Kanban System Design (KSD)
Design the system
your work needs.
Build a shared view of work, understand flow, and design a Kanban system that fits how your team actually works.
Start with a shared view of work.
Before you can improve a system, you need to understand it. KSD gives you practical ways to see how work moves, where it waits, and which decisions shape the service your customers receive.
It is not about copying someone else’s board. It is about designing a Kanban system around the work, services, and people in front of you – improving visibility, communication, and collaboration.
Who KSD is for.
You design or manage a work system.
- Map the current way work moves through your service.
- Make dependencies, decisions, and policies visible.
- Design a system that fits the work in front of you.
You need improvement to become visible.
- Reveal where work waits and where flow slows down.
- See the improvement opportunities a board can hide.
- Create a shared basis for deliberate change.
You are starting a Kanban practice.
- Build a practical shared foundation in Kanban.
- Start with the core ideas behind flow and pull.
- Create a system that can evolve with the work.
Your outcomes from KSD course.
Practical methods you can bring back to your own service, team, or organisation.
See the whole system.
Develop a shared understanding of the current way of working and the sources of dissatisfaction within it.
Design with STATIK.
Use the Systems Thinking Approach to Introducing Kanban (STATIK), a structured, service-oriented approach for designing a Kanban system that fits the work you actually do.
Make flow visible.
Shape a visual system that reveals work, policies, dependencies, and opportunities to improve.
Use pull with intention.
Reduce overburdening and create a more responsive way for work to move through the system.
Read the signals in your system.
Use Lead Time, Run Charts, and Cumulative Flow Diagrams to guide continuous improvement.
Organise around the work.
Run Kanban meetings that help the team focus, coordinate, and respond together.
Plan your KSD course.
KSD is a two-day, hands-on course offered in person or online. These details help you prepare well, take part fully, and complete your Kanban University certification.
Course format.
Two days in person or 16 hours online, including hands-on practice, simulation, and group discussion.
Prerequisites.
No prior course is required.
Recommendations.
If you are very new to Kanban, Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP) may be a helpful first step; the best starting point depends on your experience and goals. Reading Kanban by David J. Anderson or Kanban from the Inside by Mike Burrows is recommended; plan time for self-paced learning too.
Completion and certification.
Receive Kanban University certification for completing KSD by attending and actively engaging in every session, exercise, simulation, and discussion.
KSD is where the KMP path begins.
Build the foundation first. Then deepen your capability in service delivery with KSI or product delivery with KDI. Complete KSD with either course to earn the Kanban Management Professional credential.
KSDKanban System Design
Foundation course
KSIKanban for Systems ImprovementorKDIKanban for Design and Innovation
Credential