Kanban, Step by Step for 2027

Make a steady stream of work visible, limit work in progress, improve flow and answer “when will it be done?” with a date and a probability rather than a guess.

Who it's for

Managers, team leaders and anyone responsible for a steady stream of work: client files, support requests, repairs, design jobs, approvals. You need no software background, special tools or new job titles; everything in the book works with a whiteboard and sticky notes.

What you'll learn

• Apply the principles of David J. Anderson’s Kanban Method and run a STATIK-style discovery of your work, demand and workflow
• Design a board with honest columns, visible queues, a few swimlanes, clear cards and written policies
• Set work-in-progress limits and use Little’s Law, proved by John D. C. Little, to see why fewer items in progress means faster delivery
• Run a 15-minute daily meeting that walks the board from right to left, deals with blockers and ageing work, and uses classes of service
• Track the four flow metrics and read a cumulative flow diagram and a cycle time scatterplot
• Forecast with cycle time percentiles, a service level expectation and a Monte Carlo simulation you can run without software
• Set up Kanban cadences, connect several teams and use personal Kanban, described by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry, for your own work

What's inside

• 44 pages, 7 chapters
• Each chapter gives you key concepts, a step-by-step method, an illustrative example from a fictional UK organisation, a ready-to-use tool, common mistakes, a recap of the key steps and a short exercise to try this week
• Worked examples from fictional UK organisations, including a conveyancing team, a design agency and an IT support company
• A tool in every chapter, including the work type and demand inventory, board policy sheet, WIP limit calculator, class-of-service policy, flow metrics tracker, forecasting worksheet and cadence calendar
• A 30-60-90 day action plan with checklists, plus a glossary
• PDF in A4 format — read on screen or print
• Instant download after purchase

Contents

1. Start with What You Do Now
2. Designing Your Kanban Board
3. Limiting Work in Progress
4. Managing Flow Every Day
5. Measuring Flow
6. Forecasting Without Estimates
7. Feedback Loops and Evolving Your System

Part of The Business Library

This title is one of the 55 ebooks in The Business Library, available together for £109 (worth £1,437 if bought separately: the total of the individual prices of the included titles in our store). It is also included in The Ultimate Business Bundle, which adds 8 checklists and toolkits and 10 workbooks — all 73 products for £147.