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Recently, I was working on an introductory presentation about Kanban. A “thorough” Google search revealed how drawn out and convoluted many Kanban explanations can be. Was there one true answer I was missing? Something nice and succinct like, say, a tweet on twitter?
Acting on this and laziness, I decided to pose the following question to twitter:
I was so surprised by the number of great responses that I’ve decided to compile and share them with you here:
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erwilleke: #kanban combines systems thinking with a work-limited pull system to allow rapid maturation of teams and delivery of software.
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davenicolette: #kanban “What 100-130 characters would you use to describe Kanban?” I’d use the cast of _Who Framed Roger Rabbit?_
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knoxgourmet: Kanban is Scrum without the mess, no sprint planning, no midrange planning, no MSG headache.
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kjscotland: Map the value stream, visualize, limit WIP & establish cadence. Reduce WIP to improve flow of value and individual fulfillment
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agilemanager: #kanban visualize flow & limit WIP to encourage evolutionary change towards a lean outcome & high maturity culture
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Sprezzatura: First establish your value stream. Next limit your work in progress. Then visualize & learn from your workflow. #kanban
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most_alive: . #kanban: value flows, post-its move, step,step,step, workers unite
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neontapir: Kanban uses visual signals to track and optimize work delivery through key stages in its lifecycle.
I like the commonalities around value, visualization, limited WIP, pull systems, cadence, and flow. This tells me that Kanban is speaking a common and useful language to a lot of us. And, its value can be articulated in a tweet.
But my quest goes on!
I encourage you to add to this list by submitting your own 130 character Kanban definition either as a comment to this post or as a tweet to me (@jeantabaka and use #kanban in your answer.)
In April, I’m attending the Lean SSC conference in Atlanta. There will be a lot of discussion about Kanban. I’ll personally carry all comments and tweets to the conference for inclusion in the discussion. If you’re able to attend, let’s stretch the envelope and go beyond 130 characters on Kanban.
About the Author: Jean Tabaka is a wine enthusiast, author and Agile Fellow at Rally Software Development. Subscribe today to get free updates by email or RSS.
