The Kanban method in IT development projects
This article presents the Kanban method, which is widely used in the development of application projects of all kinds: web, mobile and software.
What is the definition of the Kanban method?
The Kanban method is an agile method, much like the Scrum method.
This method is focused on visualization, and aims at continuous process improvement through a visualization board for web and software app development.
What’s the composition of a Kanban team?
To begin with, there’s no distribution of roles like there is with the Scrum method.
The roles of team members vary depending on the needs of the project and its organization. Specific skillsets can be brought in at any point in the product lifecycle, which results in better cost control and visibility.
Each team member keeps the role they had before working with the method:
- Project Manager
- Product owner
- Developer
- Lead developer
- Etc.
This does not prevent each team member from having a responsibility. For example, the product owner can take on the responsibility for prioritizing and managing incoming requests from the originator.
The developer deals with the requests they see accumulating in the “To be processed” column, in order of priority.
The Kanban visualization board
Example of a Kanban board containing the tasks to be carried out, distributed across the progress columns
Kanban is based on a system of visualizing cards in a table. The cards or labels represent the tasks to be processed, which correspond to and reflect incoming requests. The major advantage of the table is that it’s easy to read and understand. It also indicates the progress of the tasks to be processed by displaying the cards in different columns, which are generally divided as follows:
- To do
- In progress
- To test
- Completed
At Bocasay, we recommend the Kanban method for teams that are technically well-structured and want to realize development projects very quickly. The method is quick and easy to set up.
As it’s a lighter method in terms of framework set-up, in some cases we advise mixing it with another, for example the Scrum method, to meet your needs as fully as possible. Indeed, a Kanban board can make it possible to visualize the progress of the tasks to be carried out within a Scrum sprint.
How does the Kanban team work?
As has been mentioned, each person on the team retains their role.
The entire work in progress is distributed by means of labels in the columns of the visualization table. The developer team deals with the tasks in the “To do” column. Each task is moved from column to column, from left to right (or from its current state) until it is ready for delivery to the client, when it is placed in the “Completed” column.
The aim of the Kanban method is to minimize the risk of overproduction and waste, and to reduce time and costs. As a workflow visualization, the Kanban board allows you to prioritize and track the progress of the tasks to be accomplished.
Entrust your IT project to us and benefit from the most suitable agile method for your team and the achievement of all your objectives.
