Understanding Kanban: From Toyota Production to Software Development

In a previous post we mentioned that on April 25, 2018 our department invited expert Mr. Xu to conduct an agile development training for the R&D Center team; this article summarizes the knowledge he shared about the "Lean Kanban" approach and reflects on its application in our daily work.

1. What is Kanban

Mr. Xu first corrected the common misunderstanding that "Kanban" is merely a physical or electronic visual board; instead, it is a methodology based on visual boards for agile management, essentially a best practice of using visual boards to manage agile development.

Kanban originated in Toyota's Production System (TPS), where tasks for parts and assembly formed a directed graph, as shown in the following diagram:

Toyota assigned different types of Kanban to each task, creating a pull system that controls inventory, accelerates flow, responds flexibly, and promotes continuous improvement, allowing user value to flow smoothly and with high quality through the directed graph.

2. Kanban in Software Development

The software development process resembles automobile manufacturing: tasks have upstream‑downstream relationships. For example, a feature in our channel side goes through requirement gathering → analysis → UE design → UI design → technical design → backend development → Android/iOS/H5 development → SIT testing → UAT testing → production change. These tasks also form a directed graph, where upstream progress directly impacts downstream progress and overall project schedule. Kanban helps visualize and manage this flow, improving efficiency and quality.

3. Benefits of Kanban

In software projects, Kanban not only assists managers in planning but also helps the whole team. Previously we recorded tasks in Excel, which obscured dependencies and caused developers to wait for upstream work. By putting all tasks on a board, everyone can see dependencies and adjust assignments more reasonably.

Kanban also enables early problem detection. In one iteration, a team had too many tasks per developer, leading to low quality. After visualizing tasks on a board, the manager halted low‑priority work and rebalanced the load, eliminating risk early.

Because Kanban visualizes task flow, teams can analyze board data during agile retrospectives, capture lessons, and improve future cycles. For instance, a recurring loop of "requirement analysis → UE design → technical solution" was identified and addressed by preparing technical reserves for fast‑changing business needs.

4. Two‑Sided Nature of Kanban

While Kanban offers clear advantages, it is not universally applicable. In stable back‑office systems with fixed requirements and architecture, forcing Kanban may actually reduce efficiency.

Just as a thousand people see a thousand Hamlets, a thousand teams will have a thousand Kanbans. Teams with mature communication may adapt Kanban flexibly, but only a Kanban that fits the team's context is truly effective.

The R&D Center will share in the next article how we practically apply Kanban in our agile practice.

Note: This article reflects personal views; images are from free sources or self‑created, and all names mentioned have been consented.