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About this lesson
A Kanban Schedule is a project scheduling tool for managing a batch of similar items that must be processed through the same project steps.
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Quick reference
Kanban Schedule
A visual depiction of the flow of project deliverables - or mini-deliverables - through the project. Often used with the processing of a batch of items through the same steps.
When to use
The Kanban Schedule is ideal for a project that has a batch of items which must be processed through similar project management steps, such as the development of software modules or the qualification of many vendors/suppliers. It is also used as a primary scheduling tool for Agile/Scrum projects.
Instructions
Kanban schedules are displayed with two formats. The principle used for managing the schedule is identical, but the display is different. The Flow Board display is best used with small projects and with Agile/Scrum projects. The Matrix display is best used on large projects where a "batch" of items must be processed through the same project steps.
Flow board
- Decompose major deliverables into tasks.
- Each task must be tracked separately so it is documented on a unique task item.
- Place all items in the first column, representing the scope of the project plan.
- When a tasks is started, it is moved to the "Work In Process" column.
- When the task is finished, it is moved to the "Done" column.
- If a task becomes delayed or encounters a problem, it is moved to the "At Risk" column and receives special attention from the project manager and appropriate Core Team members.
Matrix
- Create the project schedule based upon project requirements and constraints using Milestone Charts, Gantt Charts, or Network Diagrams.
- Identify tasks that are a batch – a similar set of activities applied to multiple items.
- List the items in the first column of the matrix and the activities as column headings.
- Plan an end date for each item and activity and place it in the appropriate cell of the matrix.
- Show the batch as a single summary task on the Gantt Chart or Network Diagram.
- As the work is completed, change the background color of the cell to indicate that it is done.
Hints & tips
The approach is not appropriate on all projects, but where it is, it will save time in both planning and tracking progress and often provide a better sense of true schedule progress than any other project scheduling tool.
It is easy to calculate a "percent complete" for the project or batch by just considering the percent of tasks in the done column or of cells in the matrix that are completed. Senior management often asks for a percent complete for the project and it is very difficult to provide that from a Gantt chart or Milestone chart.
During project execution, this technique will place a spotlight on tasks or activities that are falling behind, allowing the Core Team to take early corrective action.
Login to download- 00:01 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
- 00:05 Let's talk about a schedule planning tool called a Kanban Schedule.
- 00:11 This tool is a flow perspective for the project, by that I mean a group of items
- 00:16 that all have to go through the same set of tasks or activities on the project.
- 00:21 It's a visual description of how a project deliverable flows through the various
- 00:26 steps of the project, just like the milestone chart has two ways of showing
- 00:30 milestones, I've seen Kanban principle applied in two different formats.
- 00:35 One is a flow board that shows the status of the deliverables and tasks,
- 00:40 supporting those deliverables, based upon the columns in which they're located.
- 00:44 The second is a matrix, normally set up so that all the items or
- 00:48 tasks are listed out one side of the matrix on the rows, and
- 00:52 the types of project activities are listed across the top, creating columns.
- 00:56 Then, the planned date for each item to complete each activity
- 00:59 is inserted in the appropriate cell in the matrix.
- 01:01 The color of the cell in the matrix shows the status.
- 01:05 These schedules create a focus on the item or activities that may be causing delays.
- 01:10 Any delayed or bottlenecked activity will become immediately apparent, and
- 01:14 the project manager and
- 01:15 core team can take the necessary actions to complete that task.
- 01:20 The tool can simplify the overall project planning and tracking.
- 01:24 For adaptive or iterative projects, just list the deliverables or
- 01:28 items in the Kanban manager.
- 01:30 And particularly, if you have a batch of items that must go through the same steps,
- 01:35 show that batch as a summary task and let the Kanban track the details.
- 01:40 Let's take a look at the flow board view of a Kanban schedule.
- 01:44 First, decompose the deliverables into the subtasks that must be completed.
- 01:49 Each of those subtasks is then individually listed so
- 01:51 it can be individually tracked.
- 01:53 Place all the subtasks in the first column, that is the project plan.
- 01:57 Or on an adaptive project like Agile Scrum it could be called
- 02:00 the sprint backlog column.
- 02:02 Once one of the team members actually starts to work on that item,
- 02:06 then move it to the work in progress column.
- 02:09 When that item is finished, move it to the finished column.
- 02:13 As a project leader, watch the work in progress column closely.
- 02:16 If something seems to be stuck there, dig in and find out what's happening.
- 02:20 If there's a problem, move it to the risk column and
- 02:23 put extra tension and resources on it to get it done.
- 02:27 Now let's talk about the Matrix view of a Kanban Schedule.
- 02:31 Start by creating the overall project schedule based on the project requirements
- 02:34 and constraints.
- 02:36 I normally use a Milestone Chart, or a high level Gantt Chart or
- 02:39 Network Diagram for this.
- 02:41 Identify what items follow the same set of activities and can be treated as a batch,
- 02:45 depending upon the nature of your project work,
- 02:47 you may not have anything that fits this criterion.
- 02:49 If that's the case, don't use this view.
- 02:53 List the item in the first column of the matrix and
- 02:55 the activities are the column headings for the remaining columns.
- 02:59 Then place the plannend end date for when an item will finish each of those
- 03:03 activities in the appropriate cell of the matrix.
- 03:06 I don't change the background color for activities that are finished and
- 03:10 I use a different color for those that are late.
- 03:13 In this example, the obvious problem is Module 4 and
- 03:16 it looks like coding is becoming a bottleneck.
- 03:19 I then show the batch as a single summary task on my Network Diagram or
- 03:22 my Gantt Chart.
- 03:24 I keep the details on the matrix to simplify the other scheduling techniques.
- 03:29 There are some hints and tips for using the Kanban scheduling tools.
- 03:33 This approach will save a lot of planning time over other techniques.
- 03:36 I had a product that had approximately 80 parts being purchased for a new product.
- 03:40 For each of those parts we had to create drawings,
- 03:43 find a supplier, qualify the supplier, setup the purchase orders,
- 03:46 conduct a first piece inspection, receive the initial shipment and
- 03:49 then initialize the inventory tracking system as part of this project.
- 03:54 That's 7 steps with over 80 parts and
- 03:57 that was more than 500 tasks but all I had to put into the project management
- 04:02 software program that I was using was 1 summary task.
- 04:05 That was several months long.
- 04:07 And I managed all the details with the Kanban schedule in a simple Excel
- 04:11 spreadsheet.
- 04:12 This technique will highlight when you have an item that has fallen
- 04:15 behind schedule.
- 04:16 The visual cues make it easy to find and focus the team's attention on that item.
- 04:22 This technique also highlights activities that are causing problems.
- 04:27 When you see that, you know that you need to focus on that bottleneck and
- 04:30 manage it closely.
- 04:31 It's easy to calculate a percent complete for the summary task.
- 04:35 In the example I had mentioned earlier, you count the number of items and
- 04:39 activities that are completed and
- 04:40 divide that total by the number of cells in the matrix, 560.
- 04:45 That's the percent complete.
- 04:47 In the flow board, I count the percent of items that are in the done column.
- 04:51 Finally, this tool will keep the project team focused on getting things done.
- 04:55 Asking at each meeting, what has moved to the done column or
- 04:58 which cells can be shaded as complete, emphasizes,
- 05:02 that people need to keep things moving in this project.
- 05:06 The right project management tools are a tremendous help in the project.
- 05:11 If Kanban fits your project then use it.
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