Kanban Guide
Everything we know about kanban
Written by the team that runs its own product board this way. No filler, no invented statistics, and every screenshot is the real app.
Kanban basics
The method itself: principles, history and how it works.
Kanban Backlog: How It Works and Stays Short
Does kanban have a backlog? Yes. How it differs from a scrum product backlog, why the ready queue is capped, and what to prune.
Kanban Retrospectives, Ceremonies and Cadences
Kanban requires no ceremonies but has seven cadences. Which meetings small teams need, and how a kanban retrospective differs.
Kanban Methodology: Why It Is Not a Framework
The kanban methodology: four principles, six practices, why kanban is a method rather than a framework, and how to start today.
Kanban Metrics: Cycle Time, Throughput and Flow
The four kanban metrics worth tracking, how to read a cumulative flow diagram, and whether kanban has velocity or burndown charts.
Kanban Planning: Estimation and Forecasting
Planning without sprints: replenishment meetings, forecasting from cycle time, and when kanban estimation still earns its place.
Kanban Principles and Classes of Service
The four change principles, three service delivery principles, six practices, and how classes of service work on a real board.
Board anatomy
Columns, cards, swimlanes and WIP limits: what a board is made of.
Kanban Board Columns: Naming, Count and Queues
How to design kanban board columns: how many to use, naming them after real stages, and the queue column that reveals bottlenecks.
WIP Limits in Kanban: How to Set Them
What a WIP limit is, why unlimited in-progress work slows teams down, how to pick your first limits, and how to set them in Kanbanee.
Comparisons
How kanban differs from scrum, sprints, agile and Gantt planning.
Kanban vs Agile: Is Kanban Actually Agile?
Kanban vs agile compares a method with a philosophy. Whether kanban is agile, what agile kanban means, and where the two disagree.
Kanban vs Scrum: Differences and How to Choose
Kanban vs scrum compared on cadence, roles, planning and metrics, plus which to use, whether kanban has sprints, and how to switch.
Kanban vs Sprint: Does Kanban Have Sprints?
Kanban has no sprints. What that means day to day, what replaces sprint planning, and when a fixed time box is still worth keeping.
Scrum vs Kanban vs Scrumban: What Scrumban Is
Scrumban explained: what it keeps from scrum and kanban, the three versions teams run, and when it is just scrum with extra steps.