Setting up your first Kanban board is a great way to keep your team aligned, tasks organised, and work visible. Follow these steps to create a board that supports smooth workflows and clear communication.
1. Set Up Your Kanban Board
- Choose Your Format: Decide if you’ll use a physical board (like a whiteboard or sticky notes) or a digital tool (like Trello, Jira, or Microsoft Planner).
- This decision depends on what works best for your team, but the core principles remain the same.
2. Create Columns
- Start with four simple columns:
- To Do: For tasks that haven’t been started yet.
- In Progress: For tasks currently being worked on.
- Blocked: For blocked tasks.
- Done: For completed tasks.
Over time, you can add additional columns to reflect specific steps in your workflow, such as “Backlog” or “Review,” based on what fits your workflow process.
3. Add Tasks to Your Board
- Create Cards for Each Task: Each task goes on a card (either on paper or digitally). Give each card a clear, brief title that describes the task (e.g., “Write Project Report”). Add additional details if needed, like deadlines or assignees
- Align at the Right Altitude:
- - Before adding items, decide together on the “altitude” of each item—this means the level of detail and scope for items on the board. Here’s a helpful guide:
- - Initiatives: High-level, strategic efforts covering multiple projects or tasks (e.g., “Improve Customer Satisfaction”)
- - Projects: Significant pieces of work that contribute to an initiative and have a distinct outcome (e.g., “Develop Feedback System”).
- - Tasks: Actionable, day-to-day items contributing directly to projects (e.g., “Survey Key Customers”).
Choose the level that suits your board’s purpose. For example, on a task-focused board, list individual tasks and use projects/initiatives only as references if needed. For a high-level overview board, you may focus on initiatives and projects, keeping tasks as subtasks.
Aligning at the right altitude keeps everyone on the same page, making it easy to see where each task fits into the bigger picture.
4. Move Cards Across the Board
- As work progresses, move cards to reflect their status:
- When you start working on a task, move its card from To Do to In Progress.
- When a task is complete, move it to Done.
This movement creates a visual flow, making it easy for everyone to see what’s being worked on and what’s completed.
5. Review Your Board Regularly
- Set aside time at the end of each day or week to review your board.
- Look at what’s progressing well and which tasks may need extra attention or support. This practice ensures the team stays aligned and helps identify any bottlenecks.
And that’s it! You now have a basic Kanban board setup. This tool will help your team manage work visually, stay organised, and track progress effortlessly. Dive in and start visualising your work today!
Video Guide Coming Soon