Kanban - It's All About Balance

If you ask most people what Kanban is, they may refer to it as something to do with tickets and boards. It may even be referred to as an agile or lean process.

The Agile Regina (Lean Coffee) Meetup recently asked Martin Aziz to help distill the Kanban Method for us.

In his session, Martin explored the essence of the Kanban Method and how it all comes down to an approach that seeks to improve business performance through balance.

This was an engaging, interactive, and informative LIVE ZOOM session. You will want to check this out if you are interested in hearing about how to unlock increased business performance by achieving balance throughout the organization

Transcript

1. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth KANBAN SquirrelNorth AGILE REGINA - LEAN COFFEE OCT 29 2020 MARTIN AZIZ martin@squirrelnorth.com IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
2. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth R E G I N A 3 THINGS I FIND MOST INTERESTING ABOUT REGINA All of Canada’s Mountie’s learn to become one at Depot Division. Wascana Centre Park > Stanley Park + Central Park Universal Healthcare thanks to Tommy Douglas.
3. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth K A N B A N ? COMMON WAYS YOU MAY HAVE SEEN KANBAN EXPLAINED IT’S FOR CONTINUOUS DELIVERY IT HAS ITS PLACE KANBAN VS <FRAMEWORK> A LIST OF INGREDIENTS
4. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth “Do we have the capability and capacity to deliver on our promises?” s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E
5. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth THE REALITY IN AN OPERATING ORGANIZATION. B A L A N C E OPPORTUNITIES CAPABILITIES O P P O R T U N I T I E S O U T S T R I P C A P A B I L I T I E S
6. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E DEMAND CAPABILITY CUSTOMER NEEDS CHANGE CONTINOUSLY CONGRUENT GREATER CHANCES OF SUCCESS EXISTS WHERE THESE TWO FORCES ARE IN BALANCE
7. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E Quality issues, causing more delay and dissatisfaction Lack of predictability Overworked but unproductive workers Missed deadlines Broken Promises THE BUSINESS IMPACT IF LEFT UNADDRESSED CAN BE SIGNIFICANT
8. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E 20th CENTURY APPROACHES TO SOLVING THIS PROBLEM HIRE “SMARTER” PEOPLE? OVER PROMISE HIRE MORE PEOPLE? REFUSE THE WORK REQUESTS? BETTER TRAINING?
9. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E KANBAN PROVDES TOOLS TO WORK ON THE PROBLEM FROM BOTH SIDES Identify and Remove Delay Bottleneck Handling Dependency Management Understanding Variation Economic Cost Model Risk Review Feedback Loops Liquidity … Cost of Delay Classes of Service Board Design Options Model Upstream Kanban Queuing Policy Decoupled Cadences Capacity Allocation … SHAPE DEMAND IMPROVE CAPABILITY
10. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m K A N B A N ? A BETTER DESCRIPTION EMERGES DEMAND CAPABILITY “The Kanban Method seeks to achieve business performance through balance between Demands and Capabilities. “
11. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth “Where does the imbalance exist?” s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth A G E N D A S
12. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth A G E N D A S WHERE DOES KANBAN ADDRESS THE IMBALANCE? SERVICES To develop sustainable practices. TEAMS To improve the ability to provide products and services. Customer I got it! Customer I need this! organizations Develop responsive enterprises that can navigate an increasingly changing market.
13. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth To develop sustainable practices. TEAMS Customer I got it! Customer I need this! SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA Limiting personal “Existential Overhead.” Managing Individual Commitments. Avoiding Personal Overburdening. A G E N D A S
14. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E SERVICES To improve the ability to provide products and services. Customer I got it! Customer I need this! SERVICE ORIENTATION AGENDA Assessing Customer Fitness Criteria. Configuring existing services. Adapting Capability.
15. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E Customer I got it! Customer I need this! organizations Develop responsive enterprises that can navigate an increasingly changing market. SURVIVABILITY AGENDA Understanding Service viability. Deploying new services. Developing new Capabilities.
16. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth B A L A N C E ORGANIZATION MATURITY SUSTAINABILITY SERVICE ORIENTATION SURVIVABILITY WHAT KIND OF KANBAN YOU DO WILL DEPEND ON YOUR ORGANIZATION’S MATURITY s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m
17. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth “How to restore the imbalance?” s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth R E B A L A N C E
18. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth R E B A L A N C E IMPROVED PREDICTABILITY THROUGH FLOW MAXIMIZE AGILITY VISUAL MODELS SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITMENT A CULTURE OF RESPECT AND LEADERSHIP ACHIEVE BALANCE THROUGH 5 KEY CONCEPTS
19. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth VISUAL MODELS R E B A L A N C E Knowledge Work is largely intangible. Kanban uses visual models such as boards and metrics to “unhide” work in progress. This creates visibility into status and a single point of truth for collaboration. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth
20. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth R E B A L A N C E s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth IMPROVED PREDICTABILITY THROUGH FLOW There are many ways in which our work can get stuck: dependencies on others, rework, unclear needs, interruptions, to name a few. These delays introduce risk to your ability to provide predictable and reliable products and services. The Kanban Method provides techniques to manage flow, remove delays, and get risks under control.
21. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth MAXIMIZE AGILITY R E B A L A N C E s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth Agility is the ability to match the pace demanded by your market. The more frequently your market changes, the more agile you may need to be. Set the right level of agility through these 4 levers: 1. Commitment rate to starting work 2. Speed of delivery 3. Consistency of delivery 4. Frequency of delivery
22. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth R E B A L A N C E s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth SERVICE DELIVEY COMMITMENT Manage your capabilities so that you can make promises that you can keep. • Measure your service • Judge the impact of changes • Use data to effectively predict your delivery capabilities and develop SLAs
23. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth The Kanban Method encourages participation throughout the workforce to lead change. ACTS OF LEADERSHIP SEEK IMPROVEMENTS R E B A L A N C E A CULTURE OF RESPECT & LEADERSHIP
24. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth “Do we have the capability and capacity to deliver on our promises?” “Where are we working on the imbalance?” CAPABILITIES & DEMAND AGENDAS ACHIEVE ORGANIZATIONAL BALANCE THROUGH 5 KEY CONCEPTS SquirrelNorth s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m KANBAN IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
25. s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m SquirrelNorth SquirrelNorth + THANK YOU s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m Q & A KANBAN IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE MARTIN AZIZ martin@squirrelnorth.com