TOMASZ ORDYSISKI
KANBAN BASED INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATION
Summary
The article presents the applications of Kanban in several fields – from its origins to present expansion to many different domains. The most interesting, according to information management, is the support of processes / project management. In our present, unstable time each business initiative (new product, new service, each cus-tomer inquiry etc.) can be considered unique and usually within a time restraint as a project. Project management in that case can be considered as a type of process. Kanban has been successfully applied in software development and is what inspired the author to propose another adoption: the need for business process visualization and control.
Keywords: Kanban, Information Management, agile methods 1. Introduction
In our present economy and organization, information has become a crucial asset. The produc-tion factors such as land, work and capital are less important. A company’s success depends on the information or knowledge base that is kept and used by its employees. Another issue is a change in business stability – in a customer-focused economy there is no stable business. The consumer needs, expectations or simply style can change at any time. This is reason why companies had to change the way they operate and become “flexible” to the marker needs. All of those presented facts make the entrepreneur think of what can be done to survive and develop in such an unstable time.
One of the potential solutions is to become a kind of virtual company. ICT technology imple-mented as a tool to make the data acquisition process, data processing, information retrieval or knowledge management more efficient can improve the situation. The problem, which has appeared during our lifetime, is the user’s feeling that all IT applications are very sophisticated and … com-plicated. The information management, knowledge discovery methods sometimes require very deep IT background to use it efficiently. Sometimes, the data input describing the business process (e.g. in CRM applications) takes more time than the process itself. The problem here seems to be “addi-tional” character of information/knowledge management tools. Additionally, the global success of social networks (like Facebook) revealed the phenomenon that people want and can efficiently com-municate … the “social” tool is natural. Of course, the problem is discussing internal business issues on a public network by employees, but it proves that they just need to communicate. In their day-to-day work they meet new challenges, a problem that must be solved and is currently not described in the company’s policy or procedures.
The author’s proposal is to change the attitude toward today’s businesses. We live in unstable times when each economic initiative (new product, new service, each customer inquiry etc.) can be
considered unique and usually under a time constraint. These two features can change the vision to treat day-to-day work more like a project, not a process. What is more, those projects usually involve several members, so the management and realization should be transparent and available for every interested employee. There are several techniques for project management, but in this case, mainly agile groups could be efficiently applied. The goal of the article is to present the Kanban-based attitude towards information management in “project-based” initiatives within organizations. 2. Kanban in production processes
The Kanban System has become synonymous with the implementation of the Just in Time (JIT) manufacturing philosophy, which is designed to control inventory and reduce waste. Begun back in the 1940s, JIT grew out of Toyota's cultural commitment to continuous improvement to spur peak performance in its manufacturing processes.
The term Kanban is a Japanese word whose English translation means ‘signboard’ or ‘visual signal’. Toyota originally used cards attached to different containers (production and withdrawal) to communicate what materials needed to be replenished (produced) and what materials were to be used (withdrawn). Today, there are many variations of the Kanban cards, including signboards and electronic systems.
The Kanban system was constructed to work like a well-timed traffic signal in managing the flow of traffic to meet the real-time needs of customers by sending clear signals on when to start, slow down, and stop production. The desired result is to create an efficient system where products are only replenished when products are consumed further upstream in the process [6].
The essence of the Kanban concept is that a supplier or the warehouse should only deliver com-ponents to the production line as and when they are needed, so that there is no storage in the pro-duction area. Within this system, workstations located along propro-duction lines only produce/deliver desired components when they receive a card and an empty container, indicating that more parts will be needed in production. In case of line interruptions, each workstation will only produce enough components to fill the container and then stop [16, 112]. In addition, Kanban limits the amount of inventory in the process by acting as an authorization to produce more inventory. Since Kanban is a chain process in which orders flow from one process to another, the production or delivery of components are pulled to the production line in contrast to the traditional forecast ori-ented method where parts are pushed to the line [16, 113].
The two most common types of Kanban cards used today are: • withdrawal (Conveyance) Kanban,
• production Kanban.
The main function of a withdrawal Kanban is to pass the authorization for the movement of parts from one stage to another. Once it gets the parts from the preceding process and moves them to the next process it will remain with the parts until the last part has been consumed by the next process. The withdrawal Kanban then travels back to the preceding process to get parts, thus creating the cycle; the Kanban layout can be designed many ways in order to display this information. The primary function of the Kanban production is to release an order to the preceding stage to build the lot size indicated on the card [4].
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A very quickly changing environment demanding high adaptability asks also for a very flexible way of ordering materials. Traditional Kanban has certain problems, which can be solved if we use the electronic way of Kanban. The e-Kanban system gives the company and their suppliers the tools for meeting these demands by driving value and performance throughout the supply chain. Even Toyota, the creator of the Kanban system, has adapted e-Kanban system for sending external pulling signals to distant suppliers [11].
E-Kanban systems can be integrated into enterprise resource planning (ERP) system of any company. Integrating e-Kanban systems into ERP systems allows for real-time demand signalling across the supply chain and improved visibility. Data pulled from E-Kanban systems can be used to optimize inventory levels by better tracking supplier lead and replenishment times.
Electronic Kanban signals carry more information, including delivery location, lot size, and cycle number and occur in real time. Metrics tracked include: actual cycle time vs. planned cycle time; consumption patterns; supplier performance for on-time delivery, replenishment accuracy; when and what to resize; inventory vs. consumption; and inventory aging. Electronic Kanban, by more closely tying the consumer to the manufacturer, helps drive a process where the sale of a prod-uct is based on its value rather just its price. The flexibility and responsiveness of Electronic Kanban promises to drive the factories and distribution of the future to greater efficiencies and profits [3].
The Kanban-based modules are available in enterprise resource planning software such as Ora-cle's JD Edwards and eBusiness Suite, IFS AB, Infor ERP LN, SAP ERP, Deltek Costpoint or Mi-crosoft Dynamics AX [2].
3. Kanban in software development – will it replace SCRUM?
The advantages of the Kanban attitude were also noticed in project management. Software en-gineering and development has become one of leading branches of the economy in the 21st century. However, the project management methods developed in the 20th century do not respond to today’s constantly changing market conditions. The long-term planning of software production, stability and predictability of user’s requirements can be considered as past. Most IT projects are shorter than one year and must support the investor’s business as fast as possible. The evolution of the project man-agement method can be briefly presented as follows: the cascade model, spiral model (e.g. RUP), extreme programming and finally a list of methods commonly named ‘agile’ [12].
Figure 1. The set of PM methods Source: http://www.crisp.se/file-uploads/Kanban-vs-Scrum.pdf
The most popular agile method is Scrum. It is a process framework that has been used to manage complex product development since the early 1990s. Scrum is not a process or a technique for build-ing products; rather, it is a framework within which you can employ various processes and tech-niques. The rules of Scrum bind together the events, roles and artifacts governing the relationships
R UP X P SC RUM KAN-BAN Do whatever structured adaptive
and interaction between them. Scrum makes clear the relative efficacy of your product management and development practices so that you can improve [15, 10].
The fundamental process is simple and at its core is governed by 3 primary roles: • product owners who determine what needs to be built in the next 30 days or less,
• development teams that build what is needed in 30 days (or less), and then demonstrate what they have built. Based on this demonstration, the product owner determines what to build next;
• Scrum masters ensure this process happens as smoothly as possible and continually help improve the process, the team and the product being created.
Scrum projects make progress in a series of sprints, which are time-boxed iterations no more than a month long. At the start of a Scrum sprint, team members commit to delivering a number of features that were listed on the project's Scrum product backlog. At the end of the Scrum sprint, these features are done - they are coded, tested and integrated into the evolving product or system. At the end of the sprint, a sprint review is conducted during which the team demonstrates the new functionality to the product owner and other interested stakeholders who provide feedback that could influence the next sprint [15].
Three pillars uphold every implementation of empirical process control: transparency, inspec-tion and adaptainspec-tion. Significant aspects of the process must be visible to those responsible for the outcome. Transparency requires those aspects be defined by a common standard so observers share a common understanding of what is being seen. Adaptation – if an inspector determines that one or more aspects of a process deviate outside the acceptable limits and that the resulting product will be unacceptable, the process or the material being processed must be adjusted. An adjustment must be made as soon as possible to minimize further deviation.
Since 2001, several case tools were developed supporting Scrum managed IT projects. How-ever, the basic and most commonly used ‘tool’ is just a simple board hanging on the wall in an IT company that shows the work progress.
Concurrently to Scrum the idea of Kanban was adapted to software development. The pure assumption of Kaizen, Just in Time and the Toyota Production Process started to be used in a slightly different production process. At first glance, there is no significant disparity between Scrum and Kanban, but if we focus on the process or project, the differences are very clearly noticeable [13]. This opinion is common among software developers: we can find Scrum followers (thinking that this is the only proper way to produce software and denying any Kanban applications in this kind of process), Kanban innovators (who see only the advantages of Kanban, e.g. work in progress limita-tions or the transparency of the project and claiming that Kanban is another evolutionary step after Scrum) and the ‘middle group’ (aware of the weak and strong sides of both attitudes and using them in proper situations) [4].
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Figure 2. Kanban board with WIP limitation Source: self study.
The author’s opinion is consistent with the ‘middle group’ – the proper tool for a specific pro-ject. According to Kanban origins, the motto of the famous 17th century samurai, Miyamoto Mu-sashi, can be cited as: ‘… do not develop an attachment to any one weapon or any one school of fighting …’.
Scrum and Kanban are both highly adaptive, but relatively speaking Scrum is more prescriptive than Kanban. Scrum gives you more constraints, and thereby leaves fewer options open. For exam-ple, Scrum prescribes the use of iterations; Kanban does not [1].
The Kanban framework for software development can be presented in 3 main points: • Visualize the workflow;
o Split the work into pieces, write each item on a card and put on the wall o Use named columns to illustrate where each item is in the workflow.
• Limit WIP (Work in Progress) – assign explicit limits to how many items may be in pro-gress at each state;
• Measure the lead time (average time to complete one item) and optimize the process to minimize this [7].
To do Ongoing
Table 1. Differences between Scrum and Kanban
Source: http://www.crisp.se/file-uploads/Kanban-vs-Scrum.pdf.
The work in progress (WIP) limits are a mechanism of the process flow control. The number of tasks in a specific column (stage) can be updated at any moment to make the flow more fluid [9].
The flexibility of Kanban is the strength of this attitude representing the best of ‘agile’ methods. Compared to Scrum, the project / process can be monitored as a whole using the same simple tool like a board hanged on the wall. However, the Scrum shows only one sprint and after it the board is cleared – in Kanban you always know what must be done next. The most important differences are presented in Table 1.
To summarize the Kanban application in software development and its competitiveness to SCRUM, the author’s experience and knowledge identifies Kanban as a very suitable and intuitive method to manage and specially control software production. Moreover, the strength of Kanban can be easily adapted to any other field, where the project is the main type of work organization.
Scrum Kanban
Time boxed iterations prescribed Iterations optional. Can have separate
ca-dences for planning, release and process im-provement.
Can be event-driven instead of iterative. Team commits to a specific amount of work
for this iteration.
Commitment optional.
Uses velocity as default metric for planning and process improvement.
Uses lead time as default metric for planning and process improvement.
Cross-functional teams prescribed Cross-functional teams optional. Specialist
teams allowed. Items must be broken down so they can be
completed within 1 sprint
No particular item size is prescribed.
Burn down chart prescribed No particular type of diagram is prescribed
WIP limited indirectly (via sprint plan) WIP limited directly (per workflow state)
Estimation prescribed Estimation optional
Cannot add items to ongoing iteration. Can add new items whenever capacity is available
A sprint backlog is owned by one specific team
A Kanban board may be shared by multiple teams or individuals
Prescribes 3 roles (PO/SM/Team). Does not prescribe any roles
A Scrum board is reset between each sprint A Kanban board is persistent Prescribes a prioritized product backlog Prioritization is optional
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4. The idea of Kanban-based software for project / process management
As presented in a previous point within the article, Kanban was invented to support supply management; it then evolved into the currently most popular items such as Just in Time and the Toyota Production Model to be finally appreciated by the biggest ERP vendors and implemented as software modules. After that, it was discovered that it is a type of agile method for software devel-opment. The strength of Kanban is its simplicity and adoptability [14].
If we consider the present work organization, we notice that it is evolving from process to pro-ject-based. The companies are trying to identify processes, optimize them and then focus on the constant improvement (TQM). But in many fields, the frontier between a process and project has almost disappeared. How can we treat a company as process organized when it has to change its work organization with every customer order to adapt to a constantly changing environment? Maybe we witness another stage of evolution, which can be called a ‘process framework in project-based organizations’. Everything can be considered as a project. But still the main role turns it into actual, complete, accessible and useful information delivered at the right time.
Information management has to support the whole ‘project management process’ in a very ef-ficient way. In case of structured PM methods like PRINCE2, the documentation of the project must be complete and accessible for the appropriate project members. However, the size, organization and time consumed for preparation are relatively long. If we consider agile methods like SCRUM, the information is delivered and kept for one sprint – sometimes losing the holistic view of the project. Kanban provides the methodology and tools to see the project as a complete set of tasks and control the task flow at each specified stage. In that case, the natural consequence is to ‘nail’ im-portant information to a card and keep it going with it across all stages.
Figure 3. Information management model in Kanban Source: self study.
The main idea of the article is to present then prepare a set of assumptions concerning a model of information management in Kanban used in the area of e.g. customer orders, administration pro-cesses, services or any other field of enterprise, where conditions are so unique that the realization is an atypical process. The standard features such as security and safety will not be mentioned – the article focuses on the functionality. The analysis identified a set of features, which IM should gen-erally deliver: To do On-going Do ne Task n Information 1 Information 2 Information 3 Information 4 Information 5 …
• Versioning – the typical work in a project or process is based on documents. During the flow, the documents can be changed, updated, authorized etc. The PM needs all this kind of information and it should be kept and delivered on demand.
• Filtering – the idea of Kanban is ‘less is more’. The processes or projects led using this attitude can be relatively complicated (several cards, several states or even several boards). To see what is important to the PM team or member, the card should be filterable. • Accessibility in one location – whole important for the process / project information should
be kept and available in one place. In case of Kanban, the natural place is a card where the information can be added, updated but still everything about this task can found in one place. The feature is strongly connected with versioning.
• Project “knowledge base” – each project is unique and except a product gives a set of im-portant conclusions, which should be collected, evaluated and transferred to other projects as ‘best practices’ or ‘do not do’.
• Integration – the ideal situation is the Kanban integration with an existing company system (two-way). Kanban can be supplied with the necessary data and deliver control signals to a system, e.g. about the change of an order status. This can be considered as a type of manager desktop for company control.
The analysis of existing tools identified a gap. ERP modules cover the supply and production fields. The software development tools vary in functionality depending on price, but the main prob-lem is its dedication to a software production and limited customization. Within the market there is a lack of a solution, which would offer pointed above functionality and would be flexible to adopt it to several fields.
5. Summary
The article presents the applications of Kanban in several fields – from its origins to the present expansion to many different domains. The most interesting, according to information management, is the support of processes / project management. Present tools based on Kanban are focused mainly on software production and it is working perfectly. The idea of adopting Kanban to any project oriented areas of company functioning can create enormous added value. Nowadays enterprises are or are trying to be process-oriented. That, of course, is a brilliant idea, but if we consider how it really works we can see the problem – processes are identified, optimized and then implemented in organization as workflows. But are the regular employees aware of the whole process they take part in? The analyses show that on the ‘battlefield’ (the operational level) almost nothing has changed. The regular employees know that they are a part of the process but they cannot see it. The same situation is at the middle management level – we know the process but usually only as a map drawn in TQM documentation. When we consider inter-organizational initiatives we can read about virtual organizations (VO) supported by sophisticated IT solutions and find several examples of VO imple-mentations. But the keyword in this case is ‘sophisticated’, which usually equals extremely expen-sive. What about small and mid-sized enterprises? They cannot afford that kind of tool but are still operating in process chains connecting several companies of the same size. There is a lack of a tool that would just visualize, present and control the flow of internal and inter-organizational processes. The strength of Kanban is the simplicity and transparencies, which in this case is a perfect base for supporting IM tools.
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ZARZĄDZANIE INFORMACJĄ W ORGANIZACJI W OPARCIU O METODĉ KANBAN Streszczenie
Artykuł prezentuje zastosowania metody Kanban w wielu obszarach – od pier-wotnego do ekspansji uĪycia w wielu róĪnych dziedzinach. Z punktu widzenia zarzą-dzania informacją za najbardziej interesujący uznaü naleĪy wsparcie za pomocą tej metody kwestii zarządzania projektami / procesami. W obecnych czasach, charaktery-zujących siĊ duĪą niestabilnoĞcią kaĪda z inicjatyw biznesowych (nowy produkt, nowa usługa, obsługa zapytania klienta) posiada cechy unikatowoĞci oraz ograniczenia w czasie podobnie jak projekt. Idąc dalej tym tokiem myĞlenia zarządzanie takowym pro-jektem moĪna traktowaü jak proces. Metodyka Kanban została z sukcesem zaimple-mentowana do w dziedzinie produkcji oprogramowania, co zachĊciło Autora do pod-jĊcia próby kolejnego dostosowania – tym razem do potrzeb wizualizacji i kontroli przebiegu procesów biznesowych.
Słowa kluczowe: Kanban, Zarzdzanie Informacj, metody zwinne Tomasz Ordysiski
Uniwersytet Szczeciski ul. Mickiewicza 64 Szczecin e-mail: tomaszordysinski@wneiz.pl
