Virtual Kanban: Useful References

  James  1 min read.

Producing getKanban Game

getKanban Production Guide

  • This page provides instructions to help you more easily produce the free version of Russell Healy’s fantastic GetKanban simulation game. There isn’t a better way to learn Kanban basics. Buy the newest commercial version if you can afford it; otherwise, use this guide to produce the free version in much less time than it originally took me.

Various Other Reference Information

YouTube Search for “Kanban Introduction”

  • There are a plethora of introductory articles and videos on the use of basic Virtual Kanban boards. Finding something that goes past the basics is more challenging. The complex Kanban sequence below, the getKanban game, and the “Virtual Kanban” chapter in Forging Change help close this gap a bit.

Complex Kanban Sequence

  • Demonstrates card flow through a rather complex Virtual Kanban board
  • Created as a slide show in PDF format

Kanban—An Alternative Path to Agility by David J. Anderson

  • When Anderson talks about “Kanban” he is really talking about a whole lot more than flow control. His 6 Practices for Evolutionary Design are:
    • Visualize
    • Limit Work-In-Progress
    • Manage Flow
    • Make Policies Explicit
    • Implement Feedback Loops
    • Improve Collaboratively, Evolve Experimentally (using models and the scientific method)
  • There is somewhat of an ongoing conflict between the hard-core Scrum folks and the hard-core Kanban/Lean folks. The Scrum folks believe the entrenched behavior is so broken as to require re-setting the foundations. The Kanban/Lean folks believe one should model existing process and slowly evolve and improve. I believe both views have merit, and the two views can be mutually compatible. This conflict seems less heated over time.