Leadership Tribe

What is Business Agility?

by Krishna Chodipilli | Nov 14, 2022 | Leadership Tribe

What is the benefit of business agility?

The true definition of business agility is a company’s ability to adapt and respond in a dynamic marketplace. However, that should not come at the expense of business stability, as for the majority of companies, success depends on having both. Of course, business agility is required to be able to react as quickly as any given industry changes, but it’s the stability of a company that provides the necessary platform that provides the anchor that underpins its agility.

Business agility: understanding the concept

To use an analogy, agility is the antithesis of fragility. That’s because when you put sufficient stress on something fragile, it either loses any strength it had or it breaks completely. Conversely, if something is agile, it has sufficient flexibility to ‘roll with the punches’ and bend with any changes that occur within any given sector. Therefore, for a business not to be fragile and unprepared for what the future brings, it needs to be agile enough to gain a competitive advantage from situations that other, less agile organizations fear.

An agile mindset is constantly problem-solving and iterating change. Using an agile framework will transform an entire organization, from the key stakeholders and senior management to project management leaders and all team members (be that a software development team, a marketing team, a human resources team or any other function).

What are the features of business agility?

So, what exactly are the qualities required for a business to be able to call itself agile? For a company to be able to accurately described as an agile organization, it needs to be able to:

• React quickly, flexibly and decisively to customer needs and demands (having a customer-centric focus)
• Adapt rapidly, both externally and internally to market changes
• Provide leadership for change in a cost-effective manner that does not affect product or service quality (effective product management)
• Be in a near-perpetual state of competitive advantage

Typically speaking, companies that fall into the agile business category are those that adopt the agile ways of working, agile practices and value stream throughout its workforce and hierarchy. This results in favourable outcomes being achieved through the resilience of the individuals within an organisation, allowing them to work as a single cohesive unit that has the same shared goal. Instead of silos, collaborative and cross-functional teams work together. Team members are self-organizing, communicative and open.

Why adopt agile practices?

There aren’t many things in life or business that are certain, but change is one of them. Once untouchable companies that have been at the very top of their respective trees for decades are being challenged by disruptors willing to embrace new technology, initiatives, methodologies and operating models.

The future is unpredictable and standing still is effectively moving backwards. Business agility is not just desirable, it’s vital. Agile transformation keeps a business competitive, current and able to adapt. Adopting agile ways of working will transform your business model, your decision-making processes, your product development and the ways your team members work and interact. It will change your business environment, team work and user experiences entirely.

We can sum up this whole concept in just once sentence – do you want your organisation to remain relevant and still exist in 20 years? If the answer is yes, then business agility has to be the operating model strived for sooner rather than later.

Everything else is a mere footnote.

Learn more about how to create an effective business environment and enterprise agility

Kanban Roles: Everything you need to know

by Agile Blogger | Nov 7, 2022 | Leadership Tribe

In the agile world, job titles are becoming less important than roles and responsibilities. Agile frameworks like Kanban and Scrum focus on development team collaboration and collective ownership. As a result, organizations are placing more emphasis on what people do rather than who they are.

That said, two key kanban roles are comparable to scrum master responsibilities. In this article, we will explore these roles and discuss the importance of Kanban in today’s business world.

Introduction

Traditional organizations typically place a lot of emphasis on job descriptions. However, many Agile implementations like Kanban and Scrum focus more on specific roles and responsibilities; therefore, job titles are losing significance.

As a trainer, I am often asked, “what is the equivalent of a Scrum Master in Kanban?”

The short answer is “there isn’t one,” Scrum and Kanban are very distinct, although there are two significant Kanban roles comparable to Scrum accountabilities.

In this article, we will explore two essential roles within Kanban.

What is Kanban?

Before diving into the roles, it is essential to understand Kanban.

Kanban is a Japanese word that means “signboard” or “billboard.” In the business world, Kanban is a lean agile methodology that helps organizations visualize and manage their workflows. It is mainly used for service delivery teams but in project management and other knowledge-based work.

It is important to note that Kanban originated in manufacturing and is not limited to software development or IT. The main goal of Kanban is to help teams optimize their workflow and improve efficiency, which is done using a Kanban board, a physical or digital board that displays the tasks that need to be completed.

Typically, each task on the Kanban board will have its column, and each column will represent a different stage in the workflow. For example, there may be columns for “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Each of these columns will have a work-in-progress limit to help optimize the flow of work through the system.

As tasks are completed, they are moved from one column to the next until they reach the “Done” column. It helps teams to track their progress and identify any bottlenecks in their workflow.

What’s the difference between Kanban and Scrum?

Now that we have a basic understanding of Kanban let’s compare it to Scrum.

Scrum is a framework for developing complex products in complex environments. It is an iterative and incremental approach that helps teams to deliver value incrementally.

Whereas Scrum is a framework, Kanban is a methodology. Kanban can be used within any framework, whereas Scrum must be followed strictly.

Kanban also has a different focus than Scrum. Whereas Scrum focuses on delivering value incrementally, Kanban focuses on optimizing the workflow.

The most significant difference is that Scrum uses a sprint, a fixed period in which a team works on a set goal. For example, a team may have a two-week sprint in which they aim to complete a certain number of tasks.

On the other hand, Kanban does not use sprints. Instead, work is continuous, and there is no time limit for completing tasks. It makes Kanban more flexible than Scrum and better suited for projects that have

What is a Scrum Master?

Now that we have a basic understanding of the difference between Kanban and Scrum let’s take a closer look at the Scrum Master role.

The Scrum Master is responsible for leading and coordinating a Scrum team. They ensure that the team follows the Scrum framework and help remove any barriers that may be preventing the team from working effectively.

The Scrum Master is also responsible for facilitating communication between the team and other stakeholders. They ensure everyone is on the same page and understands what needs to be done.

The Scrum Master is not responsible for doing the work themselves. Instead, they focus on helping the team work together effectively to deliver value incrementally.

Kanban doesn’t have a role called Kanban Master, but some key Kanban roles overlap with the Scrum Master accountability.

Kanban Roles

The roles in Kanban are not static, and team members are not assigned to one specific function. Instead, team members move between roles as needed to help the team optimize their workflow. For example, a team member who is usually responsible for coding might become the Service Delivery Manager for some time to help the team understand their workflow better.

Service Delivery Manager (SDM)

The Service Delivery Manager (SDM) is responsible for leading and coordinating the team. They ensure that the team follows the Kanban methodology and help remove any barriers that may be preventing the team from working effectively.

The SDM is also responsible for facilitating communication between the team and stakeholders, like a product manager. They ensure everyone is on the same page and understands what needs to be done.

This role is comparable to the Scrum Master role in Scrum. Both positions are responsible for leading and coordinating the team, ensuring that the team follows the Scrum Framework or uses the Kanban Method appropriately, and facilitating communication between the group and other stakeholders. However, the SDM is not its own separate, dedicated role. Instead, they are a team member who focuses on helping the team work together effectively to optimize their workflow.

The 7 Kanban Cadences

The SDM helps to facilitate the seven cadences in Kanban that teams use to help them optimize their workflow. These cadences are:

• Team Kanban Meeting / Standup: This is a daily team sync-up where the team “walks the board” from right to left. It’s an excellent time to notice any recent occurrences at a team level, such as blockers, and describe any new facts you’ve. It is also an opportunity to assess our compliance with WIP limits and to prioritize completing in-progress work items before adding new ones.
• Replenishment & Commitment Meeting: This focuses on ensuring that the team has an adequate number of the correct tasks to complete and can commit to achieving these activities.
• Team Retrospective: A biweekly or monthly assessment that focuses on how the team manages their workload and decision-making and identifies areas for improvement.
• Service Delivery Review / Workflow Kanban Meeting: This aims to evaluate the performance of the entire service (which may consist of multiple service delivery teams). For example, if two different teams are working on the upstream and downstream of the building of a service. It gauges performance with promises, customer-focused KPIs, quality, cycle time, classes of services, etc.
• Operations Review: Similar to the Service Delivery Review, this meeting will be held, but it involves a more significant portion of the organization (such as a department, many dependent teams, or even an entire small business). It prioritizes ensuring an efficient value stream over local optimizations and services being fit for purpose.
• Risk Review / Blocker Clustering: This is a chance to talk about and settle on risk profiles associated with specific activities and then take appropriate actions. It is a suitable time to bring up any departmental or team-level process obstructions (blockers) to gain insights on reducing workflow obstructions and the possibility of project delays.
• Strategy Review: This is the highest level meeting that reviews and modifies the strategy and initiatives in light of data from your markets and consumers and assesses your business’s viability and operating model’s suitability for purpose.

Making sure that work items flow

Smoothly flowing work items through the Kanban system is the primary focus of Kanban. To do this, teams need to have a clear understanding of their workflow and be able to visualize it on a Kanban board. The SDM is sometimes referred to as the Flow Manager.

The SDM is responsible for creating and maintaining the Kanban board and updating cards as work items move through the system so that everyone clearly understands what needs to be done and where each work item is in the process.

Facilitating change and continuous improvement

To continuously improve, teams must experiment with new ways of working and evaluate the results. The SDM is a facilitator for this process by helping the team identify areas where they can improve, suggesting possible changes that they could make, and then helping to implement those changes.

To facilitate this, the SDM collects data and metrics about the work items on the Kanban board and discusses them with the team. This data can help the team identify areas where they can improve, suggest possible changes they could make, and then helping to implement those changes.

The SDM also achieves this through probing questions until the team has located the natural source of a specific issue. It enables the team to concentrate on treating the actual cause instead of just the symptoms.

Kanban teams strive to ensure that errors are only repeated once. It is done by identifying errors and then taking corrective action to prevent them from happening again. The SDM is responsible for helping the team determine and correct errors, so they are not repeated.

Service Request Manager (SRM)

The SRM role handles customer requests and ensures that they are routed to the appropriate team. This role is comparable to the Scrum Product Owner role, as both are responsible for handling customer requests and ensuring they are routed to the right team.

The SRM is responsible for ensuring that the team has a clear understanding of the customer’s needs. It includes understanding the customer’s business goals, their current pain points, and a good experience of their expected outcome from using the product or service.

The SRM also works with the customer to understand their requests and then works with the team to ensure they are adequately understood and addressed. The SRM is also responsible for maintaining a close relationship with the customer so that they can provide feedback about the product or service. The team uses this feedback to improve the product or service.

In summary, the SRM is responsible for understanding the customer’s needs, ensuring that the team understands those needs, and maintaining a close relationship with the customer to provide feedback. The team uses this feedback to improve the product or service.

The SDM and SRM work together to ensure that customer requests are correctly understood and addressed on time, sometimes sharing the role of a risk manager.

Kanban teams strive to ensure that customer requests are handled on time. The SRM is responsible for ensuring this happens by ordering work items from the backlog and facilitating prioritization of what comes next.

The SRM can help improve corporate governance by providing a clear and consistent process everyone can follow. It helps reduce confusion and ensures everyone is working towards the same goal. Additionally, Kanban can help minimize personnel risk by ensuring that only one individual is responsible for each task. It reduces the chances of errors occurring and makes it easier to hold people accountable for their actions.

Many of the responsibilities of the SRM can be described as “upstream kanban.”

Upstream Kanban

To keep your business running smoothly and generate new ideas, you need a steady flow of them. Upstream Kanban is a method that helps you do just that by refining concepts into work items that are ready for execution. It allows you to move requests through your delivery process more streamlined, keeping the flow of value-adding ideas going.

What is upstream Kanban?

Upstream Kanban is a tool that helps you manage the flow of work in your organization by refining concepts into work items ready for execution. It allows you to move requests through your delivery process more streamlined, keeping the flow of value-adding ideas going.

How does upstream Kanban work?

Upstream Kanban works by outlining the steps of concept refining on your Kanban board. It helps you assess different options and make choices that have been verified into more well-considered work items prepared for execution. As a result, you develop a more profound knowledge of your customer’s problems and can make decisions that are based on investigation and analysis.

Why use upstream Kanban?

There are many benefits to using upstream Kanban, including the following:

• Helps you manage the flow of work in your organization more effectively
• Helps you assess different options and make well-considered decisions
• Helps you develop a more profound knowledge of your customer’s problems

If you are looking for a way to improve the efficiency of your work process and generate new ideas, upstream Kanban may be the right tool for you.

How to implement upstream Kanban

There are a few steps you can take to implement upstream Kanban in your business:

• Outline the steps of concept refining on your Kanban board.
• Develop a more profound knowledge of your customer’s problems. – Assess different options and make choices that have been verified into more well-considered work items that are prepared for execution.

By taking these steps, you can improve the efficiency of your work process and generate new ideas more effectively. Upstream Kanban can help you to streamline your delivery process and keep the flow of value-adding ideas going.

Conclusion

In Kanban, there are various roles that team members can take on to best suit the needs of the project. The service delivery manager (SDM) and the Service Request Manager (SRM) are the most critical roles. The SDM is responsible for managing customer requests and ensuring they are adequately addressed. The SRM is responsible for ordering work items from the backlog and facilitating prioritization of what comes next. Upstream Kanban is a tool that helps refine concepts into work items that are ready for execution, which allows for a more streamlined delivery process.

Learn more about Kanban and Earn a Kanban Certification upon completion with our Kanban Training program.

Our Kanban consultants have helped organizations we work with improve productivity by making changes to their processes that have positively impacted their bottom line. If you want to understand how we can help you increase the value delivery, please feel free to reach out to us.

What is Kanban Process?

by Agile Blogger | Oct 21, 2022 | Leadership Tribe

What is Kanban Process & How Can It Help My Team increase Flow of Value? It is more important than ever in today’s business world to be productive and efficient. This where the Kanban process can help. Kanban is a popular methodology that helps teams manage and complete tasks more efficiently. The key to Kanban is understanding and utilizing “flow,” or moving work from one stage to the next (continuous delivery) until it is complete. Kanban may be the answer if you want to improve your team’s productivity!

You’re always looking for ways to be more productive at work. New projects, tight deadlines, multitasking, and unexpected curveballs can throw off your day. Your team is too. You’ve heard of Kanban and think it could help you manage your tasks more efficiently.

If you’re struggling with Kanban, you’re not alone. Many people face challenges when they first start using Kanban. But don’t worry; we’re here to help! In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most common challenges people face when they use Kanban and how to overcome them. By the end of this article, you’ll be a Kanban expert!

Here’s a closer look at Kanban’s production process and how it can help your team be productive.

What is Kanban?  Where did the word originate?

First, Kanban emerged from the depths of the Toyota Production Mechanism as a scheduling system for lean manufacturing processes (TPS). The workers at Toyota automotive added a new “just in time” manufacturing technique to its production line as the late 1940s ended.

Although Taiichi Ohno invented Kanban in the manufacturing sector, David J. Anderson was the first to use the idea in IT.

This strategy was a pull system, as opposed to the usual push technique that encourages you to make items first, then push them out onto the market. The production follows client demand under a pull system. Their unique JIT production system served as the cornerstone for the development of lean manufacturing. Kanban’s primary goal is to reduce waste without sacrificing production, improving customer value without producing anything.

The word Kanban comes from the Japanese word that means “sign” or “card.” In the business world, Kanban is a system that helps teams visualize their work, track progress, and manage tasks more efficiently. Kanban dates back to the late 1970s and is a framework that helps teams visualize their work, optimize their process, and improve their flow. In recent years, Kanban has been adopted by software development teams like SCRUM as an Agile way of working to improve productivity and quality.

Scrum, however, divides work into sprints. Using either one depends on the specifics of your business. However, the Kanban tool is an excellent key to understanding and utilizing “flow.” Flow is moving work from one stage to the next until it is complete. When you understand the flow, you can see where bottlenecks occur and take steps to fix them. It helps your team be more productive overall.

Benefits of Kanban and How can Kanban help your team?

There are many benefits to using Kanban, including the following:

Improved communication

Kanban helps improve communication between team members by giving everyone a clear view of what needs to be done and who is working on what.

Increased transparency

Transparency is essential for everyone on the same page and ensures that tasks are completed efficiently. Kanban increases transparency by allowing everyone to see each job’s current process and status at every stage.

Better time management

Kanban can help your team manage their time by identifying and fixing bottlenecks. This can lead to a more efficient workflow overall and better project management.

Improved team productivity

By understanding and utilizing Flow, Kanban can help your team be more productive overall.

Now that we’ve gone over what Kanban is and how it can help your team, let’s take a closer look at the practices.

Kanban Practices

Even though mastering core practices is essential, it’s a lifelong effort; close to 40% of firms acknowledge that their use of the Kanban techniques is still developing. Organizations seeking to apply the Kanban methodology must be cautious with the operational procedures. For an implementation to be successful, six essential practices must be present.

Let’s examine more closely and learn about the six Kanban practices.

• Visualize the workflow: The team needs to understand the work process and how it flows from start to finish. This is typically done by creating a Kanban board and populating it with cards representing each task.
• Limit Work in Progress: Once the workflow is visualized, the next step is to limit the number of tasks in progress at any given time. This ensures that the team is focused on developing critical functionality and not overloading.
• Manage Flow: The goal is to make sure work flows smoothly through the system, and that bottlenecks are identified and removed. It requires constant monitoring and adjustment of the process.
• Make Process Policies Explicit: All team members must be on the same page regarding the process and how they follow it, which includes what constitutes a “done” task, who is responsible for each step, Etc.
• Implement Feedback loops: Feedback loops are essential for ensuring that the process works as intended and for making necessary adjustments.
• Continuous Improvement: Kanban’s goal is to continue to improve the process, which can only be done through constant experimentation and refinement.

As you can see, a lot goes into making Kanban work. But if you’re willing to put in the effort, it can be a powerful tool for increasing productivity and efficiency.

Common Challenges with Kanban

One of the common challenges people face when they don’t know how to use Kanban is that they cannot utilize “flow.” Flow is moving work from one stage to the next until it is complete. If you don’t understand the flow, you won’t be able to see where bottlenecks occur and take steps to fix them. It can lead to inefficiencies in your work and ultimately decreased productivity.

Another common challenge is that people don’t know how to implement Kanban. There are a few different ways to implement Kanban, but the most important thing is to start small and build from there. If you try to do too much at once, you’ll likely become overwhelmed and give up on Kanban altogether.

What is Flow? A Guide to Implementing KanBan

Flow can be considered a continuum from start to finish, with each task progressing through some steps before it is considered complete.

Utilizing flow in your Kanban workflow can help your team be more productive by understanding the process of moving work from one stage to the next. This guide will cover what flow is and how you can use it to improve your team’s productivity.

How does flow work?

Flow can be considered a continuum from start to finish, with each task progressing through some steps before it is considered complete. This simple concept allows Kanban teams to be efficient in their workflows. By understanding the flow of work, team members can better plan and execute tasks, leading to improved productivity.

The benefits of utilizing flow in your Kanban workflow

There are several benefits to using flow in your Kanban workflow. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that it can help your team move work through the Kanban process more quickly and efficiently. In addition, understanding and utilizing flow can also help improve communication between team members and identify potential bottlenecks in the workflow.

How to implement flow in your Kanban process

Implementing flow in your Kanban process is relatively simple. The first step is to identify the steps each task will need to complete. Once these steps are identified, you can begin to map out the workflow and create a kanban board that reflects the flow of work. Finally, it is essential to establish clear communications with your team so everyone understands the process and their role in making it work.

Flow is a simple concept that can significantly impact your team’s productivity. Understanding and utilizing flow in your Kanban workflow can help your team work more quickly and efficiently. Implementing flow is relatively simple and can be done following the steps outlined in this blog post.

Remember – Kanban is based on a “Pull System,” which moves from ‘right’ to ‘left.’ It is an evolutionary change. Following the practices and principles of Kanban will help you move forward in the right direction.

Tips for getting the most out of flow in your Kanban workflow

You can do a few things to get the most out of the flow in your Kanban workflow.

First, it is crucial to ensure that everyone on your team understands the concept and is on board with utilizing it in their work.

In addition, it can be helpful to create a Kanban board that is visually easy to understand and use.

Finally, you should regularly review your workflow and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that it is still working well for your team.

How to implement Kanban Process

There are a few different ways to implement Kanban, but the most important thing is to start small and build from there. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Use sticky notes: A great way to start using Kanban is by using sticky notes. Write down each task on a separate sticky note and place them in kanban columns on a whiteboard or wall. It will help you visualize your work and get a feel for how Kanban works.
• Use kanban software: If you want to take things a step further, many kanban software options are available. These tools can help you track progress, assign tasks, and manage your work more efficiently.
• Train your team: Once you’ve decided how to implement Kanban, train your team on the new system, which will help them understand how Kanban works and how they can use it to be more productive.

Kanban is a great way to help your team be effective. A Kanban system is more than just a wall of sticky notes. Adopting the Kanban principle and using it in your daily job is the simplest way to comprehend it. The practical shift would appear reasonable and inevitable if you read, understand, and agree with its fundamental ideas.

Give it a try and see how Kanban can help your team work more efficiently! Your process will go far beyond what you could have imagined with the help of workflow visualization, defining WIP limits, regulating flow, assuring specific policies, and continuous improvement. When all of these components are organized, the true potential of Kanban will become apparent.

Kanban may be the answer if you’re looking for a way to improve your team’s productivity. Kanban is a flexible approach that can be customized to fit the needs of any organization. If you’re interested in learning more about Kanban or implementing it at your organization, several resources are available to help you get started, or reach out to Leadership Tribe.

And there are several kanban books, such as The Kanban Method and Kanban from the Inside. Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business: Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business, written by David J Anderson, can help you learn more about this approach to work.

Kanban FAQ’s

What Are the Key Kanban Terms You Need to Understand?

At its core, Kanban is a working style that enables you to maximize the flow of value via your value streams, from ideation to customer, in real-time.

Kanban is more than just visualizing your work, even though it appears to be a simple solution to enhance your work processes.

Kanban

To use the Kanban technique effectively, you must pay close attention to detail and familiarise yourself with the fundamental concepts and artifacts.

• Kanban board: The kanban board is the visual representation of work in progress. It’s a flexible tool that can be used to manage any work, from simple tasks to complex projects. The Kanban board consists of three columns: To Do, In progress, and Done. It is a workflow management tool.
• Kanban cards: Kanban cards are used to track work items as they move through the kanban board. Each card represents a task or work and contains information about that task, such as its title, description, assigned person, and due date.
• Columns: The kanban board consists of three columns: To Do, In progress, and Done.
  • The To Do column represents the work that needs to be done.
  • The In Progress column represents the work that is currently being worked on.
  • The Done column represents the work that has been completed.
• Swimlanes: Swimlanes are used to organize the kanban board further. They can divide the board into sections or group items by project, team member, or other criteria.
• Work in Progress (WIP): Work in progress is the work that is currently being worked on. In Kanban, the work-in-progress limit is a fundamental principle that helps to prevent team members from becoming overloaded with work.
• WIP limits: The limit is the maximum number of items in the In Progress column at any given time. This ensures that team members are constantly working on the most critical tasks and prevents them from starting new work until the current work is complete.
• Classes of Service: Classes of service are used to categorize work and prioritize tasks. In Kanban, there are four classes of service: Critical, High, Medium, and Low, also known as Expedite, Intangible, Fixed, and Standard.
• Kanban Cadences: Kanban cadences are the regular intervals at which the kanban board is reviewed and updated. There are two types of cadences: Team Level Cadence and Service Oriented Cadence.
• Team Level Cadence
  • The daily stand-up/ Workflow Kanban meeting: The daily stand-up is a short meeting (usually no more than 15 minutes) where team members review the kanban board. They update each other on the work completed, the work currently being worked on, and any impediments or issues.
  • The weekly review / Workflow replenishment meeting: The weekly review is a meeting where team members review the kanban board and discuss any changes that need to be made. This is usually done at the end of the week.
  • Flow Review / Retrospective meeting: The flow review is a meeting where team members review the Kanban board and identify any areas of improvement. This is usually done monthly, but some teams do run it bi-weekly.
• Service Oriented Cadences
  • Operations Review – The Operations Done Biweekly is used to help service delivery organizations identify and track the progress of kanban projects. The operation review is a session similar to the Service Delivery Review. Still, it involves a more significant portion of the organization (such as a department, many dependent teams, or even an entire small business). It prioritizes ensuring global flow over local optimizations and customer demand.
  • Blocker Clustering – Blocker Clustering is a monthly meeting that helps organizations identify areas of risk profiles associated with specific activities or adjustments and then take appropriate action, such as assigning a new service class or using suitable scheduling, as an example. It applies to all organizational levels. A reasonable time to bring up any departmental or team-level process obstructions (blocks) is during the risk analysis meeting. Using this blocker clustering technique will give you insights into how to lessen workflow obstructions and the possibility of project delays.
  • Strategy Review – this is the top-level gathering that reviews and modifies the strategy in light of data from your markets and consumers. It’s a chance for you to confirm that you are still acting morally. Now is the time to assess your business’s viability and operating model’s suitability.
• Kanban Metrics: Several kanban metrics can be used to measure the performance of a team or individual. In Kanban, the most crucial metric is throughput. Other kanban metrics include cycle time, lead time, and work progress.
  • Cycle Time: Cycle time is the amount of time it takes to complete a task, from start to finish. In Kanban, cycle time is measured from when a task enters the kanban board until it is marked as done.
  • Lead Time: Lead time is the amount of time it takes to complete a task, from the moment it is first started until it is marked as done. Lead time is measured in Kanban when a task enters the kanban board until it is marked as done.
• Throughput: Throughput is the number of tasks completed in a given period. In Kanban, throughput is measured from when a task enters the kanban board until it is marked as done.
• Kanban software: Kanban software is used to manage kanban boards and projects. Many different kanban software tools are available, such as Trello, Jira, and Asana.
• Kaizen: Kaizen, a Japanese term meaning “continuous improvement,” is also an essential aspect of the Kanban approach. The kaizen mindset constantly seeks ways to improve processes and increase efficiency, which aligns with the principle of continuous improvement in Kanban. By adopting a kaizen mindset, teams can continuously improve their workflow and ultimately achieve better results.

Learn more about Kanban and Earn a Kanban Certification upon completion with our Kanban Training program.

Agile Product Ownership: The Role of the Product Owner

by Ming Wei | Oct 14, 2022 | Leadership Tribe

You might want to be a product owner to help ensure the product is good. You would need to know how to do this by talking with people working on the product and by testing the product. You should also be able to work with the developers to help them understand what the customer wants.

Some become product owners because they want to move into management. Agile can be an excellent way to learn how to manage people and projects. As a product owner, you would need to prioritize the work that needs to be done and ensure that everyone is working on the most critical tasks. You would also need to be able to communicate with the stakeholders about the progress of the project.

To become a product owner, you should read more about agile and product ownership. There are many resources available online and in books. You can also attend workshops and conferences. Once you understand what is involved, you can decide if it is the right career move for you.

What is agile product ownership?

Agile product ownership is managing a product in an agile environment. The product owner is responsible for the product’s success and must understand what the customer wants, communicate effectively with the software development team, and ensure that the product meets customer expectations.

Many teams desire to improve their agile performance but cannot identify the source of their problems. Lack of attention to the Product Owner’s role is frequently the crucial piece that separates agile failure and agile success. Most Product Owners enter the position without any training. They lack product owner training and lack understanding of product management.

Teams focused on Scrum Master training and sprint execution are prone to waste and rework and develop the wrong things more quickly!

The Product Owner ensures the team produces value by working on the RIGHT product, features, and details. It is crucial for the success of the project.

Positives of good product ownership

• Continuous Progress: Sprints/iterations are completed on schedule and with the anticipated scope.
• Flow: Resources are used to their fullest extent in the development lifecycle, prompting decisions and ensuring a constant workflow.
• Shared Vision: The product development team is aware of the overall situation and uses this knowledge to create the appropriate features.
• Building the right product: They know how minor features fit into the roadmap. They are aware of their destination and purpose.

Negatives of bad product ownership

• Going Nowhere: Does your team prioritize speed or velocity over value and creating the correct thing?
• Never-ending sprints – Do your iterations or sprints go past the intended delivery date by weeks or months?
• Carry-Over Stories – Do your delivery teams struggle with not being able to complete deliverables in the current sprint/iteration or
  • Does your team finish iterations on schedule but only after choosing to carry over some stories to the following iteration?
  • Do your team members experience low morale due to not feeling like they are making progress?
  • Does your team have a clear vision?
  • Do they all grasp what the product is and what the customer needs?
  • Do they understand how each iteration advances the goal and dependencies?
  • Do they comprehend the connections between each item on the backlog and the overall purpose?
• Doubting Thomases – Do business executives wonder if Agile provides the promised benefits?
  • Does scope creep still concern them?
  • Is there confusion with the correct methodology?
  • Are there more requests for improvements and defect lists?
  • Has product quality/value increased or decreased from a business and consumer standpoint?

Five Product Owner Maturity Levels

There are five categories of product owners, each with a specific purpose, primary duties, and power.

Using this growth model, you can determine the kind of product owner or product owner you discover in your firm. Remember that a person’s type of product owner is partially determined by their (hierarchical) function within the business.

A Product Owner likely has some additional power already if they previously held a management position. It is not necessary to be or have been a manager to benefit from this; instead, it may assist product owners in advancing through the maturity model more quickly.

A Product Owner’s authority is not just based on their (prior) function. The manner you act significantly influences the leaders. The style of the person also affects it. We have found that power isn’t given out “for free.” Power increases must be gained. Additionally, you gain greater control by assuming more responsibility and demonstrating ownership.

The Scribe

The Scribe Product Owner function is frequently found in businesses just starting with Scrum or in organizations that have not fully adopted the Agile philosophy (and therefore do not apply Scrum properly). In these organizations, the role of the product owner is primarily seen as managing the product backlog, gathering stakeholder requests, and translating those requests into user stories for the development team. This kind of product owner frequently has little to no authority. In these situations, a steering committee or a project management office is typically in responsible for carrying out the mandate (PMO).

The Proxy

Similar to the Scribe Product Owner, the Proxy Product Owner (abbreviated: Proxy) is frequently seen in businesses that are just beginning to implement an Agile method of working and the Scrum Framework.

In comparison to the Scribe, the Proxy has slightly more power. For instance, the Proxy frequently has (limited) discretion over how the Product Backlog is ordered. However, other people, such as a steering committee, project sponsor, or business owner, are still in charge of deciding on the vision, the business goals, the expected outcomes/results, and the scope.

Proxy Product Owners who formerly held the positions of project manager or team lead are familiar with many enterprises. Usually, these roles or jobs are in charge of bringing a project to completion. Therefore, many firms believe that changing these individuals’ positions to “Product Owners” is logical. These Proxy Product Owners do not, however, have final authority. Changes often necessitate a request for approval.

To shift priorities, they need permission. They must also get authorization when they wish to alter the strategy, roadmap, or product backlog.

The Business Representative

The business representative is the following category of the product owner.

A representative from the business side of the organization who is knowledgeable about the business context, market, customers, and users is often the business representative.

This individual is often one of the organization’s “seniors” or “experts” who has links to clients or users. As a result, this person is usually familiar with consumers’ and users’ needs and preferences. Process owners and system owners are some examples of possible product owners.

Product Owners don’t always come from “the business,” but this is often the case.

It’s also possible that an IT employee with the maturity level “of a business representative” is serving in the capacity of a product owner. These individuals may have learned a lot about the (technical) product and hence make good Product Owners. Information managers, architects, and security specialists are a few of the IT personnel in this position. Remember that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were also outstanding product owners and that these men were “IT people” to support the idea of having IT product owners.

Therefore, the Business Representative is in charge rather than the Proxy.

The business representative is often in charge of a system, a portion of the product, or a group of processes (es). This Product Owner may choose which tasks will be handled by the Development Team within this system or method. As a result, the Business Representative is in charge of the Product Backlog and has the power to handle its management alone.

It is only valid if the proposed improvements can be implemented within the spending limits set by management or a steering committee. The Business Representative does not have a separate budget that can be used however they like.

They frequently have to deal with a steering committee or management and need permission to make budget modifications. The Business Representative frequently has a list of tasks to do, projects to complete, or objectives to meet that have been established by someone else.

The Sponsor

In the beginning, business managers, IT managers, and clients (in a business-to-business scenario) frequently fill out the Product Owner type “Sponsor” Sponsor Product Owners often have more incredible options for scaling up and down the Development Team because they have their funding. It is the main distinction between the “Business Representative” and the “Sponsor” The Sponsor has a separate budget from the Business Representative. The authorities for both categories of product owners are comparable, save from fiscal accountability.

It does not imply that you should increase or decrease your workforce each sprint!

But it’s possible that; Product Owner would like to grow to a second or third team because of how well the product is doing. These “Sponsors” can therefore accelerate and delay projects much more due to their flexibility and power, which impacts the product’s return on investment and total cost of ownership. Along with controlling the funding, Sponsor Product Owners also have a more influential voice in “what” must be done.

They may specify the tasks to be completed or the business objectives to be met.

The Entrepreneur

The term “Entrepreneur” refers to the final category of product owners. This position is sometimes known as the “mini-CEO.”

Ultimately, we want enterprises to have this level of product ownership. The product owner, an entrepreneur, assumes complete accountability for and control over the product. This product owner has the most significant potential to influence clients, consumers, and the company.

An individual with a clear understanding of the market, clients, and product is considered an entrepreneur and product owner—someone with a strong work ethic, a sense of direction, and verbal and written communication abilities.

Entrepreneur product owners ultimately take charge of the product and are accountable for its profit and loss. They are in charge of maintenance, operations, decision-making, marketing, law, and sales, in addition to product development. Because of this, we often refer to this level as “mini-CEO.”

An individual product owner runs their own “mini-company” (which could be a mini-company within a large enterprise).

Growing responsibilities of a Product Owner and Authorities

But how can a Product Owner assume extra obligations?

That is relatively straightforward. You raise your obligations by gradually taking greater ownership and accountability for the product’s success. Develop the product vision, articulating the value of the product, for instance, and actively encourage your cross-functional team, stakeholders, and management to adopt it. Work cooperatively with your development process and critical stakeholders.

1. Create Product Strategy and Product Features
2. Create a product roadmap and schedule releases.
3. Display the value you and your team bring to consumers and customers. Measure the value. It is possible by
4. Create and Refine the Backlog
5. Backlog – Funnel View
6. Elicit and Prioritize Requirements
7. Prepare, Analyze and Prioritize User Stories
8. User Story and user experience Workshops
9. User story writing and slicing
10. User story prioritization
11. Define Acceptance Criteria
12. Prioritize ruthlessly

Establish transparency on these issues to demonstrate your accountability for the final output. Also, have a thorough understanding of the costs. Do it yourself instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you. Therefore, show initiative. By doing this, you’ll give yourself the greater latitude to make decisions and gain more power. We have encountered successful product owners that assume key roles and accountability. These Product Owners frequently began their careers as Proxies or Scribes. Many of them have grown to be entrepreneurs or sponsors.

What is the role of the Scrum product owner in Agile teams?

The Agile Product Owner has different activities and roles during the agile ceremonies, scrum teams, and development stages. The following gives an overview of what a Product Owner does during the agile ceremonies:

• Backlog Refinement: The Product Owner is responsible for providing information to the Development Team about the product backlog items that need to be refined. The product’s short, mid, and long-term views are refined in these sessions. Practical product backlog management sessions create shared understanding among team members. POs use refinement sessions to generate dialog about technical options for the features and stories.
• Sprint Planning: The Product Owner is responsible for providing information about the product backlog items that need to be sprinted.
• Daily Scrum/Standups: The Product Owner is not required to attend the daily scrum/standup meetings, but they may choose to do so. If the Product Owner is working as a developer, then they should attend and participate in the discussion as a scrum team.
• Sprint Review: The Product Owner is responsible for attending the sprint review and presenting the product increment to the stakeholders. The Product Owner must also be available during the sprint review to answer stakeholders’ questions about the product backlog items.
• Sprint Retrospective: The Product Owner is responsible for attending the sprint retrospective and providing feedback to the Development Team about their performance. The Product Owner also needs to be available to answer any questions the Development Team may have about their performance.

Conclusion

Product Owner is not merely a name that the developers of Scrum dreamed up. The word “owner” appears in the title of this position. Therefore, the role is about “owning” the product and accepting the obligations that go along with that. Therefore, the product owner works must demonstrate to your stakeholder of ‘ownership.’ It is not just about the product vision, Product Backlog, and financial aspects. It’s about your attitude, your mindset, and behaviors. So it may help to reflect regularly. Look yourself in the eye. Have you taken all reasonable steps to enhance the product? Are any setbacks the fault of others, or might you have acted otherwise? Take ownership!

FAQ about Product Owners

What are some of the most critical Product Owner responsibilities?

• Being responsible for the success or failure of the product
• Creating and maintaining a product backlog
• Prioritizing the product backlog items
• Working with the Development Team to ensure that the product backlog items are well understood
• Good working knowledge of scrum guide if working in scrum teams
• Communicating with stakeholders about the project status
• Making sure that the product increments are of high quality.

What skills can support Product Owner needs?

Some of the skills that are needed by Product Owners include:-

• Strong communication skills
• organizational skills
• problem-solving skills
• negotiation skills
• Design thinking skills
• Value thinking and analytical skills
• Facilitation skills
• System thinking skills

What are Product ownership techniques?

• Vision canvas or Collaborative Product Vision
• Personas
• Story mapping
• Story slicing or story splitting
• Prioritization Techniques
• Value estimating techniques

How can I become a successful Product Owner?

There is no one formula for becoming a successful Product Owner. However, there are some things that you can do to increase your chances of success. These include:

• Increase your understanding of agile principles and practices
• Attend agile workshops and conferences
• Read books and articles about agile and product ownership
• Get involved in agile online communities on LinkedIn.
• Find a mentor who can help you understand agile and product ownership
• Get certified in agile and product ownership

How do I know if I am doing an excellent job as a Product Owner?

One way to know if you are doing an excellent job as a Product Owner is to ask your Development Team. They will be able to give you feedback about your performance. Another way to know if you are doing a good job is to look at the results of your work. If the product is successful, then it is likely that you are doing a good job. Finally, you can also ask for feedback from your stakeholders. They will be able to tell you if they are satisfied with the product or not.

What are some of the challenges that Product Owners face?

Some of the challenges that Product Owners face include:- Making sure that the product backlog is up-to-date and accurate- Prioritizing the product backlog items- Working with stakeholders who have different opinions about what should be included in the product- Getting buy-in from the Development Team.

There are many more questions that you can explore and use. If you would like to practice your coaching skills with someone, you can contact Leadership Tribe and we are happy to get on call with you and discuss the best way to join our high performing Agile, Kanban or Scrum training sessions.

How to Use the Systems Thinking Approach (STATIK)

by Andy Kimrbrey | Sep 28, 2022 | Leadership Tribe

This blog post will discuss the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK). STATIK is a powerful tool that can help you improve your workflow and get more done in less time for complex systems. We will cover the following topics: sources of dissatisfaction, analyzing demand, analyzing current delivery modeling, modeling service delivery workflows, identifying and defining classes of service, and designing the Kanban system.

Kanban

Kanban is a tool that can aid us in visualizing and optimizing workflows. It was developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota, in the 1950s. A Kanban system is based on just-in-time (JIT) production principles. This manufacturing philosophy strives to eliminate waste and improve quality by producing – what is needed when it is required. Kanban systems have been successfully used in manufacturing settings for many years, and more recently, it has been adapted for use in software development and other knowledge work industries.

There are three main principles of Kanban: visualization, limiting work in progress (WIP), and continuous improvement. Visualization means creating a physical or digital representation of your workflow. It helps you to see the flow of work through our system and identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Limiting WIP means setting limits on the number of items in each workflow stage at any given time. These key concepts help prevent overload and ensure that work progresses on time. Continuous improvement means regularly reviewing your workflow and making systems change by identifying the leverage points to improve efficiency and quality.

The STATIK approach is based on the following management disciplines.

Systems Thinking

Systems thinking is a way of thinking that views systems as complex entities made up of interrelated parts. It is a holistic systems approach that considers the relationships between all the elements in a system rather than just looking at individual components in isolation. Systems thinking has its roots in systems science, developed in the 1940s and 50s by academics such as Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Ross Ashby. Systems thinking has experienced a comeback in popularity recently because of its capacity to analyze and resolve challenging problems.

Peter Senge’s description of “systems thinking” as The Fifth Discipline (1990) boosted the strategy. Systems thinking, according to Senge, is “a discipline for seeing the big picture.” It provides a framework for viewing relationships rather than individual objects and observing patterns of change instead of parts of a system.

There are various System thinking tools but not limited to the following, that help us to see the system as a whole and understand the underlying structures and how it works.

Theory of Constraints

Theory of Constraints tools helps us to identify and manage system constraints.

Lean Thinking

Lean tools help us identify and eliminate waste in our system to improve quality and efficiency.

Queuing Theory

Queuing theory tools help us to understand and optimize system performance by analyzing queue behavior.

Statistical Process Control

SPC tools help us to monitor system performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

So how do you use systems thinking?

Let’s take a look at an example.

You’ve been asked to implement a Kanban system for your team. You start by visualization of your workflow and mapping out the process steps. You then decide to limit WIP by setting a limit of 3 items per person per stage. To help ensure that work is progressed through the system on time, you introduce a daily stand-up meeting where the team is self-organizing and reviewing the status of work in progress. Finally, you establish a system of continuous improvement by regularly checking your workflow and making system changes when necessary.

The systems thinking approach has helped you to implement Kanban successfully by taking into account the relationships between all the elements from the systems perspective.

Complex adaptive systems (CAS)

We live in a complex world with complex problems, and we find CAS in nature, ecosystems, and social systems, such as families, organizations, and economies. Systems are made of many interdependent parts, and where the system’s behavior emerges from the interactions between these parts. Understanding complex adaptive systems are essential for STATIK because Kanban is a tool that can use to manage and improve complex workflows.

Mental models

The mental model approach is a way of thinking that views systems as complex entities of interrelated parts. It is a holistic approach that considers the relationships between all the elements in a system rather than just looking at individual components in isolation. This approach can be helpful when implementing Kanban, as it can help you to understand the system as a whole and identify the interrelationships between its parts. In addition, mental models can help you to determine the potential impact of changes on the system as a whole and plan accordingly.

System Dynamics Approach

System Dynamics is a computer-aided approach to planning and decision-making.

The fundamental objective is to assist individuals in making wiser judgments when faced with intricate, dynamic systems. The methodology offers tools and methods for modeling and analyzing dynamic systems. Key findings from models can be communicated to help everyone comprehend the system’s behavior.

It involves simulation modeling that supports systems thinking methodologies and is based on feedback systems theory. It can address dynamic issues in intricate social, managerial, economic, or ecological systems by creating feedback loops.

What is STATIK

The STATIK approach combines Kanban with systems thinking principles to create a powerful tool for implementing Kanban in complex workflows. STATIK was developed by David J. Anderson, a leading expert on Kanban and author of the book “Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Business.”

STATIK is an acronym that stands for Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban. STATIK is a methodology that helps you improve your workflow by understanding the sources of dissatisfaction, analyzing the origin and nature of demand, analyzing current delivery capability, modeling the service delivery workflow, identifying and defining classes of service, and designing the Kanban system.

It uses causal loop diagrams to map out the relationships between all the elements in a system. It helps to identify any bottlenecks or areas of waste in the system so that they are addressed. It is considered one of the essential tools for system thinkers for problem-solving.

The Benefits of STATIK

Using STATIK, you can make changes that will improve your process and complete your kanban system more efficiently.

STATIK is a valuable tool that can help a service delivery organization enhance its workflow and get more done in less time. STATIK is beneficial because it helps to optimize workflows by understanding various sources of dissatisfaction within a process. It also allows for better analysis to manage it more effectively. In addition, STATIK provides a way to model service delivery on orders to identify bottlenecks and make necessary changes. Finally, STATIK can be used to design Kanban systems helps to improve efficiency and productivity.

For systems modeling, STATIK is a great place to start if you want to improve your workflow. Using the STATIK approach, you can make interventions that will positively impact your organization. Give STATIK a try today! You won’t be disappointed.

Applying STATIK Process to your Kanban System

Let’s look at how STATIK applies in a real-world scenario. We’ll use the example of a team working on a software development project. Stakeholders are experiencing some difficulties with their current process, and they want to see if Kanban can help them to improve their workflow using technical and soft skills.

The STATIK process consists of six steps:

Step One: Understand sources of dissatisfaction

In improving the kanban system, it is essential first to understand the sources of dissatisfaction. What are the pain points in your current process? What are the areas that could improve? Once you have identified the sources of dissatisfaction, you can begin to address them. And don’t forget to define customer satisfaction as well.

Step Two: Analyze the source and nature of demand

The next step is to analyze the source and nature of demand. What is causing the need? Is it internal or external? How often does the condition occur? By understanding the origin and nature of the request, you can begin to manage it more effectively. It could include looking into artifacts such as the team’s technical backlog.

Step Three: Analyze current delivery capability

After you have analyzed the source and nature of demand, the next step is to analyze your current delivery capability. What are your strengths and weaknesses? How can you improve your process? By understanding your current delivery capability, you can begin making changes to improve your workflow. It may include looking into key performance indicators and service level agreements with your customers.

Step Four: Model the service delivery workflow

The fourth step is to model the service delivery workflow. What are the steps in your process? How can you optimize each step within your process? By modeling the service delivery workflow, you can identify bottlenecks and make changes to improve your process and increase customer satisfaction.

Step Five: Identify and define classes of service

The fifth step is to identify and define classes of service. What are the different types of work that you do? How can you prioritize each kind of work? You can begin implementing a Kanban system to help you manage your job more effectively by identifying and defining service and service level agreements and classes.

Step Six: Design the Kanban system

The final step is to design the Kanban system. What are the Kanban boards that you will use? How will you implement Kanban? By creating the Kanban system, you can improve your workflow and get more done in less time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, STATIK is a powerful tool that can help you improve your workflow. The system is everything that surrounds and affects team members, managers, and stakeholders. To lead effectively, all the parts of the system must work together. This includes both what they can see and what they can’t.

Kanban is an evolutionary lean management technique that emphasizes the need for teamwork in achieving lasting change.

At its foundation, Kanban empowers teams by exposing inefficiencies and bringing processes into the open. The way each team uses Kanban is unique. They have the power to run it and the duty to make improvements. Teams can identify process issues they must work collaboratively to fix using kanban boards. They know that when one team member succeeds, the entire team grows, and when one member fails, the whole team fails. This way of thinking enhances the team’s ownership of their Kanban method.

Our Kanban consultants have helped organizations we work with improve productivity by making changes to their processes that have positively impacted their bottom line. If you want to understand how we can help you increase the value delivery, please feel free to reach out to us.

How has STATIK helped you improve your Kanban system? Let us know.  And for more information on how to become a successful Kanban Systems Designer, discover classes for Kanban Training