Organizations generally adopt Lean to move the needle on specific indicators. They want to be more productive, improve the health of the organization, or increase revenue. But the Lean concept isn’t simply about improving metrics; it is about changing the culture. And changing the culture begins with leadership. Everyone from the top down needs to […]
Editor’s note: The article was updated in April 2018. Originally published in May 2016. Having an effective and efficient project or workflow management system in place is important for any company in the business for creating something new and useful. There are countless steps, multiple team members and a potentially endless set of features at […]
One of the main properties of Kanban is limiting work in progress (WIP). This allows you to match any team’s development (or your personal) capacity. The most widely-adopted practice is to set WIP limits per column (workflow stage). However, it is also acceptable to establish limits per person or team. In my experience, WIP limits […]
High-quality project outcomes completed within a manageable time-frame – isn’t that what most businesses ultimately want to achieve? Of course that we all want projects to be completed on time and within initial budget. However, statistics are not so promising. We recently found some eye-opening data that caught our attention. According to PMI.org, for every […]
It was not until I started this article when I realized there was no such term “Kanban Product Manager” (at least Googling it didn’t show any respectable results). Cool, I have my own term in the Kanban world now 🙂 Not really sure either if there is a term called “Kanban product management”, but since there […]
Some say time is money. I personally think it’s worth much, much more than that. Time is the single most valuable resource we all have on this planet. Therefore, it’s incredibly important that we do our best to protect it. If you’re a manager with hourly employees, the employee schedule is the core operational tool […]
If you are already using cycle time analysis and flow analytics to ensure your team is as productive and efficient as it can be, then you may have noticed the extent to which delays, time wastage and lost hours can affect your team’s ability to complete projects on time. Knowing how every team member is […]
Continuous improvement is among the foundations of Lean. Yet, it is the principle most teams are struggling with because it’s easy to get started with at first, but quick to reach a plateau. Many leaders fail to understand that continuous improvement is more than process optimization. It is a constant drive to learn and apply. […]
Does this title sound confusing? Don’t worry. By the end of this article you will see how simple it is. You will be able to measure the right cycle time with your eyes closed. In short, cycle time is one of the most valuable metrics you can use to acquire a better understanding of your […]
When was the last time you tried to motivate somebody? It doesn’t matter if you’re a top CEO, team leader, or a regular Joe. It doesn’t matter if you’re motivating a company, a team, or your daughter to clean her room. Motivation is the key to achieving your personal and professional goals. Motivating others can […]