Who Uses Kanban?

Kanban is a system meant for improving the manufacturing process and aiding project management. Kanban has its origin from Toyota in Japan(in the year 1953). Taiichi Ohno who was an engineer in Toyota brought about Kanban to improve manufacturing efficacy.

Kanban has numerous benefits

Kanban is a visual tool used to help understand the work flow process, thus giving an insight to the pattern adopted by the project management team as well as show the flaws inherent in the work process. Kanban uses diagrams, charts and statistics to show the work flow process, as well as its efficacy. This in turn helps in estimating the outcome of whatever project that is on going. Kanban also issues a limiting factor on the amount of tasks that can be taken. Tasks to be undertaken must be based on order of priority. This is to prevent too much strain and burdens because of overloading of tasks. This in turn improves and betters the flow of the work process.

No doubt, Kanban has numerous benefits, some of which are enlisted below:
1. Flexibility, tasks can be easily re evaluated and features can be easily changed depending on the order of prioritize
2. Reduces strain and burden on team and organizations by limiting their tasks
3. Its visual aid improves understanding of the work process
4. It aids speed of delivery, as one task is completed, the next task begins
5. It helps streamline tasks which are not necessary and improves efficiency

Classification of those Who Can Use Kanban
1. A Single Individual: The Kanban board is not only meant for large organizations. It is sometimes a misconception that because Kanban is a little complicated, that it is meant for large scale businesses. There is a simple Kanban board which is a single person can utilize.

2. A Small Team: Kanban is wonderful for project management as it helps allocate tasks based on the degree of importance and thus would be great for a small team to use for management of their project

3. Software Development Companies: Software development companies can make use of Kanban to plan and strategies their softwares before they are released. Due to Kanban’s flexibility, and its insistence on important tasks to be dispatched with firstly, thus allowing the software to be available for release at any time while other minor tasks can be worked upon.

4. Factories: Kanban can be used in Factories. Kanban originally developed from the Toyota factory in Japan during the 1950s. This helped the factory organize their inventory and maximize their rate of production while satisfying the demands of the customers.

5. Hospitals: Part of Kanban’s focus is in keeping the stocks in an inventory to a minimal while satisfying the demand of the customers. This is applied in various hospitals as instruments like catheters, surgical instruments etc need stock piling. If these instruments are excess, then they would go to waste as no one would require them. Thus the use of Kanban system to determine the best possible levels that can be stocked in the supply rooms to avoid waste.

6. Any large Organization: Finally any large organization can make use of Kanban, this is a tool for effective project management and most organizations need the Kanban system. Managing a huge organization without the help of a system like Kanban would be really difficult.

What’s next?
To learn the Kanban 101 at team-level, enroll in the IBQMI® Approved Kanban Professional.
If you want to apply Kanban to any environment at an advanced coach level, you should enroll in the Certified Kanban Coach®.