Kanban..Ban...Kan..Ban..Kan...Kanban

Kanban is not another way of doing the Can-Can. But doing the Kanban will get you moving.

Kanban is a method, which originated in Japan with Toyota after World War 2, of moving projects along. (But the term "Kanban", which means signboard, has existed since Edo Japan.) With a Kanban board, you can easily see a project's status. It also helps control the workflow and priorities, so you don't get overloaded. 

I've used a Kanban system before when creating documents for software releases. I felt it helped me know the progress of a release. So, I'd know whether I need to create a document or just wait until the development team moved on a project.

Kanban and Agile

Kanban boards complement an Agile environment. I've used a Kanban board in an Agile environment and I felt it made goals easy to accomplish in a software sprint. I also felt it augmented the experience where I can picture what needs to happen in a sprint.

To check out how Kanban boards could work within an Agile environment, look at what Guru99 says in Kanban vs. Agile. 

Electronic Kanban Boards

You could create a Kanban by just pinning to notes or cards to a bulletin board and moving them along on it. But many use electronic Kanban boards. Electronic boards help especially as companies and teams continue to go more remote. 

To get an idea how these electronic boards work, here are a couple of Kanban tools below.

Trello

My foray into Kanban systems was Trello. What I liked about Trello is you can easily create a card and drag it to the next step of the flow. I also liked you can easily add stuff to the card as things come up, even the card was created by someone else. Finally, there's Taco, Trello's husky pup. Cute little guy! I always liked whenever he'd show up during my time using Trello.

To check out Trello, here's a tour. 

Asana

Asana is another Kanban tool out there. I have never used Asana. But if I did, I wouldn't have any trouble with it. If I end up using Asana someday, I would feel at home because my time with Trello. 

If you want to see how Asana Kanban boards work, check this out.

Trello vs Asana

Not sure which one to go with? The Write Life compares the two.

Before You Decide on a Kanban Tool

Trello and Asana are just two of Kanban tools out there. Here's a list of other ones there. 

Before you decide which tool to use, first get a good understanding of a Kanban board. Once you do so, you can then pick the one the best suits your needs. For primers on Kanban boards, check out these out:

- Kanban Tool

- Modern Kanban

- Planview

- Econoshift

So if you do the Kanban, Kanban, Kanban, Kanban, Kanban, Kanban, Kanban, then your documents will move, move, move, move, move, move, move, move.