A strategy for making work observable, managing flow, and continuously improving value delivery. Specifically Kanban as outlined in the Kanban Guide.
Kanban is a strategy for change, not a tool or board. As defined in the Kanban Guide, it enables organisations to “start with what they do now,” understand their current system, and improve flow and value delivery through evolutionary change. It is rooted in Lean principles and systems thinking, focusing on how work flows rather than what work gets done.
Unlike frameworks that prescribe roles or timeboxes, Kanban introduces observability: visualising work, limiting WIP, managing flow, and making policies explicit. This exposes bottlenecks and enables evidence-based improvement without disrupting existing structures.
Kanban complements other approaches like Scrum and DevOps by improving transparency and decision-making. It does not require a reset or reorganisation. Instead, it guides teams to adapt their way of working over time, based on feedback and performance metrics such as lead time, throughput, and service-level expectations.
Crucially, Kanban is often misunderstood as just visual task tracking. But its true power lies in creating a shared understanding of system behaviour and enabling strategic decisions about where and how to improve. It empowers teams to deliver value predictably, sustainably, and with greater resilience—making it an essential strategy for navigating complex, evolving environments.
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Bistech
Boeing
Slaughter and May
Jack Links
New Signature
Milliman
MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd.
Illumina
Teleplan
Sage
Genus Breeding Ltd
Schlumberger
Freadom
Slicedbread
Trayport
Kongsberg Maritime
DFDS
Alignment Healthcare
Washington Department of Transport
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Ghana Police Service
Royal Air Force
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG)
DFDS
SuperControl
Ericson
Alignment Healthcare
YearUp.org