What are Kanban Tools?
Kanban is a method that enables teams and organizations to visualize their work and help them achieve dramatic improvements in terms of throughput, lead time and quality, in almost any business function. Kanban uses tools that are used for managing tasks as well as tracking their progress.
Originally, it was created as a simple planning system, with the aim of controlling and managing work and inventory at every stage of production optimally. Today, Kanban tool powers over 25,000 small and large businesses across the world. Kanban software solutions are deployed for their ability to manage project lifecycle and development. They help teams in preventing the overloading of tasks that may not be high on priority and ensure timely delivery of products/services to clients or customers.
To understand how the software functions, is to find out what key components make up the entire application. First and foremost, Kanban board provides an overview of all tasks that are in progress, or nearing completion or have been completed. The entire overview of the process is available in the form of columns and rows. While every column has Kanban cards attached to them, the horizontal lanes are comprised of swimlanes.
What Constitutes a Kanban Board Online
Kanban board online is the key component of Kanban apps that are especially designed for helping organisations visualize their workflows besides breaking up these very workflows into different parts- to do list, in progress section and tasks completed column. These boards have key components attached to them so that one can track a task’s progress to know who is working on what.
Kanban cards are attached to every Kanban board. These cards contain all information regarding a task along with the name of the task and a short description.
Kanban columns are also available on the board and its main function is to divide different phases or stages of a project's/task's workflow. Each column has a head where Kanban cards are posted into such columns. You can drag cards from one column to another based on the project's stage.
Kanban swimlanes are horizontal lanes that separate one activity from the other, based on services, users, and teams. Besides using for organizing tasks and streamlining other business processes, you can also use Kanban tools for optimizing the efficiency of all your workflows. With this option, you can put limits to the number of tasks that can be included in a column so that you or your team can focus on the most important and high-priority tasks.
What Core Practices are Followed in a Kanban Online Tool Method
Whenever you add a task to a Kanban board, always try to not overdo it or rush into it, for the simple reason that the software would automatically do such changes for you based on your present workflow and soon use all historical logs. The software’s functioning is based on practices that make task management automated and convenient. What does Kanban involve:
- Visualizing workflows using the physical board built-in into the software.
- Adding high-priority tasks to the work in progress section.
- Improving all workflows by resolving bottlenecks related to who is doing what and the basis used for segregating tasks. There are other parameters as well like labels, users, services and more.
- Clear cut process policies, which are shared on the board itself.
- Feedback loops in the form of review stages to deliver high-quality services to clients and customers.
- Opportunities to collaborate with team leads, members, and colleagues.
Features& Functionalities of Kanban Board Online
WIP or work-in-progress limits are assigned to columns on a Kanban board for avoiding congestion in workflows. The feature lets you put a limit to the number of tasks in a column. This way, the work-in-progress tasks completed on time so that you can proceed further without being bothered about the old incomplete tasks.
Swimlanes in Kanban software are horizontal columns that are attached to a task for getting a better overview of all the pending files. Swimlanes are important for easy task management as you can divide your work here based on the business area, product, or teams.
Kanban tools can be used for adding subtasks into an already defined pre-set task to avoid missing out on any important details or information. There are checkboxes next to every sub-task. This way you can put a tick on every sub task once it gets completed.
In case you want to view a task based on a particular parameter, then you can avoid all the other activities by filtering out all the other activities. Filtering process can be implemented by introducing parameters like due dates, labels, colours or users.
Use Kanban tools to collapse the columns you don't use to get a much better view of tasks that are of high priority for you. Just click on the title to collapse the task to make your workflows more simplified.
Portfolio board in Kanban tools are meant to connect tasks mentioned on different boards. The module is most important for marking relations between different tasks mentioned in multiple boards in order to highlight to the team which files are related.
You save time as the task grouping feature saves you from the trouble of manually archiving the completed tasks. All you got to do is move the completed tasks to the done section and all the tasks would come together on basis of their completion date.
Lead and cycle time charts in Kanban board software are a graphical representation of how long a team or an individual is taking to complete a task. The feature highlights in the chart the time taken to move tasks from start to finish. This module is mostly used for improving the delivery of services to clients and customers.
Benefits of Using Kanban Tools
Always, there would be multiple tasks awaiting completion or approval. Popular Kanban apps come with an inbuilt easy to search option to make the entire file searching process a hassle-free experience for everyone. You can use options like the name of the file/assignee, comments, subtasks, description, and labels to search for the exact file type.
Cumulative flow diagrams in Kanban tools are used for identifying bottlenecks and analysing workflows. The diagram shows how many tasks are there in all the columns so that organizations can assess the progress of projects and the efficiency of the teams working on the projects.
- Burndown charts for pending tasks
All the pending tasks can be analysed with the support from built-in burndown charts in Kanban tools. You can use these charts for tracking progress and accordingly can predict when a task would get completed.
- Calendar for better task overview
Kanban board online solutions support calendar views to help end users get a better overview of the pending tasks. It also provides filters like colours, user, labels, etc., to make work tracking an easy experience for everyone.
- Accurate estimates with the forecasting system
The solution offers a forecasting option that lets you predict when exactly a pending task would reach its completion stage. The module works by taking into account all historical data for estimating when a worker would get completed.
History logs in Kanban apps provide an overview of changes made in the files. You can view history logs based on changes or name mentioned on it. The logs are highly detailed and can even be used for comparing the before and after values of a field.
Stopwatch timer within Kanban board software is used for improving productivity at work. You can set timers to see how long every assignment is taking for completion.
Application of Kanban Tools Across Different Industries
Assign tasks and check backlog with Kanban software solutions. You can use Kanban tools for both small and large teams with ease and simplicity. They are easy-to-use collaboration tools that make it convenient for teams to communicate with each other well, add comments, and share feedback in real-time.
- Project management
- Software developers
- Marketing professionals
- Sales department
- HR team
- Agile teams
- Construction companies
- Creative production
- Healthcare service providers
Kanban apps have inbuilt analytics, Gantt charts, and workflows that help in managing projects and tracking task progress. You can also take advantage of tools like bug tracking and production for organizing all workflows. Kanban software solutions help companies sync their development processes with existing organizational goals.
Evaluation Criteria for Selecting the Best Kanban Software
Kanban tools not only give you the best collaborative experience, but also quality workflow and task management capabilities. Here is a list of all important modules that need to be taken into consideration for choosing the right Kanban tool:
- Assigning tasks, attaching files, and creating links in between cards
- Automated processes for setting task and project deadlines
- Easy integration with other tools available in a device
- Scaling capabilities for creating multiple Kanban boards and visualizing workflows
- Option for easily adding swimlanes along with editable columns
The Best Kanban Software
Trello
Track and organize tasks with Trello Kanban board software. Use the application for customizing workflows based on your specific requirements in real-time and create task dependencies with ease. Additionally, available are collaborative tools like calendars, task schedulers, and reminders. All in all, Trello is one such kanban tool that is best for handling multiple processes in a project lifecycle.
Key features of Trello Kanban App:
- Drag & drop editing
- Progress meter checklist
- Archive for card records
- Automatic email notifications
- Information backup and activity log
- Data filters along with an information retrieval system
Monday.com
Looking for an efficient project development tool that would organize your workflows and help with updating tasks. Monday.com might be the answer for you. The project management tool lets you add tasks into different columns and assign different members to each column. The software lets you manage every stage of the workflow besides adding custom labels for differentiating and prioritizing tasks.
Key features of Monday.com:
- Customizable fields
- Execution board and email updates
- Time tracking
- SSL data encryption
- Keywords labels and tags
- Timeline column
Kanbanize
The one feature that really makes Kanbanize software unique is its robust analytics that can be used extensively for project tracking and managing. Aside from supporting kanban board features, the software also offers business automation capabilities for organizing workflows. You can thus use Kanbanize for not just project management but also portfolio and program management.
Key features of Kanbanize:
- Multiple workflows for managing multiple processes
- Timeline for updating project plans
- Team workspace for increased visibility
- Card links
- Workflow analytics
- Time tracking and email integration
ProofHub
Track tasks and create custom workflows with ProofHub kanban board software. Companies and organizations depend on the software for complete transparency and best project delivery services. Plan tasks, organize projects and collaborate in real-time with ProofHub kanban board online. The best part about using the software is that you can set as many custom workflows as you may require for easy task management.
Key features of ProofHub Kanban Software:
- Custom roles and advanced search option
- Gantt charts
- Table views along with detailed activity logs
- Task prioritization based on labels and time estimates
- Integration with third-party applications
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