Free guide from Kanban University
The Official Guide to the Kanban Method.
Your easy entry into the Kanban body of knowledge: what Kanban is, its principles and general practices, the Kan-Bahn metaphor, and the specific practices that make it work.
- Free PDF
- 17 languages
- Glossary in 4 languages
Who the guide is for.
This guide is targeted at people new to Kanban and interested in learning about the basics of the Kanban Method. That is why we included an introductory metaphor (Kan-Bahn) to help people connect to the concept. Our hope is that this guide provides an easy entry into the vast Kanban body of knowledge.
For alumni who want to review certain aspects, we recommend the “Essential Kanban Condensed” e-book as a reference.
What’s inside.
Four parts that take you from the first idea of Kanban to building your own Kanban system.
The Kanban Method
What Kanban is, why it is a method rather than a methodology or framework, where it comes from, and where it is used.
Principles and practices
The change management and service delivery principles, and the six general practices of the Kanban Method.
The Kan-Bahn metaphor
A highway that makes flow tangible: utilization vs. throughput, classes of service, pull, blockers and lead time.
Specific practices
How to build your own Kanban system: STATIK, Kanban boards, WIP limits and pull, core metrics and cadences.
The principles of the Kanban Method.
Common to all Kanban implementations, whatever the scope: one team or a whole network of services.
- Start with what you do now
- Agree to pursue improvement through evolutionary change
- Encourage acts of leadership at all levels
- Understand and focus on customer needs and expectations
- Manage the work; let people self-organize around it
- Regularly review the network of services and its policies in order to improve outcomes
Six general practices.
The breadth and depth of the practices applied varies greatly. The guide describes each of them, and the Kanban Maturity Model shows how they grow.
- 01Visualize
Make invisible work and its flow visible on a board.
- 02Limit work in progress
Balance utilization with the flow of work.
- 03Manage flow
Complete work smoothly, predictably and at a sustainable pace.
- 04Make policies explicit
Agree how work is organized and keep it visible.
- 05Implement feedback loops
Use the board, metrics and cadences to learn and coordinate.
- 06Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally
Use models and the scientific method to improve together.
Download the guide.
Free to download and share. Translated by the Kanban University community into 17 languages.
English, v2.1
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Kan-Bahn poster
The introductory metaphor as a poster for your team space.
About Kanban University.
Kanban University works to assure the highest quality coaching and certified training in Kanban for knowledge work and service work worldwide. Our Accredited Kanban Trainers, Accredited Kanban Consultants, and Kanban Coaching Professionals follow the Kanban Method for evolutionary organizational change.
Kanban University offers accreditation for Kanban trainers, a professional designation for Kanban coaches, and certification for Kanban practitioners.
We would like to express a special thank you to Susanne and Andreas Bartel of Flow.Hamburg for putting together The Official Guide to The Kanban Method with the collaboration of the Kanban University team.
Another big thank you to the following participants in the creation of the Kan-Bahn during one of the Kanban Leadership Retreats in Barcelona: David Lowe, Jose Casal, Martin Hoppen, Susanne Bartel, Andy Carmichael, Teodora Bozheva, Ruben Olsen, and Ward Schwillens. We are grateful to have you part of the Kanban University community.