When to use kanban?

Kanban is best used when a team or project requires continuous delivery, flexibility, and an emphasis on managing work in progress. Unlike Scrum, which operates in fixed-length iterations (sprints), Kanban allows tasks to be completed and delivered whenever they are ready, making it ideal for environments where priorities frequently change or where the workflow is ongoing.

When to Use Kanban:

1. Continuous Flow of Work:

   • Kanban is great for teams that work in a continuous flow, such as support, operations, or maintenance teams. These teams don’t work on time-boxed sprints but instead handle tasks as they come in, allowing for an uninterrupted workflow.
   • Example: IT support teams or DevOps teams that need to address issues, bugs, or deployments as they arise.

2. Unpredictable or Frequently Changing Priorities:

   • If your project environment has constantly shifting priorities, Kanban allows you to adapt easily. Tasks can be added or reprioritized at any time without disrupting the overall flow.
   • Example: Marketing teams running campaigns that need to adjust tasks based on current trends or feedback.

3. Focus on Reducing Work in Progress (WIP):

   • Kanban is ideal when the goal is to limit the number of tasks being worked on simultaneously, helping to reduce bottlenecks and improve focus on completing tasks.
   • Example: A software development team limiting the number of tasks in the “In Progress” column to prevent context switching and inefficiency.

4. Continuous Delivery Projects:

   • If you need to release features or updates continuously rather than in batches (as in Scrum sprints), Kanban is a great fit. It allows for frequent, incremental releases without waiting for the end of a sprint cycle.
   • Example: SaaS development teams delivering small updates and features continuously.

5. When Teams Require Flexibility:

   • Kanban allows for flexibility in terms of scope and deadlines. Unlike Scrum, where work is planned for a specific sprint, Kanban lets you move tasks through the workflow without committing to a fixed timeline.
   • Example: A design team handling various projects with different deadlines and deliverables, needing to prioritize tasks as needed.

6. Operational or Maintenance Work:

   • Teams responsible for ongoing operational tasks, like server monitoring, bug fixing, or infrastructure maintenance, can benefit from the continuous and visual nature of Kanban. It helps in tracking issues and responding quickly.
   • Example: A DevOps team monitoring system uptime and handling critical tasks as they arise.

7. When You Want to Visualize Workflow:

   • Kanban emphasizes visualization through Kanban boards, where tasks move through columns such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done." This is useful when you need a clear view of the project’s progress and want to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies quickly.
   • Example: A content production team visualizing the stages of content creation, from ideation to publishing.

Conclusion:

Use Kanban when you need a flexible, continuous delivery approach that emphasizes workflow visualization, limits work in progress, and allows you to adapt easily to changing priorities. It's particularly useful for teams with ongoing, unpredictable tasks or those that need to focus on optimizing the flow of work rather than following strict time-boxed iterations.