David Anderson’s book, “Kanban,” captivates from the first page. With illustrations, graphs, and conclusions, Anderson’s concise biography unveils the Kanban methodology for fans of healthy project management. Project management becomes intriguing when narrated by the method’s developer from a first-person perspective.
About the Author
According to the official blog of his company, David J Anderson is listed as the chairman of Lean Kanban Inc. He has been a management trainer and consultant since the 2000s and a conference speaker and host since 2005. Anderson first held a managerial position in 1991, giving him ample experience to honestly compare Kanban with Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, and other project management methodologies.
He created Kanban to elevate the level of intellectual and creative work. Anderson’s goals included timely delivery, alignment of work with set goals, and effective management of modern companies as a whole. Using real-life examples from Microsoft, Motorola, and Corbis, he explained and demonstrated the principles, methods, and instructions for implementing Kanban in companies.
Content and Essence of the Book
“Kanban: The Alternative Path to Agile” is written by the person who invented Kanban. The book is both interesting and informative, revealing the fine line between the Kaizen philosophy (continuous improvement), Lean methodology (lean production), and Kanban (a method for conserving human and material resources).
Kaizen: A philosophy and ethics of relationships between factory workers and administration.
Lean Production: A project management system created at Toyota to eliminate all time and resource waste from company processes.
Kanban: A project management method that limits the number of simultaneous tasks. If there are limited people, tools, or time, Kanban helps distribute tasks and projects.
Significantly influenced by the Theory of Constraints, Anderson’s book extensively covers WIP limits, bottlenecks, and the ability to honestly determine the maximum workload per unit of time while maintaining optimal quality.
The Theory of Constraints, developed by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, is a management methodology for manufacturing businesses. Goldratt’s systemic approach to identifying constraints in companies helps streamline everything. According to Goldratt’s experience, the company’s policy often becomes the primary constraint.
WIP Limit (Work in Progress): The number of tasks that can be open simultaneously.
Bottleneck: A point in the workflow where there is a serious constraint on resources or capabilities. On diagrams, it resembles the narrow neck of a bottle, with lines widening before and after such a situation.
Stereotypes about Kanban
When we hear about Kanban, we often imagine a board with sticky notes — a stereotype perpetuated by the media. Symbolically, there’s a list of open, ongoing, and completed tasks on the wall. Virtual walls and project management software can be used, where task lists, priorities, and other nuances are entered.
In this methodology, Kanban is not just a board or sticky notes but a process of controlling and transferring tasks on the wall. Anderson explains who moves the stickers, why, and how many can be kept in the “in-progress” column and why limiting this number is important.
Kanban is not a board with sticky notes; sticky notes are merely indicators of workload.
Anderson developed Kanban to prevent starting new projects before completing the previous ones. For example, if a developer can handle 3 – 5 tasks at a time, they can only take on a new task after finishing one.
Agile, Scrum, and Kanban
Anderson believes that Agile and Scrum methodologies are rigid and templated. In his view, project management should be individualized for each company. Therefore, Agile and Scrum, with their standardized action algorithms, are outdated, much like the classical step-by-step Waterfall methodology. Kanban, on the other hand, adapts to a company’s unique features, which can be intimidating for Agile methodology advocates.
Agile: A flexible methodology that historically started software development in the format of rolling out updates every few months. Iterations of a few weeks for each feature accelerate development and reduce risks.
Scrum: Another flexible methodology with short iterations and significant control over the programming process. There are sprints — time segments with specific tasks to complete. They are strictly limited. There are backlogs — lists of tasks that are distributed by the product owner. The product owner is not part of the development team but sets task priorities.
Waterfall: A classic project management model with a strict sequence of actions. It’s often explained with the analogy of building construction from foundation to roof.
Literary Quality
Reviews of the English original of David Anderson’s “Kanban” are similar: everyone mentions that the author explains:
- How the method was created, why, and with whom it was developed.
- Who benefits from it and who absolutely needs it.
- How to apply it to achieve results.
“Kanban” is written in the manner of good business literature. It includes conclusions at the end of each chapter, and all chapters individually address every possible question a reader might have in a logical order.
Chapter 20, “Problem Management and Escalation Rules,” particularly struck me. Differentiating a bottleneck from a blocked task is obvious, but how often do we mistake one for the other and try to push through a dead end? If a task can’t be solved now, address its root cause. Here’s a quote from the book:
“A blocked task indeed forms a bottleneck that restricts flow. However, it is not the same as the bottleneck described in Chapter 17 because it is not a resource constraint and not a resource waiting for access. Similarly, a cork is not a bottleneck. To restore the flow of liquid from the bottle, simply remove the cork.”
Verdict
Definitely worth reading, it will be beneficial for:
- Entrepreneurs struggling to manage increasing production rates.
- IT company directors dissatisfied with Scrum.
- Senior managers and team leaders.
- Marketers obsessed with KPIs but unsure of their effectiveness.
- Startup teams needing to do everything right from the start without “reinventing the wheel,” in code, life, and projects.