Kanban

Kanban Framework Template

Manage your workflow in a highly flexible and visual way with the Kanban Framework template. Optimize processes and improve your team’s efficiency.

About the Kanban Board Template

The Kanban method was created in the 1950s by Toyota Automotive employee Taiichi Ohno as a simple planning system to optimize production stages to keep up with American manufacturing (the gold standard at the time). However, it wasn’t until 2004 that David J. Anderson used the concept and applied it to IT and software. Now the Kanban framework is one of the most popular methodologies within Agile and LEAN.

What is the Kanban method?

Kanban is a popular method of LEAN workflow management valued for its real-time visualization of work capacity and full transparency of the work being done.

It consists of a timeline with tasks placed as cards, where you can see the task status, track progress, and address any bottlenecks or impediments.

When to use a Kanban board

Teams use Kanban boards to monitor the progress of work from start to finish. It’s a powerful way to display progress to yourself and cross-functional partners so that the behind-the-scenes nature of software development becomes visible. This Kanban template can be used to manage workflows and provide transparency across all stages of a project.

Benefits of using the Kanban method

Based on just-in-time manufacturing principles, Kanban helps your team reduce waste, anticipate bottlenecks and other issues, and collaborate on fixing them together.

The beauty (and power) of the Kanban method is that it’s a visual way to improve an organization's processes and can be used by anyone across any function.

Create your own Kanban board

Making your own Kanban board is easy with Miro’s ready-to-use template, the perfect canvas to create and share. Get started by selecting the Kanban template, then take the following steps to customize it according to your organization's needs.

1. Customize your Kanban board

You can label rows and columns according to your needs. David Anderson’s original method established that Kanban boards are divided into these:

  • visual signals

  • columns

  • work-in-progress limits

  • commitment point

  • delivery point

Some teams prefer to simplify these labels to only backlog, in progress, and done.

2. Add task cards

Start populating your Kanban board by adding Jira cards for each task or deliverable. Add tags or assign each Kanban card to an owner, and ask your team to write all backlog or in-progress projects in the appropriate column.

3. Get to work!

As steps are completed, make sure you move each card through your workflow so you can see your work pipeline from beginning to end. Be sure to check and update your Kanban board regularly so everyone can see the most up-to-date status of your tasks.

Kanban FAQ

What columns should a Kanban board have?

A typical Kanban board has three columns: backlog, in progress, and done. Depending on your team’s needs, you can also add more swimlanes to have cross-functional teams collaborating all on one board.

Kanban Framework Template

Get started with this template right now.

Related Templates
Go to Market Strategy Thumbnail
Preview
Go-to-Market Strategy Template
Project Planning Thumbnail
Preview
Project Planning Template
Fishbone Diagram by Dave Westgarth template thumb
Preview
Fishbone Diagram by Dave Westgarth
Conversion Funnel Backlog-thumb-web
Preview
Conversion Funnel Backlog Template
Roadmapping-thumb-web
Preview
Roadmap Planning Template
Breakout-group-thumb-web
Preview
Breakout Group Template