Kanban from the Inside: 19. Analyze demand and capability

We’re two chapters into Part III and getting into the nitty-gritty of Kanban implementation using the STATIK model. This week’s excerpt comes from the chapter introduction.

The previous chapter was all about context and perceptions, mostly keeping implementation considerations off the table. This chapter is about gathering some specific qualitative and quantitative facts about the current process that will inform the design of kanban systems.

Kanban-from-the-inside

If you can do this collaboratively, you will further reinforce the work of the previous chapter. If that’s not practical, you will need to share and review what you find after you have done the legwork.

This analysis needs to generate both qualitative and quantitative understanding. Qualitatively:

  • Understanding the different types of work involved will help you to identify the different variations in workflow that need to be managed.
  • Understanding the different sources of work will help you to prepare for, shape, and manage demand as it arrives.
  • Understanding why the work is needed will help you to understand the types of risk involved so that they can be managed appropriately.

Quantitatively:

  • Understanding the quantity of work involved will help you choose a manageable granularity to visualize and control it.
  • Understanding the gap between actual process capability (measured in terms of delivery rates, lead times, predictability, etc.) and the expectations of customers and the wider organization will highlight what kinds of improvements are needed.
  • Quantitative analysis of work recently delivered, currently in progress, and waiting to be worked on may tell us where improvements are most likely to be found.

Next up: 20. Model Workflow. Previously: 18. Sources of dissatisfaction. Start from the beginning: 1. Transparency.

My book Kanban from the Inside was published in September 2014 by Blue Hole Press, publishers of David Anderson’s Kanban book, aka the “blue book”. Complete with an awesome foreword by Luke Hohmann, it is available in paperback and now on Kindle onamazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de and amazon.fr and (no doubt) other amazons also. A PDF e-book is also available via the djaa.com store.