The document discusses lessons learned from coaching over 50 Kanban teams. It describes how to introduce the Kanban method through a one day workshop and follow-up sessions. Kanban helps teams visualize their work, limit work-in-progress, and identify continuous improvement opportunities. For organizations to fully adopt Kanban at scale, managers must become engaged with coaching their teams to drive real improvements, rather than just obvious changes.
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Lessons Learned from Coaching 50+ Kanban Teams
1. Lessons Learned
from Coaching 50+ Kanban Teams
Nirvana
Excellence, Perfection
100% Value created, 100% Fun
Woods of
Lost Managers
Here be Monsters
Here be Monsters
Chasm of
Re-org
Christophe Achouiantz
Lean/Agile Coach
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
@ChrisAch
The Way
of the
Kanban
Marsh of
Change
Resistance
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
2. Lessons Learned
•
•
•
•
•
Why Kanban?
The Kanban Method
Introducing and supporting Kanban
Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvements
Scaling Coaching
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
3. Lessons Learned on
THE KANBAN METHOD
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
4. Context is Everything
Some visual policies
(ticket design, colours, etc.)
% of Policies reusable
between Kanban Systems
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
5. You Grow a Kanban System
You do not Summon It
Yes!
No!
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
6. 2 Qualities that Matter in the Long Run
Resilient
Compensate lack of
Leadership
Sustainable
Stickiness
Clarity
Aligned with Purpose
Fact-based management
Improvement Opportunities
(Smart Moves)
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
7. You are Here
THE CONTEXT
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
9. The Context
The Origin Story
Johan Nordin
Support Manager at Sandvik IT
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
10. The Context
The Key to Minimizing most of our Problems
is Flow Control
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
11. Lessons Learned on
INTRODUCING THE KANBAN METHOD
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
12. Kanban
Packaging Kanban
Time needed to establish a
Kanban System
Sustainable
Level
”Sticky!”
Effort needed to reach sustainability
Probability
Boosts!
Time a manager is willing
to let go for starting with
Kanban
Time
1 day
The Kick-start Workshop
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
13. Understand
the Team
Who cares?
Energy
Level
Now I get it!
Why have we never
discussed that before?
Assess Depth of
Kanban
Manage Demand
The Kick-Start Workshop (1 day)
Limit WIP
Measure Flow
Follow-Up
Close the Scene
Run First Planning
Meeting
Set Planning Meeting
Policies
Limit WIP
Set Way-of-Working
Policies
Create & Populate
the Board
Set Visualization
Policies
Explain Board
Mechanics
Identify Work Types
Discover what the
Team does
Define a Shared
Vision
Share Current
Concerns
Set the Scene
Kanban
The Kick-start & Boosts
Boosts
Ouch!
Now I understand
why I feel stressed!
Now we work
SMART!
Time
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
14. The team is in charge
1000000
Low on Theory,
High on Practice in
Context
Emotional:
Engaged to see MY
stuff on the board
100000
Clarity of Purpose
Efficiency
Stickiness
Team Focused and
Team Driven
Interest
Kanban
Keys to Maximizing Stickiness & Clarity
of Kick-starts
Shared common
view of Team’s
purpose and
context.
”Service Oriented”
10000
Do this a.s.a.p.
during the kickstart!
1000
100
Do this a.s.a.p.
during the kickstart!
10
1
Some Expert creates
the Kanban System
Theory ZZzzz
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
21. Improvements
Kanban and Continuous Improvements
Improve
Vision
The Kanban Method
Baseline
Kanban comes with an Implicit Vision
• Low WIP
• Liquid Flow
• 100% Value
Kanban help you identify improvement opportunities
• Trailing (lead-times) and Leading (board) indicators
You have Focus
•
Controlled WIP (less task-switching)
•
Clarity of Purpose (Service Oriented)
Kanban helps create the ”Baseline”
•
Current Condition is known
•
Leading & trailing Indicators (Facts)
•
Common Standard (Policies)
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
22. Dis-Continuous
Improvement?
Level of
Improvements
Improvements
Patterns of Continuous Improvements
Ceiling
There is always a Ceiling!
Move the ceiling:
Manager un-engaged
• Strech your value streams!
Get in control of upstream & downsteam
• Get a sponsor higher up in the org!
To compensate the lack of political influence of
the managers beyond a certain point
Manager not present
”Obvious”
improvements
”Real”
improvements
Time
• Peer-to-peer coaching!
To increase commitment and curiosity from
manager
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
25. Kanban
Coached 60+ Teams
”Suppliers Teams”
Development Teams working
with AM & Projects
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
26. Scaling
A Strategy to Trigger a Culture Change
% of Culture
100
Change
100
% of ”Kanbanized” Teams
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
28. Scaling
The Goal: Get Rid of the Coaches!
Managers
Team
Team
Team
Team
Team
Team
Team
Coaches
A Scafolding to be removed
when Managers have become
coaches
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
31. 2 Qualities that Matter in the Long Run
Resilient
Compensate lack of
Leadership
Sustainable
Stickiness
Clarity
Aligned with Purpose
Fact-based management
Improvement Opportunities
(Smart Moves)
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
32. Summary
Kanban is the Fastest (highest RoI) way
to increase your team’s Capability
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
33. Assess Depth of
Kanban
Manage Demand
The Kick-Start Workshop (1 day)
Limit WIP
Measure Flow
Follow-Up
Close the Scene
Run First Planning
Meeting
Set Planning Meeting
Policies
Limit WIP
Set Way-of-Working
Policies
Create & Populate
the Board
Set Visualization
Policies
Explain Board
Mechanics
Identify Work Types
Discover what the
Team does
Define a Shared
Vision
Share Current
Concerns
Set the Scene
Understand
the Team
Summary
Easy to ”Sell” Kanban using
1 day Workshop and Boosts
Boosts
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
34. Summary
Depth of Kanban to Identify the most
meaningfull (highest RoI) next improvement
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
35. Vision
Improve
Summary
The Deeper you Go with Kanban, the more it
forces you to improve continuously
The Kanban Method
Baseline
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
36. Dis-Continuous
Improvement?
Level of
Improvements
Summary
You Need Curious Managers for ”Real”
Improvements
Ceiling
Manager un-engaged
Manager not present
”Obvious”
improvements
”Real”
improvements
Time
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
37. Summary
We Scale with a Temporary Coach Chain
until the Managers take over
Managers
Team
Team
Team
Team
Team
Team
Team
Coaches
A Scafolding to be removed
when Managers have become
coaches
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
38. Thanks for your Time!
Christophe Achouiantz
@ChrisAch
Get the slides here:
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se
Christophe Achouiantz @ChrisAch – LKCE13
http://leanagileprojects.blogspot.se