Learn more about Kanban: Project management, principles and benefits

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Surely, at some point in your life, you have used or at least heard about post-its , small sheets of repositionable adhesive paper used for quick and temporary notes.

This is precisely the proposal of Kanban , which uses digital or physical boards divided into columns to represent the different phases of the work process.

In its traditional form, management is carried out through post-its , contributing to the visualization and monitoring of tasks. The term 'Kanban' in Japanese translates as 'cards' or 'visual signs', reinforcing its visual management essence.

Read also: 5S Methodology: What it is, Benefits, Implementation and the Five Senses

After all, what is Kanban?
Kanban is a visual project management methodology that helps organize and optimize workflow. This methodology can be developed within a visual system defined on a board with separation columns that allow work to be divided into segments or by status.

When done in a card system, it describes the work performed within the process. Kanban allows you to assign limits on how many items can be in progress in each segment or workflow.

Learn the fundamental principles of Kanban
Kanban is based on three fundamental principles:

Visualize work : A Kanban board, where cards represent tasks, helps each team visualize their respective workflows, identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
Limit work in progress (WIP) : Setting limits on the number of tasks in progress prevents work overload and keeps the team at a sustainable pace (which refers to a speed or intensity of work that can be maintained consistently over time without causing burnout, exhaustion, or decreased quality).
Manage flow : Monitoring task progress and adjusting the process as needed encourages a continuous, efficient flow.
The three core principles of Kanban—visualizing work, limiting work in progress (WIP), and managing flow—together create a project management system. When applied together, these principles provide a number of synergistic benefits that improve productivity , work quality, and team well-being.

Benefits of applying Kanban
Kanban method

Nothing becomes successful for nothing — least of all Kanban.

With this statement in mind, it is easy to deduce that the success of this methodology is linked to its numerous benefits for teams and organizations. Its visual approach facilitates the management of tasks and processes, providing a new way to achieve goals and improve productivity.

Improved workflow visibility
Imagine that you and your entire team had a way to view all of your ongoing, pending, and thailand telemarketing data completed tasks. This could be achieved through Kanban boards that reveal the status of each task in separate columns, representing different phases of the process.

This visibility, in addition to helping to identify bottlenecks, where rapid interventions (if necessary) maintain a constant workflow, also focuses on communication and collaboration between team members (always in the best possible way).

Increased efficiency and productivity
By limiting work in progress (WIP) and focusing on completing tasks before starting new ones, Kanban helps teams maintain a healthy work pace. These practices lead to increased productivity, as teams can better focus on priority tasks and reduce idle time or time wasted on context switching.

Don't confuse limiting with eliminating — WIP will still be accomplished, but in a way that no team member is overwhelmed or confused about the priorities of each task.

Flexibility and adaptation to changes
Kanban can be adjusted to suit the most varied teams or projects — after all, it is an adaptable methodology, where tasks can be added, removed or moved between columns in a matter of seconds.

This flexibility, in turn, means teams can respond to changing priorities, project requirements, or market conditions (also in a matter of seconds).

Waste reduction
With improved visibility, it is possible to identify where resources are being misused — and that is where another very important benefit comes in: reducing waste.

In this sense, unnecessary tasks, duplication of effort and long waiting times represent reduced waste thanks to Kanban. Reducing waste leads to better use of available resources, be it time, personnel or materials, resulting in cost savings and increased operational efficiency .

Be sure to read: How to use a priority matrix within the company?

Kanban Column Definition
In Kanban, each column represents a specific step in the process, helping the team to actively and visually manage and track the progress of tasks.

To Do: tasks to be done
The “To Do” column contains all the tasks that have not yet been started. These tasks are waiting to be worked on and are organized and prioritized in this column. Before starting a new work cycle or sprint, all planned tasks are placed in the “To Do” column, so that the team always knows exactly what needs to be done next.

Doing: tasks being performed
The “Doing” column is where tasks in progress are placed — and monitoring which tasks are being executed is essential for Kanban to fulfill its main purpose: managing tasks as they move through the process. Each task in this column is assigned to one or more team members, and this is where a work in progress (WIP) limit is often applied to prevent overload.

This limit, in turn, is applied so that the team can focus on completing tasks before starting others, maintaining a manageable and, above all, functional workflow.

Done: tasks completed
The “Done” column contains all tasks that have been completed and no longer require any action. It not only records completed work, but also gives the team the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments and, in some cases, the successful end of a cycle, partnership, campaign, project…

Before moving a task to the “Done” column, a final check can be performed to confirm that all acceptance criteria have been met. Analyzing completed tasks can provide relevant data for progress reporting and feedback, helping the team continually improve their processes.

Meet Br24, Bitrix24 Partner with the Biggest Global Impact

Kanban and Bitrix24
Kanban what is it

Combine Kanban with Bitrix24 and enjoy even more benefits from this methodology. Bitrix24 is a complete management system that will boost your company's performance! Bitrix allows you to organize tasks and projects in a Kanban board format, helping you manage progress and team collaboration.

Bitrix CRM lets you use Kanban to manage deals, leads, and contacts, providing a clear view of your sales pipeline and the stage of each opportunity.