Kanban Vocabulary
Practice Kanban vocabulary: WIP limits, flow metrics, pull systems, cumulative flow diagrams, and throughput.
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A team lead says 'The WIP limit is 3 for the In Progress column.' What happens if someone tries to start a 4th item?
WIP (Work in Progress) limits are explicit constraints. When the limit is reached, the team stops starting new work and focuses on finishing existing items before pulling more.
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Your colleague says 'We use a pull system, not a push system.' What is the key difference?
In a pull system, team members pull new work only when they have capacity. In a push system, work is assigned to people regardless of their current load, leading to multitasking and longer cycle times.
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A Kanban coach says 'The cumulative flow diagram shows queue buildup between Review and Done.' What does queue buildup indicate?
On a Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD), widening bands between stages indicate work is piling up — a bottleneck. The queue between Review and Done means items are waiting for review faster than reviewers can process them.
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Your team tracks 'throughput' as a Kanban metric. What does throughput measure?
Throughput in Kanban measures how many work items are completed per time period (e.g., 12 items per week). It is a key flow metric for forecasting and capacity planning.
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A colleague says 'The card moves through stages on the board.' In Kanban, what does each column on the board represent?
In Kanban, each column represents a stage in the team's workflow. Cards (work items) move from left to right as they progress through the stages toward completion.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
Sarah's comment highlights a potential bottleneck – a 'flow' being blocked. In Kanban, this describes a situation where work isn't progressing efficiently because one team (the backend) is delaying others. The goal of Kanban is to minimize these dependencies and ensure a smooth, continuous flow of value delivery, not necessarily formal agreements. A key principle is reducing the time it takes for a card to move through stages.
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David: 'I'm bumping the limit on the 'Testing' column to five. We need to get these features out faster.'
During a standup update, David suggests increasing the Work in Progress (WIP) limit for the 'Testing' column. Considering Kanban principles, what is the MOST likely concern this change raises?David's suggestion to increase the WIP limit for 'Testing' directly contradicts a core Kanban principle: limiting Work in Progress. Raising the WIP limit can overwhelm the testing resources, leading to decreased quality (due to rushed tests), and ultimately slowing down the entire flow because testers are constantly blocked. The correct answer recognizes this potential negative impact on the system's efficiency and focuses on the detrimental effects of overburdening a single column.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
Sarah's comment highlights a potential bottleneck – a 'flow' being blocked. In Kanban, this describes a situation where work isn't progressing efficiently because one team (the backend) is delaying others. The goal of Kanban is to minimize these dependencies and ensure a smooth, continuous flow of value delivery, not necessarily formal agreements. A key principle is reducing the time it takes for a card to move through stages.
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David: 'I'm bumping the limit on the 'Testing' column to five. We need to get these features out faster.'
During a standup update, David suggests increasing the Work in Progress (WIP) limit for the 'Testing' column. Considering Kanban principles, what is the MOST likely concern this change raises?David's suggestion to increase the WIP limit for 'Testing' directly contradicts a core Kanban principle: limiting Work in Progress. Raising the WIP limit can overwhelm the testing resources, leading to decreased quality (due to rushed tests), and ultimately slowing down the entire flow because testers are constantly blocked. The correct answer recognizes this potential negative impact on the system's efficiency and focuses on the detrimental effects of overburdening a single column.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
Sarah's comment highlights a potential bottleneck – a 'flow' being blocked. In Kanban, this describes a situation where work isn't progressing efficiently because one team (the backend) is delaying others. The goal of Kanban is to minimize these dependencies and ensure a smooth, continuous flow of value delivery, not necessarily formal agreements. A key principle is reducing the time it takes for a card to move through stages.
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David: 'I'm bumping the limit on the 'Testing' column to five. We need to get these features out faster.'
During a standup update, David suggests increasing the Work in Progress (WIP) limit for the 'Testing' column. Considering Kanban principles, what is the MOST likely concern this change raises?David's suggestion to increase the WIP limit for 'Testing' directly contradicts a core Kanban principle: limiting Work in Progress. Raising the WIP limit can overwhelm the testing resources, leading to decreased quality (due to rushed tests), and ultimately slowing down the entire flow because testers are constantly blocked. The correct answer recognizes this potential negative impact on the system's efficiency and focuses on the detrimental effects of overburdening a single column.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
Sarah's comment highlights a potential bottleneck – a 'flow' being blocked. In Kanban, this describes a situation where work isn't progressing efficiently because one team (the backend) is delaying others. The goal of Kanban is to minimize these dependencies and ensure a smooth, continuous flow of value delivery, not necessarily formal agreements. A key principle is reducing the time it takes for a card to move through stages.
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David: 'I'm bumping the limit on the 'Testing' column to five. We need to get these features out faster.'
During a standup update, David suggests increasing the Work in Progress (WIP) limit for the 'Testing' column. Considering Kanban principles, what is the MOST likely concern this change raises?David's suggestion to increase the WIP limit for 'Testing' directly contradicts a core Kanban principle: limiting Work in Progress. Raising the WIP limit can overwhelm the testing resources, leading to decreased quality (due to rushed tests), and ultimately slowing down the entire flow because testers are constantly blocked. The correct answer recognizes this potential negative impact on the system's efficiency and focuses on the detrimental effects of overburdening a single column.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
During a code review, Mark comments on your pull request: 'The card is stuck in the 'Analysis' column for almost 24 hours. It seems like we're not effectively managing dependencies.' What does Mark likely mean regarding Kanban principles?Mark is highlighting a potential bottleneck – a card lingering in the 'Analysis' column for an extended period. This suggests dependencies aren't being managed effectively, meaning work isn't flowing smoothly through the Kanban workflow. The core of Kanban is about visualizing and managing this flow to minimize delays; Mark is pointing out a deviation from that ideal.
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Elena says: 'We're using a Kanban board with columns for 'To Do', 'In Progress', and 'Done'. The team is aiming for an average lead time of under 7 days.' What key metric is Elena referring to when discussing the team's Kanban implementation?
Elena is discussing 'Cycle Time,' which represents the average duration from when a task begins to when it's completed. This is a crucial Kanban metric for understanding efficiency and identifying areas where tasks are getting stuck. While WIP and the Cumulative Flow Diagram are important, Cycle Time directly measures the speed of delivery.
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Slack Message:
'Hey team, I'm pushing a new limit of 3 items in 'In Progress' for the 'User Authentication' flow. Let's keep things moving!' What is this message primarily communicating regarding Kanban?This Slack message is directly addressing the concept of Work In Progress (WIP) limits. Kanban uses WIP limits to prevent overload and maintain a smooth workflow. By limiting the number of items in 'In Progress,' the team can focus on completing tasks efficiently rather than starting new ones.
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PR Description:
'This pull request implements a new API endpoint for user profile updates. We've increased the WIP limit on the 'Deployment' column to four to accelerate delivery of this feature.' What does increasing the WIP limit *likely* indicate about the team's Kanban approach?Increasing the WIP limit on 'Deployment' suggests a willingness to accept potentially higher risk and faster delivery. Kanban isn't about rigidly controlling every aspect of flow; sometimes, a temporary increase in WIP can be strategically used to accelerate a specific feature, provided it doesn't fundamentally disrupt the overall workflow.
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During a standup update, Liam says: 'We're seeing an increasing number of cards moving from 'Review' to 'Done', but there's a noticeable backlog in the 'Analysis' column. This suggests we need to revisit our WIP limits.' What is Liam primarily highlighting as a potential Kanban concern?
Liam's observation about the backlog in 'Analysis' coupled with the flow from 'Review' to 'Done' points towards an imbalance. This suggests that review capacity might be exceeding analysis capacity – a common Kanban bottleneck where tasks are waiting for review while others are being completed. Addressing this requires adjusting WIP limits or streamlining the analysis process.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
During a code review, Mark comments on your pull request: 'The card is stuck in the 'Analysis' column for almost 24 hours. It seems like we're not effectively managing dependencies.' What does Mark likely mean regarding Kanban principles?Mark is highlighting a potential bottleneck – a card lingering in the 'Analysis' column for an extended period. This suggests dependencies aren't being managed effectively, meaning work isn't flowing smoothly through the Kanban workflow. The core of Kanban is about visualizing and managing this flow to minimize delays; Mark is pointing out a deviation from that ideal.
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Elena says: 'We're using a Kanban board with columns for 'To Do', 'In Progress', and 'Done'. The team is aiming for an average lead time of under 7 days.' What key metric is Elena referring to when discussing the team's Kanban implementation?
Elena is discussing 'Cycle Time,' which represents the average duration from when a task begins to when it's completed. This is a crucial Kanban metric for understanding efficiency and identifying areas where tasks are getting stuck. While WIP and the Cumulative Flow Diagram are important, Cycle Time directly measures the speed of delivery.
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Slack Message:
'Hey team, I'm pushing a new limit of 3 items in 'In Progress' for the 'User Authentication' flow. Let's keep things moving!' What is this message primarily communicating regarding Kanban?This Slack message is directly addressing the concept of Work In Progress (WIP) limits. Kanban uses WIP limits to prevent overload and maintain a smooth workflow. By limiting the number of items in 'In Progress,' the team can focus on completing tasks efficiently rather than starting new ones.
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PR Description:
'This pull request implements a new API endpoint for user profile updates. We've increased the WIP limit on the 'Deployment' column to four to accelerate delivery of this feature.' What does increasing the WIP limit *likely* indicate about the team's Kanban approach?Increasing the WIP limit on 'Deployment' suggests a willingness to accept potentially higher risk and faster delivery. Kanban isn't about rigidly controlling every aspect of flow; sometimes, a temporary increase in WIP can be strategically used to accelerate a specific feature, provided it doesn't fundamentally disrupt the overall workflow.
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During a standup update, Liam says: 'We're seeing an increasing number of cards moving from 'Review' to 'Done', but there's a noticeable backlog in the 'Analysis' column. This suggests we need to revisit our WIP limits.' What is Liam primarily highlighting as a potential Kanban concern?
Liam's observation about the backlog in 'Analysis' coupled with the flow from 'Review' to 'Done' points towards an imbalance. This suggests that review capacity might be exceeding analysis capacity – a common Kanban bottleneck where tasks are waiting for review while others are being completed. Addressing this requires adjusting WIP limits or streamlining the analysis process.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
During a code review, Mark comments on your pull request: 'The card is stuck in the 'Analysis' column for almost 24 hours. It seems like we're not effectively managing dependencies.' What does Mark likely mean regarding Kanban principles?Mark is highlighting a potential bottleneck – a card lingering in the 'Analysis' column for an extended period. This suggests dependencies aren't being managed effectively, meaning work isn't flowing smoothly through the Kanban workflow. The core of Kanban is about visualizing and managing this flow to minimize delays; Mark is pointing out a deviation from that ideal.
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Elena says: 'We're using a Kanban board with columns for 'To Do', 'In Progress', and 'Done'. The team is aiming for an average lead time of under 7 days.' What key metric is Elena referring to when discussing the team's Kanban implementation?
Elena is discussing 'Cycle Time,' which represents the average duration from when a task begins to when it's completed. This is a crucial Kanban metric for understanding efficiency and identifying areas where tasks are getting stuck. While WIP and the Cumulative Flow Diagram are important, Cycle Time directly measures the speed of delivery.
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Slack Message:
'Hey team, I'm pushing a new limit of 3 items in 'In Progress' for the 'User Authentication' flow. Let's keep things moving!' What is this message primarily communicating regarding Kanban?This Slack message is directly addressing the concept of Work In Progress (WIP) limits. Kanban uses WIP limits to prevent overload and maintain a smooth workflow. By limiting the number of items in 'In Progress,' the team can focus on completing tasks efficiently rather than starting new ones.
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PR Description:
'This pull request implements a new API endpoint for user profile updates. We've increased the WIP limit on the 'Deployment' column to four to accelerate delivery of this feature.' What does increasing the WIP limit *likely* indicate about the team's Kanban approach?Increasing the WIP limit on 'Deployment' suggests a willingness to accept potentially higher risk and faster delivery. Kanban isn't about rigidly controlling every aspect of flow; sometimes, a temporary increase in WIP can be strategically used to accelerate a specific feature, provided it doesn't fundamentally disrupt the overall workflow.
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During a standup update, Liam says: 'We're seeing an increasing number of cards moving from 'Review' to 'Done', but there's a noticeable backlog in the 'Analysis' column. This suggests we need to revisit our WIP limits.' What is Liam primarily highlighting as a potential Kanban concern?
Liam's observation about the backlog in 'Analysis' coupled with the flow from 'Review' to 'Done' points towards an imbalance. This suggests that review capacity might be exceeding analysis capacity – a common Kanban bottleneck where tasks are waiting for review while others are being completed. Addressing this requires adjusting WIP limits or streamlining the analysis process.
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git checkout -b feature/new-api
During a code review, Mark comments on your pull request: 'The card is stuck in the 'Analysis' column for almost 24 hours. It seems like we're not effectively managing dependencies.' What does Mark likely mean regarding Kanban principles?Mark is highlighting a potential bottleneck – a card lingering in the 'Analysis' column for an extended period. This suggests dependencies aren't being managed effectively, meaning work isn't flowing smoothly through the Kanban workflow. The core of Kanban is about visualizing and managing this flow to minimize delays; Mark is pointing out a deviation from that ideal.
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Elena says: 'We're using a Kanban board with columns for 'To Do', 'In Progress', and 'Done'. The team is aiming for an average lead time of under 7 days.' What key metric is Elena referring to when discussing the team's Kanban implementation?
Elena is discussing 'Cycle Time,' which represents the average duration from when a task begins to when it's completed. This is a crucial Kanban metric for understanding efficiency and identifying areas where tasks are getting stuck. While WIP and the Cumulative Flow Diagram are important, Cycle Time directly measures the speed of delivery.
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Slack Message:
'Hey team, I'm pushing a new limit of 3 items in 'In Progress' for the 'User Authentication' flow. Let's keep things moving!' What is this message primarily communicating regarding Kanban?This Slack message is directly addressing the concept of Work In Progress (WIP) limits. Kanban uses WIP limits to prevent overload and maintain a smooth workflow. By limiting the number of items in 'In Progress,' the team can focus on completing tasks efficiently rather than starting new ones.
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PR Description:
'This pull request implements a new API endpoint for user profile updates. We've increased the WIP limit on the 'Deployment' column to four to accelerate delivery of this feature.' What does increasing the WIP limit *likely* indicate about the team's Kanban approach?Increasing the WIP limit on 'Deployment' suggests a willingness to accept potentially higher risk and faster delivery. Kanban isn't about rigidly controlling every aspect of flow; sometimes, a temporary increase in WIP can be strategically used to accelerate a specific feature, provided it doesn't fundamentally disrupt the overall workflow.
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During a standup update, Liam says: 'We're seeing an increasing number of cards moving from 'Review' to 'Done', but there's a noticeable backlog in the 'Analysis' column. This suggests we need to revisit our WIP limits.' What is Liam primarily highlighting as a potential Kanban concern?
Liam's observation about the backlog in 'Analysis' coupled with the flow from 'Review' to 'Done' points towards an imbalance. This suggests that review capacity might be exceeding analysis capacity – a common Kanban bottleneck where tasks are waiting for review while others are being completed. Addressing this requires adjusting WIP limits or streamlining the analysis process.
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This is an Agile & Scrum exercise set. It walks through 33 scenario-based multiple-choice questions built around real usage of Agile & Scrum terminology that IT professionals encounter on the job.
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