Top 7 reasons Kanban just makes sense

As a web producer and project manager, I am always interested in finding new ways to make my projects run smoother. There are a number of great tools available which allow me to do this - my favourite being Jira. Jira has a vast number of ways to manage projects and many would run their projects in sprints which has its advantages. However in its simplest form, Kanban tends to make the most sense for maintaining a great overall view of your position. It also allows you to manage expectations very effectively.

So why should you consider a lean Kanban system of some form? In a nutshell, you can’t beat a simplified production system that truly costs less, satisfies customers more, and takes the headaches out of management.  Kanban is essentially a process of balancing the flow of work, materials, and people to get a job done. As I touched on above with Jira, Kanban’s are used within agile software development and anywhere that people are implementing lean systems.

Here is what Kanban looks like in Jira:

 

1. Helps to visualise your tasks

A lean Kanban translates your production planning into visual Kanban boards with silos. This allows you to very quickly understand your Kanban needs.  Resources can all see what the current production plan is easily and quickly by reading the Kanban board.

 

2. Reduces work in progress

A  lean Kanban is established by balancing your individual tasks to your client demands using various silos. Balanced flows reduce your WIP as you are able to reduce any gaps between tasks.

 

3. Moves work along rapidly

A balanced flow is achieved by understanding the rhythm of client demand and then adjusting individual tasks to achieve a balanced flow.  Your tasks will now be even, steady and set to a frequency that satisfies both clients and management.

 

4. Improves workflow

A steady balanced lean product flow is a great lean process improvement over traditional systems made of larger, difficult to manage batch.  The whole system works together as a team, which can ensure that the process remains calm.

 

5. Releases your work on demand

As you have such a visual overview of your tasks and projects within Kanban, you are able to quickly release work and prioritize amongst what could be a considerable number of tasks within the project.

 

6. Simplifies Production Planning

Production planning is reduced.  A steady balanced Kanban board will challenge traditional production planning.  In effect, all tasks are expedited when you balance the flow to client demand. It provides a transparent environment for you and your client.

 

7. Increases your client satisfaction

Kanban’s job is to assist you in understanding a client’s requirements and then focus your efforts accordingly.  When clients get what they want, as they expected it and when they want it, they quickly become satisfied.  That is essentially the advantage of lean Kanban.

Using a lean Kanban system can lead to smoother running processes in project management.  Ultimately, when looking for a platform that costs less, satisfies customers more, and takes the headaches out of project management, a lean Kanban system may just be what you need.