Kanban Thinking is a framework that uses kanban-based techniques to solve problems. One of its goals is to avoid being prescriptive, while still capturing the essence of much of what has been learned over recent years. The core components that enable this are heuristics that guide the design of kanban systems by understanding the nature of the system, describing desirable impacts, and identifying possible interventions. The heuristics can be explored by working through the Kanban Canvas.

System

How to assess the systemic problem and who is experiencing it.

Impacts

How to assess the fitness criteria in terms of flow, value & potential.

Interventions

How to assess the evolutionary potential by studying, sharing, stabilising, sensing & searching.

Impacts

Flow

What stories can be told about the work going through a perfect process which has reliability and efficiency?

Potential

What stories can be told about the work being done by passionate people who have flexibility and euphoria?

Value

What stories can be told about the work of creating an unbeatable product which has validity and effectiveness?

Interventions

Study

What could be learnt about customer and stakeholder needs, the resultant demand, and how that demand is processed?

Share

What information is important to share, and how can tokens, the inscriptions on them, and their placements, create a common understanding?

Stabilise

What policies could help limit work in process, and remove unnecessary or unexpected delays or rework?

Sense

What measures and meetings might create insights and guide decisions on potential interventions?

Search

What small experiments could be run to safely learn the impact of different interventions?

Kanban Canvas

The Kanban Canvas is designed to be printed on A0 paper and used to collaboratively explore the model when designing a kanban system.

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