Category Archives: Expert

Kanban for Short Intense Projects: How We Used Kanban to Visualize Our Hiring Process Workflow and Make Our Lives Easier

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Matthew Moran

This is how we used Kanban techniques to visualize our hiring workflow, empower hiring process participants, and give executives a bird’s eye view on a short term project. For many companies, hiring is something that happens in spurts rather than … Continue reading →

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Would You, Could You on a Plane?

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Jim Benson

As a matter of fact, yes. I boarded the first leg of my flight from Seattle to Hanoi. I had 19 hours of flying ahead of me. I also had a backlog, and no wifi. Agile Zen was not going … Continue reading →

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When Good Tasks Go Bad

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Jim Benson

Yesterday we were introduced to Richard, who is juggling the demands of several clients trying to keep each of them happy. His largest project entails working alone on a client’s mission-critical legacy system. So in the last blog post we … Continue reading →

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What Are Your Task Types?

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Jim Benson

Flexibility is an unsung virtue. People want absolutes: “Do this, then do that, don’t deviate and then you’ll achieve success.” But we all know that absolutes are often false, and that context is king – in life, in work, and … Continue reading →

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Guest Post: My Current Personal Kanban System

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Corey_Ladas

One of my favorite observations about using kanban-like systems for time management is that I have never drawn the same task board twice. Every system that I have designed has had some unique feature to it. Even if I start … Continue reading →

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Dependencies in Personal Kanban

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Jim Benson

Dependencies are things that occur in succession. One thing happens, then another thing can happen. Ideally, on a kanban, the value stream will visualize these transitions. For a value stream like this: Analysis -> Creation -> Refinement -> Launch refinement … Continue reading →

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Am I Productive, Efficient, or Effective?

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Jim Benson

Productivity: having the power to produce Efficiency: the ratio of the output to the input of any system Effectiveness: being able to bring about a desired result Personal Kanban is considered a Productivity tool, because it gives us the power … Continue reading →

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Respect Your Backlog and Manage It

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Jim Benson

Your backlog is bigger than it should be and it needs to be managed. Everyday people tell us how they are overwhelmed by their backlog, and cannot possibly manage it within a Personal Kanban because it could contain hundreds or … Continue reading →

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Rapture – Training Your Mind for Completion

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Jim Benson

Don’t strain your brain, paint a train You’ll be singing’ in the rain… – Blondie Your brain is a muscle. As we repeat certain actions, our “muscle memory” becomes comfortable with those actions, and programs itself to anticipate them. As … Continue reading →

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Getting "Personal" with Your Kanban

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Tonianne DeMaria Barry

So why call it “personal” if I can use it with my family, in the classroom, or with a team at the office? In life and in business, we create value.  For Personal Kanban, “personal”  relates to  personal value.  Personal … Continue reading →

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