experiencing delays in delivering work.
- Your company prefers to gradually improve existing processes, rather than imposing a radical new system.
- Your team’s priorities can change quickly.
- The main priority is to respond to the customer’s needs.
How to implement the Kanban system?
One of the first steps for you to implement Kanban is to be able to view your entire workflow.
The way teams do this is by creating a Kanban board on an Excel spreadsheet, with columns and colored cards. In its most basic form, we could say that there are 4 columns:
- Backlog – the backlog of the product or project.
- To Do – all tasks that have not yet started.
- In progress – tasks started.
- Completed – tasks completed.
Every task occupies a Kanban card (which in Excel is a cell) and is moved laterally by the spreadsheet as it progresses through each stage.
In the ideal scenario, tasks move smoothly between stages. In reality, there are bottlenecks and shortcomings to flow. Fortunately, as you already know, Kanban implements a culture of continuous improvement, and these problems can be removed gradually.
5 reasons to start using Kanban today.
Companies that are unable to obtain the full benefits of the Kanban system are generally those that have not been able to correctly apply all parts of the methodology processes.
The Kanban method is based on numerous researches and studies that show the positive impact of this strategy.
Here are the 5 reasons to start using Kanban today!
1) You will have the flexibility to use in different sectors.
The Kanban system is nothing more than an efficient method of communication and signaling, be it in Excel or even on the wall of your office.
It can be used in many sectors, even industrial ones and is extremely flexible in application.
This means that companies can choose to make minor adjustments to the Kanban board to better suit their organization’s culture and work practices.
In addition, Kanban systems are fully compatible with sizing and can easily adapt to changes in the size and extent of operations.
2) Your process will always be evolving.
Continuous incremental improvement is one of Kanban’s main features. All processes must be continuously audited for quality and productivity, and minor flaws must be identified continuously.
Kanban’s clear visual format in Excel allows project managers to see how the workflow is progressing and make the necessary changes and improvements.
Achieving more than the established standards is one of the fundamental principles of Kanban.
3) Improve productivity and reduce your costs.
As Kanban is based on attracting or generating demand, the stock held is completely lean, which results in cost savings.
In addition, Kanban optimizes the entire process, checking resource consumption and increasing productivity.
4) Reduces waste during the process.
Even Kanban’s original implementation was focused on eliminating waste during the manufacturing process, and these same practices apply to its use throughout the software development or project lifecycle you are running.
Kanban promotes transparency and an agile workflow, allowing the entire team to stay abreast of the progress of everything on the project and therefore on what any individual can focus on and focus on the next day or week.
5) Makes your team more empowered.
The entire team has the Kanban system and shares the responsibility to move the work to the finish line.
In this way, Kanban enables teams to make more agile decisions that take projects forward with innovation and efficiency.
Kanban Template for Excel.
Our Kanban automation model for Excel keeps your projects going from “pending tasks” to completed tasks.
Use this project management tool to view the progress of your projects, maximize efficiency and communicate better with your team, whether you are at work or at home.
This model was designed so that you can get the maximum impact on your data organization through the colors we use.
Leave the post-its stacks and try our Kanban board today!
Main features:
- Modern panel with a clean look: cards by status, cards by priorities. Cards by team members / status and cards by team members / priority.
- Track your projects (cards) over time from status, like blocked, doing, done and on hold.
- Make presentations and reports easy to understand and professional.
Download our template now:
https://stage.adniasolutions.com/excel-templates/automated-kanban-excel-template/