A project is an activity that is temporary and limited by cost, space, time. To run it, a project is usually led by a project manager who is in charge of directing and overseeing the course of the project as planned.

However, the reality on the ground shows that controlling the project is not an easy thing to do. Then, a new method for monitoring the progress of a project by the team was created, namely Kanban

Definition of Kanban Method

Kanban is a popular project management method. The way this method works is through visualization using boards, columns, and cards to manage tasks and workflows more effectively. Through this, all team members, including the project manager and project stakeholders, can see which work has not been, is currently, or has been completed.

Launching from Kanbanize, the word ‘Kanban’ itself comes from a term in Japanese that means ‘visual signal’ or ‘card’. This method was first developed by Taiichi Ohno of the Toyota Production System (TPS) to carry out manufacturing production in the late 1940s.

Then at the beginning of the 21st century, the software industry quickly realized the big idea of ​​this Kanban method. Finally, by increasing the focus on the value of efficiency and taking advantage of advances in computing technology, Kanban has been successfully applied to various other sectors of the commercial industry through a variety of software applications.

Benefits of the Kanban Method for Project Management

1. Better Project Management Transparency

Kanban comes offering many benefits. With this board, project progress can be displayed onboard will help teams better understand workflows and the correlation between one another tasks. As a result, communication in the team becomes more effective and the work rhythm becomes more dynamic.

2. Increases Flexibility and Responsiveness

Kanban applies a “just-in-team” pattern which makes it flexible to identify any changes that occur in project work. This is because the Kanban method focuses on what task is in progress and will only show further work if the initial work has been completed. This makes it easier for the project manager to adjust delivery schedules and resource requests that may change in response to company, stakeholder, and market needs.

3. Shorter Duty Cycle = Increased Output

In Kanban, the entire team is responsible for making sure work runs smoothly according to cycle times. The cycle time itself is the length of time it takes for a work unit to go through a team workflow, from start to finish. Optimized cycle times can make better predictions of future job completion. Therefore, it is important for teams to focus on completing tasks one by one so that the task board can be immediately moved to the ‘Done’ column.

4. Effective in Managing Resource Allocation

This method is ‘lean’ or increases the effectiveness of performance. This is seen in how Kanban helps project managers allocate resources to the workloads that need them. This is because Kanban shows whether a work unit has been overproduced or underproduced. This must be immediately known by the project manager so the workflow is not hampered. Through Kanban, the project manager can immediately notice this and inform the team to find the best solution.

5. Continuous Quality Improvement of Results

The last, Kanban also focuses on improving the quality of results in a sustainable manner. Through Kanban, project results are created through various problems that are resolved responsively by the team. This means that Kanban increases the quality control of project results from the beginning to the end.

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