Kanban, Kaizen, or Scrum?

What do an Andon Board, Kanban, Kaizen, and Scrum have in common?  They are all Agile and Lean techniques that can be applied to manage projects.  This post briefly describes how these techniques work best when tuned to the type work-in-process found in your project. 

The Agile & Lean Glossary includes the following definitions:

• Andon Board – A Lean term for a visual control device that allows anyone to see and manage the status of the value stream.
• Kanban – A Lean term for a visual indicator that indicates when to execute an activity in a value stream.
• Kaizen Workshop – A Lean term for workshops to identify and implement improvements to a value stream.
• Scrum – An Agile term for a lightweight framework to manage complex projects.

Unfortunately, the above terms are not used consistently by all Agile and Lean practitioners. This in itself is not an issue, but common definitions are useful for clear communications. Current usage may be confusing the concepts behind some of these terms and their fit within organizations.

The term Kanban Board is sometimes used to describe an Andon Board for managing the work-in-process (WIP) of an organization. The board facilitates the movement of WIP from one queue to the next using rules to balance flow and minimize overproduction. It can be a useful tool to help prioritize work and minimize total cycle times.

Agile Scum also has an artifact known as a Scrum Board that is also an Andon Board for managing complex projects. Because of the similar look and feel between the two types of Andon boards sometimes Kanban and Scrum are considered two alternative approaches to accomplish the same goal.

A Kanban Board and a Scrum Board are similar. Both are used to help manage WIP. However the type of WIP that is managed by each is different. A Kanban Board helps to manage the WIP of a value stream or process. A Scrum Board helps to manage the WIP associated with a complex project. A Kanban Board is usually better suited to manage the WIP of individuals and a Scrum Board the WIP of cross-functional teams.

Scrum is actually closer to Kaizen than it is Kanban. Both Scrum and Kaizen are project management approaches to engage cross-functional teams to rapidly complete meaningful improvements within specific time-boxed iterations. In practice Scrum has advantages over the typical Kaizen. Scrum’s approach to managing WIP provides better visibility, prioritization, and predictability of project outcomes over time than Kaizen.

Regardless of what terms you use, managing the WIP of a value stream is different than managing the WIP of a complex project. Visual task boards are helpful for both; but pick the board best suited to your type of WIP. In any case, consider Scrum as an alternative to your next Kaizen.