In teams of any size and focus, there are processes and tasks with repetitive cycles, assigned responsibilities, and multiple approvals. When these processes are unstructured and inconsistent, it’s almost impossible to plan the team’s workload or monitor results. It also affects overall efficiency. In teams without established processes, the cycle for completing repetitive tasks is longer because the process is as random as gambling at the real money casino. This can be improved by implementing project management and Kanban boards. Let’s explain how to do this.
What Is a Kanban Board?
A Kanban board consists of columns and cards. The columns represent stages of work, and the cards represent tasks at each stage. A task card is taken from the first column and moved across the stages as work progresses until it reaches the “Done” or “Completed” column, meaning the task is finished.
Breaking a complex project into stages and tasks simplifies the team’s workflow. Everyone can see what’s left to do, which tasks are under review, and which are already completed.
A Kanban board helps control the team’s workload, visualize the number of tasks in progress, and avoid overload. It systematizes the work process, eliminates chaos, and simplifies coordination between team members.
Columns on a Kanban Board
The columns on a Kanban board help break down the workflow into understandable stages that are repeated for each task. The simplest version of a Kanban board consists of three columns or stages of work: “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Completed.”
An employee begins working on a task by moving its card from the “To Do” column to the “In Progress” column. Once the task is finished, the card is moved to the “Completed” column. This version works well for simple projects or managing an individual employee’s tasks.
This approach is also used for production orders, where each order is a separate task with its own stages. Such a Kanban system helps track the workload of the team and the business at a higher level.
Another approach is to break the project into stages like a sales funnel. Instead of universal “In Progress” and “Completed” stages, use specific ones like “Design Development” and “API Integration.” This is typically done when a project has specific stages, and each task is a separate project or order.
For example, in furniture production, where the process is always the same and the cards are orders for individual furniture projects, the workflow could be structured using the following columns:
- “Contract Signing”
- “Blueprints”
- “Design Development”
- “Materials Order”
- “Cutting”
- “Assembly”
- “Task Completed”
Any team can adapt the columns to fit their existing processes. You just need to break down the team’s work into repeatable stages.
Tasks, Cards, and Templates
Each task in a project should have a card. It contains task details, deadlines, responsible persons, executors, documents, and comments. This is convenient since all files, links, messages, and any important details are stored in one place. There’s no need to search through clouds, chats, and folders to find the necessary image or document.
Electronic task managers and Kanban boards offer tools that simplify team workflow:
- WIP Limits (Work in Progress): To prevent employees from taking on too many tasks, Kanban boards have WIP limits. These restrict the number of tasks that can be placed in one column. For example, you can set limits in the settings: no more than eight tasks in the “In Progress” column, and no more than four tasks in the “Testing” column.
- Task Templates: If a task repeats periodically, its addition to the board can be simplified using templates.
- Automation: If a task repeats at specific intervals, its creation can be automated. For instance, accountants have monthly, quarterly, and annual reports that are always prepared on the same dates. Using automation, you can program an algorithm to add the task to the Kanban board on the correct date with a specified frequency.
Checklists in Tasks
To break down a large task into several understandable subtasks, checklists are used in task cards. They allow you to split a complex assignment into several step-by-step simple actions.
Checklists aren’t always necessary. For example, a task like “Call the Client” is simple and doesn’t need subtasks. It’s clear what needs to be done. But for a task like competitor analysis, checklists are essential.
In this case, the large task is broken down into smaller ones through decomposition. This is reflected in the checklist. The executor can then complete the subtasks one by one and mark them off in the card. The card will also display the progress of task completion.
Imagine you need to create a chat module in an application. First, you need to design it, then think through the logic of the categories, add specific elements, and finalize the functionality. To make it easier for the developer, these subtasks can be written in the card as a checklist.
The process of decomposing tasks is quite simple. Break down the task into subtasks and determine the order in which they should be completed. If needed, assign responsibilities and set deadlines for each subtask. In an electronic Kanban board, each checklist item can be turned into a separate task. This helps monitor task progress and make adjustments if necessary.
Sprints
Sprints are the main tool of the Scrum approach. In Scrum, tasks are prioritized and completed in cycles called sprints. At the end of each sprint, a ready product is delivered, such as a new feature in an application.
Sprints are like short-distance runs, usually lasting from one to four weeks. During this time, employees complete several tasks from the backlog — a prioritized task list.
However, sprints without meetings are ineffective. If one employee can’t finish a task on time, this should be noticed at the start, not on the last day. This leaves time to redistribute the workload or adjust deadlines. That’s why meetings are held during sprints — to identify areas for improvement.
