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Jul 29, 2024

What is Kanban? An Overview Of The Kanban Methodology

Kanban boards are a must have for visualising workflow and productivity. Whether you're new to project management or looking to improve your process, understanding Kanban boards is key. Let's break it down step by step.

What is a Kanban Board?

A Kanban board is a visual project management tool that helps teams see their work, limit work in progress and maximise efficiency (or flow). It originated from the Toyota Production System and has been adopted widely in software development, marketing and many other industries.

The Anatomy of a Kanban Board

1. Columns

The base of a Kanban board is its columns. These represent the different stages in your workflow. A basic Kanban board has three columns:

To Do
In Progress
Done

But you can customise these to fit your process. For example a software development team might use:

Backlog
Ready for Development
In Development
Testing
Ready for Release
Released

2. Cards

Each task or work item is represented by a card on the board. These cards move from left to right through the columns as work progresses. A card typically includes:

A brief description of the task
The person assigned to the task
The due date (if applicable)
Any relevant labels or tags

3. Work-in-Progress (WIP) Limits

One of the key principles of Kanban is limiting work-in-progress. This is often represented by a number at the top of each column, the maximum number of cards allowed in that column at any given time.

How it Works

4. Workflow Visualisation

As work starts cards are moved from the leftmost column to the right. This visualisation allows teams to see:

What's waiting
What's being worked on
What's done

5. Finding Bottlenecks

By looking where cards are piling up teams can easily see where the bottlenecks are. If one column is always full and others are empty it may mean you need to reallocate resources or change the workflow.

6. Continuous Improvement

Kanban boards encourage a culture of continuous improvement. Teams review their board regularly and discuss:

How to improve the flow of work
Do WIP limits need to be adjusted
Do we need new columns or swimlanes to better represent the workflow

Why Use a Kanban Board

Visibility: Everyone can see the state of every piece of work at any time.
Efficiency: By limiting WIP, teams focus on finishing current work before starting new work.
Flexibility: Kanban boards can be easily changed to fit changing project needs.
Collaboration: Teams have a shared understanding of the work and its progress.

Digital Kanban Boards

While physical Kanban boards with sticky notes are fun, digital Kanban tools like Hypertasks offer more:

Accessibility: Team members can access the board from anywhere, great for remote teams.
Integration: Digital boards can integrate with other tools and automate some processes.
Advanced Features: Tools like Hypertasks have features like an inbox for enhanced communication, keyboard shortcuts for navigation and AI-assisted task management.

By understanding and using Kanban boards teams can improve their workflow, increase productivity and collaboration. Whether you go for a physical board or a digital solution like Hypertasks the principles of Kanban will change your project management.

Why Hypertasks Kanban Boards

There are many digital Kanban tools out there but Hypertasks stands out with its approach to project management and team communication. Here's why Hypertasks Kanban boards are the way to go:

1. Communication Focused

Hypertasks has an inbox built into your Kanban board, a unified workspace for task management and team communication. This solves a common problem in project management: where work happens and where the discussion takes place.

Contextual Conversations: Every task can be a conversation thread, no need to leave the project context.
Simplified Communication: No more switching between your project management tool and your email client or chat app.

2. Keyboard First Navigation

Hypertasks is designed for speed. Our keyboard first approach lets you navigate your Kanban board and tasks faster than ever:

J and K to move between tasks
CTRL + K to open the Hypertasks Command Center (HTC) for quick actions
SHIFT + H and SHIFT + L to cycle through board columns

This saves a lot of time on task management so your team can focus on actual work. Learn more about our shortcuts in our help article.

3. AI Powered Productivity

Hypertasks uses artificial intelligence to boost your Kanban experience:

AI Summaries: Get quick AI generated summaries of task discussions and details.
Writing Assistance: Get AI powered writing help for task descriptions and comments.

This AI integration simplifies communication and saves time on understanding and creating task related content. Read more about our AI features in our blog.

4. Advanced Filtering and Sorting

Hypertasks takes Kanban organization to another level with advanced filtering and sorting:

SHIFT + F to access advanced filtering options
Sort tasks by priority, due date or custom fields with SHIFT + S
Create saved filters for quick access to specific views of your board

Learn how to use these in our help article on filtering tasks.

5. Auto-Splits for Inbox Management

Our Auto-Splits feature automatically categorizes incoming messages and notifications so inbox management is a piece of cake:

Per project board splits
Global splits for updates, reactions and important messages
TAB and SHIFT + TAB to navigate between splits

Learn how Auto-Splits can organize your work in our blog post on automatic inbox clarity.

6. The "Kanban Zero" Approach

Hypertasks introduces the concept of "Kanban Zero" - a state of optimal organization and focus on your Kanban board:

CTRL + E to archive completed or irrelevant tasks
Keep your board lean and clutter free and focused on current priorities
Retrieve archived tasks when needed

Read more about this in our article on Kanban Zero.

7. Remote Team Collaboration

In today's remote work world Hypertasks is a tool for distributed teams:

Real time updates so everyone is on the same page
Cloud based so you can access from anywhere
Asynchronous communication features for teams in different time zones

Learn how Hypertasks can help with remote team communication in our blog post on redefining remote team communication.

8. Customization

Customize board columns to match your workflow
Create multiple boards for different projects or teams
Set up custom fields to track task specific information

9. Analytics

Get insights into your team's performance and workflow with Hypertasks' analytics:

Task completion rates and cycle times
Bottlenecks in your process
Individual and team productivity metrics

10. Continuous Improvement

We at Hypertasks are always improving our platform based on user feedback and the latest PM methodologies:

Regular updates and new feature releases
Support team to help with your needs
Blog with tips, best practices and case studies to help you get the most out of your Kanban board

Try Hypertasks

Now that you know about Kanban boards you're ready to try Hypertasks. Getting started is easy:

Click the "Get Hypertasks free" button at the top of this page
Sign in with your Google account - that's it!
You'll have your first free Kanban board in seconds
Customize your board to your workflow
Invite your team members and start collaborating

No sign-up forms or credit card required. Just click and sign in with your Google account and you're in.

For more help with Hypertasks:

Our help center has guides on how to use Hypertasks features
Our blog has tips on how to get the most out of Hypertasks

Remember, project management is as much about the tool as it is about the approach. Hypertasks is not just a Kanban board, it's a system to help team communication, workflow and productivity.

By choosing Hypertasks for your Kanban you're not just choosing a project management tool – you're adopting a philosophy of efficient, communication centric project management that will change the way your team works.

Start today and see how our communication centric Kanban boards can supercharge your team's productivity. Our free tier is free to try!