Measuring True Process Yield using Robust Yield Metrics
Kanban: More than boards and WIP limits
1. Kanban: More than
boards and WIP limits
SquirrelNorth
FERNANDO CUENCA
fernando@squirrelnorth.com
H o w K a n b a n h e l p e d m e
r e c o n c i l e w i t h A g i l e / S c r u m
November 16,
2022
8. “Kanban is
a way of seeing…”
Andy Carmichael
From someone’s
“needs”
(or request)...
… to those needs
being fulfilled.
Flow of Work
Commitment
Point
Delivery
Point
Replenishment Delivery
Lead Time
Arrival
Pattern
9. Flow of Work
Lead Time
“Kanban is
a way of seeing…”
Andy Carmichael
DEMAND
capability
10. Flow of Work
Lead Time
Kanban:
a “management method”
Cost of Delay
Classes of Service
Board Design
Options Model
Upstream Kanban
Queuing Policy
Decoupled Cadences
Capacity Allocation
…
DEMAND SHAPING
Identify and Remove
Delay
Bottleneck Handling
Dependency
Management
Understanding
Variation
Economic Cost Model
Risk Review
Feedback Loops
Liquidity
…
IMPROVING
CAPABILITY
11. OK… WHAT IF OUR
PROCESS IS SCRUM?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scrum_Framework.png
Roles
Artifacts
Events
Timebox
14. Stories don’t
just come from
the PO
During
“grooming”,
stories often
split Stories in
progress often
generate more
stories
Managing the
Backlog becomes
really difficult!
15. When are we going
to be done?
Does it fit within the Sprint?
How many can we
take in?
”Done” doesn’t
always mean
“Done”
What do we do
with work not
finished in the
Sprint?
How much time?
16. All work starts all at
the same time
Sprint
Planning
Stories wait for PO
approval, because
he/she’s not
available
Testers have to wait
until almost the
end of the Sprint
19. …OK, one more…
Agile needs a
new
“mindset”
Mindset Actions Outcomes
With Kanban we
start here
Double-loop
Learning
Some recommend
to start here..
20. • Demand is rarely homogeneous
• Different types of work require different treatment
Demand
Analysis
Identification of
“Work Item Types”
Workflow Mapping
27. In the search for
Predictability
Visual Model
Add Product
to Shopping
Cart
Test server
unavailable
Date: 24/10/2018
Blocker
Clustering
Instrumentation
to measure flow
Environment
Outage
Missing
Information
SME
availability
Identify
“Sources of Delay”
• Multitasking & preferential
treatment (Pre-emption)
• Queues & Buffers
• Dependencies
• Impediments (Blockers)
• Rework, defects (Failure Demand)
29. The problem of
too much “WIP”
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Average Lead Time
Average WIP
Time (days)
Work
Items
Cummulative Flow
Diagram
(CFD)
Average Throughput
Arrivals
Departures
Avg. Delivery Rate =
Avg. WIP
Avg. Lead Time
Ley de Little
33. Two change management
Approaches
Current
Process
Defined/ Designed up-front
TRANSITION
Future
Process
Evolving
Process
Initial
Process
Future Process
is emergent
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Roll back
Roll
forward
Defined
(Traditional)
Evolutionary
(Kanban)
34. Change Management
with KAnban
Start with what you do
now.
Encourage acts of
leadership at all levels
Agree to pursue
Evolutionary Change
Evolving
Process
Initial
Process
Future Process
is emergent
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Fit for
purpose?
Roll back
Roll
forward
35. SquirrelNorth
s q u i r r e l n o r t h . c o m
Kanban: More
than boards and
WIP limits
H o w K a n b a n
h e l p e d m e
r e c o n c i l e w i t h
A g i l e / S c r u m
FERNANDO CUENCA
fernando@squirrelnorth.com
@fer_cuenca
November 17,
2022
Flow of Work
Lead Time