Showing 102 Result(s)

Kanban Thinking on SPaMCAST

I recently gave an interview with Tom Cagley who puts together the Software Process and Measurement Cast, and talked about what I am calling Kanban Thinking. The result has just been published – have a listen and let me know what you think. SPaMCAST 174 – Karl Scotland, Kanban Thinking

The Science of Kanban – Conclusions

This is the final part of a write-up of a talk I gave at a number of conferences last year. The previous post was about the science of economics Scientific Management Revisited Is scientific management still relevant for product development then? As I have already said, I believe it is, with the following clarifications. I am making a distinction between …

The Science of Kanban – Economics

This is the fourth part of a write-up of a talk I gave at a number of conferences last year. The previous post was about the science of process Having a good understanding of how creative people can have an efficient process still isn’t enough however. As Russell Ackoff is often quoted as saying, “It’s better to do the right …

The Science of Kanban – Process

This is the third part of a write-up of a talk I gave at a number of conferences last year. The previous post was about the science of people. Even though a kanban system describes knowledge work, we can still apply formal sciences such as mathematics. Rather than applying them at a detailed, micro level, we can take a system …

The Science of Kanban – People

This is the second part of a write-up of a talk I gave at a number of conferences last year. The previous post was the Introduction. Software and systems development is acknowledged to be knowledge work, performed by people with skills and expertise. This is the basis for the Software Craftsmanship movement, who are focussing on improving competence, “raising the …

The Science of Kanban – Introduction

This is a write-up of a talk I gave at a number of conferences last year. I have split it into 5 parts. Abstract Science is the building and organising of knowledge into testable explanations and predictions about the world. Kanban is an approach which leverages many scientific discoveries to enable improved flow, value and capability. This article will explore …

Visualising Kanban Dimensions with TIPs

Following on from my post describing a Kanban Visualisation TIP (Token, Inscription, Placement), this post gives some examples of how to visualise the various dimensions of a Kanban Multiverse. The goal is not to define any ‘correct’ ways of visualising information, but to show that there are a variety of useful approaches and hopefully inspire further new creative approaches. As …

Thoughts on Kanban Thinking

Some thoughts on what I have been referring to as Kanban Thinking Why create an other brand? I’m in the camp that believes we need to create more brands, rather than reduce everything down to “common sense” or “good practice”. To paraphrase Alistair Cockburn, every successful team should create its own branded processes to describe the context and the solution. …

The Economics of Raking Leaves

I was out in the garden this weekend raking up leaves. Having read Geoff Watts recent post about using Scrum to clear his leaves – and as someone who can’t do anything without thinking about work (see Kanban and Quad Biking!) – my mind turned to how I would use Kanban Thinking to approach the work at hand. Surely I …

Scrum Gathering London – A Blast From the Past

At the Scrum Gathering in London this October, I had a bit of a flash-back to the last time the Gathering was in London. At that event, during the Open Space, I announced a Kanban session with words along the lines of “My team recently stopped using Scrum and our productivity has improved”. As I recall it, there was an …