subject: Kanban: Improving Project Management [print this page] The Kanban methodology has been around for the past 50 years, implying that it is a system that definitely works. The principle concerns a companys demand-and-supply analysis through the different steps or processes of its production floor. It works as a billboard that defines the schedule of the demand, the date when production should start and end, the mechanics of production, and the production quantity.
This scheduling system basically simplifies a companys overall production process, thus making the process more efficient and less time-consuming. The Kanban system also makes use of lean manufacturing principles such as quality assurance, JIT or just-in-time, which means that decisions and facts are produced when they are needed, short lead-time, and the Kaizen principle of continuous improvement and minimizing waste that does not add value to the customer or product.
The system was originally intended for software development projects but it works efficiently for production line project management. Kanban gets its demand information directly from the customer. This then signals scheduling the entire line and process of production, from raw materials needed to date of delivery.
Many companies today have adapted electronic Kanban. And as part of Kanban effective training for employees, developers have come up with games and simulations that would easily teach the idea of the system. Simulations like the Kanban Game allow employees and trainees to understand the true power of the system.
Lean development companies encourage the use of simulations or games like the Kanban Game along with the actual Kanban presentation to improve the learning skill of employees or trainees. Kanban games allow hands-on practice without the dangers of making mistakes that can be otherwise detrimental to an actual project.
The Kanban Game for example, contains a case study that requires the improvement of a projects operational effectiveness. The case study simulates issues that can be encountered in the actual production floor, and requires the trainees to develop a solution. This allows trainees to develop their Lean thinking in terms of the Kanban system, which then inculcates the logic and philosophy of the process to the employee for use in the actual workplace.
