{"id":389,"date":"2021-04-14T17:05:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T14:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/?p=389"},"modified":"2021-11-23T13:40:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T10:40:34","slug":"kanban-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanban Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If you are starting to read this post, then you probably already know something about Agile software development and a famous Japanese word \u2014\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kanban<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. The Kanban methodology is not going to lose its popularity, and this post will dwell on a small but very important part of the system \u2014\u00a0<\/span><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kanban cards<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban-board-structure.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-397 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban-board-structure.jpg\" alt=\"kanban board structure of cards\" width=\"854\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban-board-structure.jpg 854w, https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban-board-structure-300x185.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban-board-structure-768x473.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What Is a Kanban card?<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A Kanban card visually represents how a work item moves through different completion stages on a physical or online\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/boards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kanban board<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. This key element of the Kanban system reflects work that has been requested or that is already in progress.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What Should Be on a Kanban Card?<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Each Kanban card contains valuable data about the task it represents. It includes the task status, summary of the assignment, deadline, responsible person, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The card helps teams to visualize work, regulate work in progress with\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/wip-limits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WIP limits<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, and maximize the flow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To quickly understand the idea of the Kanban card system, imagine a software development team that use a whiteboard and sticky notes to represent their work items.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Like every dev team, they have different features and bugs. They move the sticky notes through defined columns (for example, To Do, Prioritized, Development, Testing, Blocked and Done).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It demonstrates that any Kanban card template is aimed to visualize assignments\u2019 progress from the moment they are requested to the moment they can be considered as done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">During the development process, Kanban cards perform in the following way:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">inform about every tasks&#8217; step,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">reduce the number of additional meetings,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">improve the transparency of work processes,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">help to avoid context switching as the number of cards that are in progress should be limited.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20087\" src=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/f5477ed5929b21c9d6f0532ede8f75af-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"cards Kanban\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1536\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Kanban Cards Quick History<\/h3>\n<p>Any concept has its own history, the Kanban card is no exception. In Japanese, Kanban means &#8220;visual signal&#8221; or &#8220;signal board&#8221;. Kanban cards were invented in the 1940s. Their creator, Taiichi Ohno was an industrial engineer at Toyota company. He was looking for ways to improve Toyota\u2019s manufacturing process and the result of his creation was a Kanban system with convenient cards.<\/p>\n<p>One day Taiichi Ohno discovered an interesting thing during shopping in a supermarket. The supermarket managers re-stocked shelves instead of keeping inventory fully stocked at all times.\u00a0 It was obvious that one of the shelves was nearly empty, so the store replenished that shelf with enough merchandise.<\/p>\n<p>Ohno noticed that this kind of just-in-time (JIT) delivery would revolutionize the manufacturing supply chain. He decided to visualize various manufacturing processes on the factory floor. A Kanban card was a great solution right for this aim. Visualizing the card that included full info about the required quantity, part specifications, and delivery time, suppliers could clearly fill the order and send the restocked bin with its Kanban card back to the factory floor.<\/p>\n<p>Toyota used this secret for a long time and only in the 1990s, people took notice and the company began sharing the Kanban card system concept details.<\/p>\n<h4>What Is a Kanban Inventory System?<\/h4>\n<p>The Kanban inventory system uses handy cards of different colors to distinguish different items and to stock and promote the placing of new orders as particular items decrease in number. This system allows teams to boost production efficiency and is often associated with Lean manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>Lean manufacturing preaches the continuous flow of products. Superfluous amounts of inventory in the Lean environment lengthen the cycle time for any part of the production flow. The increased cycle time for any part is a waste in Lean. When a company stocks a high level of inventory, there is a chance to keep defective materials for a longer period before its discovery.<\/p>\n<h3>What Are Two Types of Kanban Cards?<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">There are two types of Kanban cards: physical and online. When it comes to modern Agile software development, digital\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kanban boards examples<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and Kanban cards examples surely look more efficient and beneficial.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Physical Kanban cards limit you in the way how many details and info you can write on each card. It is harder to analyze work item\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/metrics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">metrics<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For this reason, using smart project management software to create online Kanban boards is highly recommended.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What Is Kanban with Example?<\/h3>\n<p>Kanban theory is quite simple and straightforward. However, it is always easier to understand any concept by visualizing it with a good example. Here is what a typical online Kanban board template with cards from Hygger.io looks like.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kanban-card-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-16848 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kanban-card-1.jpg\" alt=\"Kanban cards in software development\" width=\"1360\" height=\"697\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>How Does an Online Kanban Card Look Like?<\/h3>\n<p>The typical elements of Kanban cards examples are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A title (or a unique item number)<\/li>\n<li>Item description<\/li>\n<li>A rough estimate of the work size<\/li>\n<li>The number of items to be moved<\/li>\n<li>Location information<\/li>\n<li>Lead time<\/li>\n<li>A responsible person<\/li>\n<li>The due date<\/li>\n<li>A class of service<\/li>\n<li>Priority, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kanban-card-sample.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-16849 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Kanban-card-sample.jpg\" alt=\"Kanban cards templates\" width=\"989\" height=\"560\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><b>What Are the Key Purposes of Kanban Cards?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kanban cards assist team members to communicate and share information visually, encouraging effective teamwork. They allow to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">View important tasks details at a glance. It&#8217;s about statuses and due dates, task&#8217;s owner, and other relevant info.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Run deliverables efficiently. With the help of Kanban card templates, teams can establish clear and consistent expectations for each functional area.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Improve productivity and efficiency. Using Kanban boards with cards you can track lead time, the time it takes for a work item to go from start to finish. Kanban cards also help you to identify bottlenecks in workflow and streamline their process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How Does a Kanban System Work?<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What key rules and steps should we consider while working with online Kanban boards and cards? To start working with a Kanban card, you first need to create a board. It does not matter whether it is digital or physical.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Using a powerful project management tool such as Hygger.io, you are able to choose a Kanban board template and customize it to suit your specific project.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This tool looks great for\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/project-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">project management<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0in many industries: construction, IT, marketing, finance, education, and many more. Define the number of columns you need and name them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The typical Kanban board example will have three columns:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">To-do<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In progress<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Done<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Then you have to create a Kanban card for every task of your work. It is possible to create a Kanban card template for recurring work items and similar tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After filling the Kanban card template with the required information, you need to make sure everyone in your team knows how to move the cards through the columns. Everyone is responsible for moving their tasks through the columns, identifying bottlenecks, and making suggestions for improvement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Hygger-Kanbna-board-qq.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20085 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Hygger-Kanbna-board-qq.png\" alt=\"Kanban cards example\" width=\"1276\" height=\"772\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What Are the Core Benefits of Kanban Cards?<\/h2>\n<h4><b>1. Detecting inefficiencies<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Kanban cards easily define when there\u2019s a problem with one of the steps in a work process. The team will quickly get a queue if it consistently has twice as many cards in the Testing column as in Design and Development. The possible solution is to hire more testers.<\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Facilitating JIT (just-in-time delivery)<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>The JIT concept is useful in various industries other than manufacturing, including software development. A great solution that helps teams to avoid stagnant projects is a work-in-progress (WIP) limit option. It&#8217;s important to limit the number of cards at any stage of a workflow at one time. When a Kanban column is maxed out, team members work to move those projects to completion before they can take on new work.<\/p>\n<h4><b>3. Encouraging collaboration<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Kanban boards and cards are sharable. As cards advance from column to column, they pass from team to team or from a particular employee to another one. Although everybody is responsible for a different part of the process, they all are looking at the same thing and can collaborate.<\/p>\n<h3>What Are the Risks Related to Kanban Cards?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">You should treat a Kanban card like a controlled item because a lost card can cause a shortage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kanban cards require a stable environment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Outdated Kanban card examples lead to stock-outs, so try to always keep them updated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If extra items are hidden, it means that Kanban cards are not showing the correct quantity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">All types of Kanban cards manage inventory but do not reduce it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Final words<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>All Kanban cards examples are aimed to simplify the life of software development teams as they make problems highly apparent. If you are not using Kanban cards yet, test them first to define all the nuances of their use. No matter what industry you represent, the Kanban system with convenient cards will help you organize your work items and get your job done efficiently.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to dig deeper into the Kanban world details and its artifacts, study our Agile 101 page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are starting to read this post, then you probably already know something about Agile software development and a famous Japanese word \u2014\u00a0Kanban. The Kanban methodology is not going to lose its popularity, and this post will dwell on a small but very important part of the system \u2014\u00a0Kanban cards. What Is a Kanban [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":75,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"class_list":["post-389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kanban"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to use Kanban cards more effectively\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kanban Cards Hygger.io Guides -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to use Kanban cards more effectively\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hygger.io Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-14T14:05:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-23T10:40:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/\",\"name\":\"Hygger.io Guides\",\"description\":\"Hygger: Project Management Software &amp; Tools for Companies\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/kanban.png\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Kanban\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/\",\"name\":\"Kanban Cards Hygger.io Guides -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-14T14:05:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-23T10:40:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/#\/schema\/person\/cab80745946cdf5feea0cee70ab6cffc\"},\"description\":\"Learn how to use Kanban cards more effectively\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/\",\"name\":\"\\u0413\\u043b\\u0430\\u0432\\u043d\\u0430\\u044f \\u0441\\u0442\\u0440\\u0430\\u043d\\u0438\\u0446\\u0430\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/agile\/kanban\/kanban-cards\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/#\/schema\/person\/cab80745946cdf5feea0cee70ab6cffc\",\"name\":\"Pavel Kukhnavets\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hygger.io\/guides\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c304a131d7d560805a98b095abf6816b67434834ab4109340b1e6dfa4061a1b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1c304a131d7d560805a98b095abf6816b67434834ab4109340b1e6dfa4061a1b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pavel Kukhnavets\"},\"description\":\"Pavel is a Content Marketing Manager at Hygger.io &amp; Welldoneby.com, a project management tool loved both by tech and non-tech people. 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