Kanban: what it is and how to use it in your company

Luiz Eduardo
Divisio
Published in
4 min readMay 12, 2021

The Kanban method helps companies to control their production flows and avoid unnecessary expenses. It aims to manage and supervise the flow of tasks that are done in the production stages. As a result, we have an increase in large-scale production and production capacity, reducing waste.

This article explains a little how this method works and how it can be an important tool for your company.

The method was created in the 1960s by Toyota and is still used today to increase the organization of internal processes. It helps your company and your employees can choose the method to organize themselves and be even more productive, we will explain how:

What is the Kanban Method?

It works as a method of organization and visual management, which helps to control the tasks of a team — And can be adapted by the needs.

This technique came up with the use of post-its cards on a board to see the development of a project, showing its stages, progress and deliveries. And, nowadays we use it to do project and productivity management.

Many online applications already have a digital version of Kanban. In one column you can indicate which tasks are to be performed and, in the other, you indicate the stages of execution and signal what has already been delivered.

This method helps employees to be more agile when performing their tasks and contributes to a faster and more organized process, bringing positive results to your company. You may think about adopting it in your company.

What is it for?

Kanban can improve the performance of your team, your work and your company. Using this method makes the process of producing a project more agile and efficient.

The technique increases production control and detailing, using information about when, how much and what to produce. When viewing the task’s board, you can get a clear and objective notion of what to do, and when to do it, without letting anything be late or one task interrupting the other.

A lot of time is optimized when using this tool — And it allows the entire team of a company to be aware of what each sector is doing and how the production of each area is going. Keeping everything more aligned and effective.

How it works?

There are three columns: To Do, Doing, Done — But you can change the board if necessary. You move the cards from column to column as you complete each task. In online tools, you can drag each task to the desired column.

Different colors can be used for each situation, or for each person on a team. It all depends on how you want to adapt Kanban and make it more efficient according to your needs.

Advantages of using the Kanban System in your company

Here are some very interesting points that may make you want to download the Kanban method right now for your company:

  • Greater team independence and productivity
  • More efficient communication
  • Well-defined objectives
  • Improved customer service

How does it help in software development?

At Divisio, our team of developers uses Kanban to organize their projects and keep everything up to date without difficulty. It is a simple method to use that makes difference, deadlines are met and tasks completed.

For developers, this tool helps to identify the definition of objectives, and detail the steps and the tasks to be developed in each one of them. Everyone who is part of the project gets aware of each stage of production.

Secondary tasks only begin when the most important points are resolved, thus focusing on what is indispensable first. This makes the workflow more intelligent and provides good communication between the people on the team, in addition to bringing out the real needs of the client.

You can create an update step to fix recognized bugs and security flaws in software. Those responsible for maintaining source codes can work effectively to exclude projects very quickly and according to the impact that each error can have on the user experience.

The methode is a good choice for both personal and professional use. By choosing to use this tool in your company, you will effectively increase the outputs of your project, in addition to avoiding headaches with the lack of information from someone on the team. This method increases productivity in general, and it will bring good results. Start using and see the difference.

--

--

Luiz Eduardo
Divisio
Editor for

CEO at Divisio. I work with inevitable people for a connected world.