Many project professionals see the growing demand in organizations for an agile approach to project management. But introducing Agile methods like Scrum to a traditional organization can be a revolutionary process, with a high risk of failure if conditions aren't right for adoption.
In this session, we'll show you how to use the language of Lean (from Lean Manufacturing) and the evolutionary change model of kanban visual management to introduce Agile to your organization, and achieve the promised benefits of Agile "one step at a time".
This version of the presentation uses screenshots from LeanKit to illustrate the methodological concepts. It isn't a LeanKit sales demo.
For full info on LeanKit the product go here: https://leankit.com/product/.
For a version of this intro to kanban using non-LeanKit illustrations go here: https://www.slideshare.net/JonTerry2/kanban-an-evolutionary-approach-to-agility-58677046
Bio:
Jon Terry is co-Chief Executive Officer of LeanKit. Before LeanKit, Jon held a number of senior IT positions with hospital-giant HCA and its logistics subsidiary, HealthTrust Purchasing Group. He was among those responsible for launching HCA’s adoption of Lean/Agile methods.
Jon earned his Global Executive MBA from Georgetown University and ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and his Masters Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University. He is a Project Management Professional, a Certified Scrum Master, a Kanban Coaching Professional, is certified in the Lean Construction Institute’s Last Planner Method, and trained in the SAFe Lean Systems Engineering method.
2. @leankitjon
Change is a given
We can’t control it
Prepare for bad
Embrace good
Water-fail
Laundry List
Gold plate
Slap Together
Blamestorm
3. @leankitjon
1950s-1980s 1980s 1990s 2000s Today
TOC
Just-In-Time
Kanban
Lean
(Manufacturing)
DevOps
Lean
Engineering
Toyota
Production
System
Six Sigma
TQM
Agile
XP
Scrum
Lean
Construction
Lean (Startup)
Enterprise
Understanding shared
Lean-Agile heritage broadens
learning & aids communication Scaled Agility
A
Messy
Family
Tree
4. @leankitjon
Kanban is a means to an end
Helping teams apply Lean
principles
Eliminate
Waste
Build
Quality In
Create
Knowledge
Defer
Commitment
Deliver
Fast
Respect
People
Optimize the
Whole
Process
Skilled
People
Tools&
Technology
5. @leankitjon
What is this? Why should I care?
How?Who will notice?
Why? What else?
FSGD
One of Many Lean Tools
8. @leankitjon
The quickest path
to agility is to start
from where you are
today.
1. Visualize the (current) workflow
2. Limit Work-in-Progress (WIP) *
3. Manage (for smooth) flow
4. Make process policies explicit
5. Implement feedback loops
6. Improve collaboratively
using Kanban to become more Lean
Evolve
* Often implicitly at first
Kanban Principles
12. @leankitjon
Map out your real,
current process.
Not what your
policy manual says
1. Have each team member write down a few of
their current work items
2. Ask each person to pick one at a time
3. Have them describe:
• What am I doing to it now?
• Who had it before & what were they doing with it?
• Who will I hand it to next, to do what?
Visualize
Workflow
Exercise
15. @leankitjon
As the manager,
only add your
“official” list after
Exercise
1. Have each team member list their full, current
workload
2. Have them assign each item a type: UX
feature, API feature, defect, task, etc
3. Collate the work types they defined into one
list and assign each a card color
4. Turn the lists into cards and place them in the
correct lane on the board
Visualize
Workflow
19. @leankitjon
Focus on delivery of
value by the team,
not individual
activity
Daily(at first) Standup
1. Allow a fixed time period – 1 min/person
2. Ensure board is complete & accurate
3. Are there expedites or blockers?
4. Otherwise, walk the board from right to left a
card at a time
• What’s needed to advance this item?
• Who can help?
5. Stop when time runs out
Feedback
Loops
21. @leankitjon
Aim for a small,
shared list of
actionable items,
not a laundry list
Retrospectives
1. Let data be your guide
2. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
3. Common root cause answers:
• Hidden WIP
• Stop starting, start finishing
• Downstream/external blockages
• Uneven sizing
• Parallel processes
• Rework
Feedback
Loops
25. @leankitjon
Estimating is Waste: Decompose instead
The way we think about this at LeanKit …
● A DIV can be completely finished to production in the dark by
a squad in 5 business days or less with 90% confidence
● An A3 can be completely finished to production in the dark by
a squad in 4 weeks or less with 90% confidence
● An A3 must be clearly divisible into 3+ divs that meet the
above standard
● A squad shouldn’t be working on multiple A3s in a sweep. We
need to focus on getting one key thing done well not several
poorly
● A theme should be no more than 3 squad sweeps, ie one
squad for three sweeps or three squads for one sweep, etc.
● Larger than that should be a serious executive risk decision.
We are placing a lot of weight on a hypothesis
● We would rather invest 1-3 sweeps in something initially and
make a decision to proceed further based on multiple
successful div deployments that show progress.
28. @leankitjon
Aim for a small,
shared list of
actionable items,
not a laundry list
Retrospectives
1. Let data be your guide
2. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
3. Common root cause answers:
• Hidden WIP
• Stop starting, start finishing
• Downstream/external blockages
• Uneven sizing
• Parallel processes
• Rework
Feedback
Loops
33. Leverage Connections for X-team Workflows
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE
PORTFOLIO/PROGRAM
PROJECT
TEAMS & TOOLS
Top to
Bottom
End-to-End Value Stream
R&D Ops Mktg Sales CS
35. @leankitjon
Release 1
Iteration 1
Iteration
Planning
Daily
Standup
Demo /
Retro
Iteration n
Iteration
Planning
Daily
Standup
Demo /
Retro
Iteration
Backlog
Fixed Time and People
Not
Done
Iteration
Backlog
Not
Done
Product
Owner
Ideas
Product Backlog
Release Planning
Release Backlog
Scrum mandates new roles, “rituals” and cadence for a team
The Scrum Framework
Scrum
master
36. @leankitjon
Look beyond the
tactical practices to
gain real value.
The real value is in
the principles.
Do BothScrum
• A structure of new roles, “rituals” and cadence
• No prohibition against visualization, WIP limitation or
flow measurement
• A mature Scrum team with good technical practices
often looks awfully Kanban-ish
Kanban
• Evolution through measurement
• No opinion on roles, meetings or iterations
• Software dev teams who use Kanban to become
more Agile often act quite Scrum-y
38. @leankitjon
leankit.com/learn
• Articles
• E-books
• Webinars
• Templates
• Case Studies
Key Reading
Kanban: Successful evolutionary change for your technology
business
- David J. Anderson
Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life
- Jim Benson, Tonianne DeMaria Barry
Real-World Kanban: Do Less, Accomplish More with Lean Thinking
- Mattias Skarin
Lean from the Trenches: Managing Large-Scale Projects with Kanban
- Henrik Kniberg
Principles of Product Development Flow
- Don Reinertsen
Online