Introduction
Have you ever heard About Professional Kanban Metrics?
When I ask this question, I don’t mean the simple “Kanban board” that many teams and organizations use, thinking they are practicing real Kanban.
Kanban, as a framework, is much more than just a board. It is about optimizing the flow of value through a development system using key metrics that help teams continuously improve the way they work.
Understanding Kanban Basics
Like Scrum, Kanban is an empirical framework that focuses on value flow and encourages teams to adopt the philosophy of “Stop starting, start finishing.”
It promotes a focused approach, helping teams limit work in progress and ensure efficiency.
At its core, flow is the movement of value through a development system. The key question Kanban helps answer is: How quickly can we deliver something?
Kanban Metrics
Kanban provides four key metrics that help teams optimize their flow:
- Work Item Age
- Cycle Time
- Work in Progress (WiP) Limit
- Throughput
Work Item Age
This metric tracks the age of tasks in a given status (e.g., “In Progress”). The younger the task, the better. When a task starts aging, it signals a potential bottleneck that needs to be addressed.
Cycle Time
Cycle time measures the duration from when a task first moves into “In Progress” until it reaches “Done.”
Imagine a stopwatch starting the moment a task enters “In Progress” and stopping when it moves to “Done.” The goal is to reduce cycle time as much as possible. Notably, Work Item Age transforms into Cycle Time once a task is completed.
Work in Progress (WiP) Limit
This metric enforces a cap on the number of tasks in a particular status. For example, if a team sets a WiP limit of five tasks in “In Progress,” exceeding this limit triggers a red warning, signaling that work is overloaded.
Limiting WiP helps prevent context switching (commonly mistaken as multitasking). The more tasks a person juggles simultaneously, the longer each takes to complete.
Throughput
Throughput measures the number of completed tasks (i.e., tasks in the “Done” column). It directly correlates with Cycle Time, Work Item Age, and WiP Limit—reducing these three improves throughput.
Using Kanban Metrics in Scrum
While Scrum and Kanban are different frameworks, Kanban metrics fit perfectly within Scrum events to enhance efficiency, reduce multitasking, and maximize value delivery.
Sprint Planning
- Rely on WiP limits to determine the optimal number of tasks the team can handle.
- Define a Sprint Goal first, then limit the number of work items to ensure focus on what truly matters.
Daily Scrum
- Work Item Age is an excellent metric for identifying stalled tasks.
- This metric highlights risks, dependencies, and stagnations, helping teams remove blockers instead of blaming each other.
Sprint Review
- Throughput helps teams assess their output.
- However, achieving the Sprint Goal is more critical than the number of tasks completed.
- Tracking throughput helps teams measure their capacity and apply empiricism for continuous improvement.
Sprint Retrospective
- All Kanban metrics are valuable during Sprint Retrospectives.
- Discussions should revolve around:
- Reducing Cycle Time
- Minimizing Work Item Age
- Increasing Throughput
- Gradually lowering the WiP Limit
The ultimate goal is iterative and continuous improvement to enhance efficiency and value delivery.
Conclusion
Kanban is more than just a board—it is a powerful framework for optimizing flow. When integrated into Scrum, Kanban metrics help teams make data-driven decisions, enhance collaboration, and continuously refine their processes.
By focusing on Work Item Age, Cycle Time, WiP Limits, and Throughput, teams can drive efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, and ensure they deliver real value to customers.
