Using Kanban Boards for Task Management

Unlike a push system, where work is pushed onto teams regardless of their capacity, pull systems prevent team overburden and increase workflow efficiency. Teams pull work as they finish what they started while keeping their focus on the highest priorities. Kanban pull systems significantly improve productivity and decrease delivery times. To implement and maintain a pull system with the Kanban Method, you need to follow four main steps: visualize your workflow, establish a pull system, limit work in progress, and apply pull signals. Dive deeper into how maintaining a Kanban pull system and using analytics to spot bottlenecks early, prevents delays and improves flow efficiency.

From 87 days to 16 days - an 82% reduction I’m working with a client who, as part of my assignment, put me in charge of a support team for one of its enterprise applications. When I was officially given the reigns of the team, the average open ticket age was 87 days. I had already done some work with the team that reduced that number prior to being put in the leadership role, but 87 is the first measurement I have. (Note to self: get better at collecting “before metrics - always bites me.) As of this morning, we are at a 16 day average. That’s an 82% reduction in the average age of open tickets - achieved in roughly 3 months. We’ve also: *Reduced the quantity of open tickets by 67% *Reduced cycle time by ~70% *Increased customer satisfaction *Increased throughput How did we (I say “we” bc I couldn’t have done it without the fabulous team sticking with me through multiple small changes) achieve this? * Simplify the workflow. When I first saw the workflow the team was using in Jira, it looked like a bunch of scribbles on a page. It was impossible to understand how work flowed through their system. We moved to a very simple, left to right flow. * “Blocked” is a state, not a workflow step. It means we need to resolve the block, not that we put it in the closet and forget about it. * Clarify next action to be taken when a team member frees up: we work items on a Kanban board sorted by priority and date. We work top to bottom, right to left. * Remove sub queues: each team member only “owns” tickets they are actively working. Also, we leave comment trails so any team member can work a ticket at any stage in the workflow. Team members being sick, taking vacation, etc. doesn’t mean tickets stop being processed. * Removed SLAs. The team had SLAs to “respond” to tickets within a small time window. This led to tickets being responded to immediately, causing distraction and leaving tickets owned by whoever responded first. A customer would be told “we’re working on this” but in reality no work was being done- often for weeks or months. These changes aren’t huge or revolutionary, but they allow focus. They ensure we “stop starting and start finishing.” If you’ve got a struggling team or two and could use help to deliver more effectively, let’s chat!

Kanban: We Should Be "Done" With "In-Progress" One of the best ways to use Kanban is by visualizing meaningful work states on your board. Thoughtfully designed boards can transform how teams deliver value, spot inefficiencies, and improve collaboration. Unfortunately, many teams miss these opportunities by relying on vague, catch-all columns like “In-Progress.” Let’s talk about why “In-Progress” is practically useless, and how breaking it into clearer work states is a smarter strategy. Why “In-Progress” Fails The term “In-Progress” might seem harmless, but it’s so broad that it adds little value. “In-Progress” doesn’t explain what’s actually happening. Is a task being coded, reviewed, or tested? Without specifics, delays and inefficiencies stay hidden. A generic column hides bottlenecks. For example, slow code reviews go unnoticed when everything sits under “In-Progress.” Vague statuses make it harder to know who should act next. Confusion leads to reduced accountability, delays, and misaligned expectations. Without data showing where tasks spend the most time, teams can’t identify trends or resolve inefficiencies. The Case for Clarity Replacing “In-Progress” with specific work states turns a Kanban board into a powerful tool for managing flow and driving improvement. For example, a software development team might use: Backlog: Items awaiting prioritization. Ready for Development: Work ready to start. In Development: Developers are actively working. Ready for Code Review: Development is complete, awaiting review. In Code Review: Review process underway. Ready for Testing: Code is ready for QA. In Testing: QA is actively testing. Ready for Deployment: Testing is complete, awaiting release. Done: Work is completed. Each state reflects a clear step in the workflow (not necessarily a handoff). This improves visibility, accountability, and makes bottlenecks easier to spot. Your team’s context might call for different states, but the goal stays the same: clarity. Spotting Bottlenecks Granular states make delays visible. If tasks sit too long in “Ready for Code Review,” reviewers may be overloaded or not prioritizing reviews. A backlog in “Ready for Deployment” could mean release processes need work. Tasks stuck “In Testing” might point to unclear requirements or a stretched QA team. Tracking time-in-state reveals where delays occur, helping teams reallocate resources or refine processes. Collaboration Benefits Meaningful work states improve collaboration. When a task moves to “Ready for Testing,” testers know it’s their turn to act. This reduces idle time and makes transitions smoother. Be Done With “In-Progress” Create columns for key steps in your workflow. Don’t overcomplicate things. Aim for enough granularity to reveal bottlenecks without overwhelming your team with administrivia. Set clear entry and exit criteria for each column. Kanban isn’t just about making work visible; it’s about making the right work visible.

Traditional on-site manager: “But I can’t see people working. I can’t walk the floor.” Modern remote manager: “Watch the flow of work, not the workers.” What do you do when you can’t see people working? The answer is NOT: ❌ More meetings ❌ More quick calls ❌ Activity trackers ❌ Office Simulators ❌ Endless status updates All you need is a way to watch the flow of work instead of the workers. That’s where a good digital Kanban board comes in, enabling you to: ✅ See who’s working on what instead of having to ask ✅ See what’s blocked without having to wait for a meeting ✅ Automatically handle capacity instead of complicated allocation planning ✅ See bottlenecks in real time instead of waiting for employees to tell you they’re overwhelmed  ✅ View at a glance status of all work in progress instead of mind-numbing status update meetings To get started: 1️⃣ Map your process’s distinct value add (and knowledge discovery) steps from Idea to Done 2️⃣ Create digital cards representing the tangible deliverables 3️⃣ Team members pull prioritized cards through the flow When you can’t watch the workers, watch the flow of work instead. Any questions? ♻️ Repost to help stop RTOs

Why I run my life like a project (and you should too) For 8+ years, I use Kanban boards for personal projects. It started when I noticed a pattern: ↳ I'd jump between interests without making real progress. Sound familiar? I couldn't stick with vocal lessons, guitar practice, or language learning long enough to see results. Each abandoned hobby felt like another small failure. The solution was right in front of me: ↳ apply my PM skills to personal life. Now everything gets structured: - Learning Adele songs (with clear scope and deadlines) - Moving apartments (complete with sprint planning) - Home management (my husband and I share a Kanban board!) This approach transformed my results because: -Goals remain visible -Progress becomes measurable -Accountability is built-in -Completion brings real satisfaction When you treat personal goals like proper projects, you STOP losing progress and START seeing consistent wins. Project management isn't just a career skill — it's a life skill everyone deserves to master. PS: What personal "project" are you currently running? Do you use any PM tools to manage it?

Looking for a more innovative way to stay on top of your projects? Here’s a productivity hack to help you manage your workload and get a clear view of what’s coming next: 👉 Create a Personal Kanban Board with Strategic Columns (and WIP Limits). Here’s how to set it up for maximum oversight: 1. Set Up Columns Like These:   - "Backlog" for upcoming projects and ideas.   - "Prioritized" for tasks you're ready to tackle next.   - "In Progress" to track active projects.   - "Review" for projects needing approval or feedback.   - "Completed" to celebrate wins and capture lessons learned. 2. Add WIP Limits: Keep your workload manageable and focused without overcommitting. 3. Maintain Oversight: Visualizing tasks across these stages helps track projects, identify bottlenecks, and manage incoming requests without feeling overwhelmed. Bonus: Building your Kanban board is a skill in itself. As you refine it, you’ll discover the nuances—from setting the right WIP limits to designing columns that suit your workflow. It’s not just about managing tasks but mastering the process. Make your Kanban board a central tool for oversight, not just task tracking. Your projects—and productivity—will thank you. What's your experience with Kanban boards? Share your thoughts below! Like this post if you're ready to take control of your workflow, and follow me for more productivity tips! 🚀

We don’t talk enough about the hidden cost of in-progress work for law practices. Stuff that's being "worked on," but not getting Done. On a factory floor, it’s obvious; half-built products and unused inventory take up space, tie up cash, and make the entire system slower to move and harder to manage. In a law practice, those same dynamics show up in subtler but equally disruptive ways. Every half-finished drafting project, every document waiting on attorney review, every unread or unanswered email. They all create friction. They take up mental (and even emotional) space. They generate administrative overhead. And they slow down your team's ability to deliver client value. But they are hard to see. One of the most powerful aspects of the Kanban method is that a well-structured system makes these inefficiencies visible. Kanban boards give shape to otherwise hard-to-see knowledge tasks and how they flow through your practice. And when you incorporate more advanced techniques — like WIP limits, explicit policies, and flow metrics — you can tap into decades of process improvement wisdom from the manufacturing world. A well-designed Kanban system will help your team members finish what they start, and give you a clearer picture of what truly needs your finite time and attention. More importantly, it will help shift your mindset from pushing work onto your team based on demand to pulling cases through your workflow based on your team's readiness and real capacity. This week’s podcast episode goes back to where these ideas first emerged: the Toyota Production System starting in the 1950s. I explore how that system tackled challenges still familiar to legal teams today — inconsistent throughput, misaligned incentives, and the burden of too much unfinished work. Importantly, Toyota realized that optimizing for speed and efficiency didn't work — at least not directly. Instead, they designed their systems to emphasize smoothness, predictability, and, most importantly, quality. By putting quality first, and respecting the human element, Toyota built a system that flows and used it to become a global leader. If your law practice feels stuck, with too much in-progress work (and not enough work getting all the way to Done), the factory floor might have more to teach you than you think. Look for Ep 75 of the Agile Attorney Podcast in your favorite player. #lawfirm #legalops #legaltech #agileattorney #legallean Photo: A certain giddy knowledge worker using a leather stamp-cutter to make something physical on the amazing Danner Boots factory tour in Portland.