I’m back from another Agile conference in Stockholm. I was invited again because of the positive feedback I got the last time. Yesterday I ran a workshop on  how to use Lean kanban boards for a small but interested crowd. I split my workshop into three parts:

1.  Explaining the difference between batch & push vs. flow & pull. Most people have to experience the difference in reality to accept the fact that there is a direct relation between “work in progress” and leadtime. We did this by simulating a manufacturing line, which is later turned into a software development process.
2. I showed how a process can be mapped and analyzed using the classic Lean tool “value stream mapping”, and made them map processes of their own.
3. Last part is when a incrementally build up a Kanban board and comparing it to Scrum, which they finally get to try themselves.

The workshop went really fine and I got nice comments and feedback afterwards, so I left the workshop feeling very good. Later I celebrated with a nice dinner in one of  Stockholm’s oldest restaurants den Gyldene Freden, where I had a nice conversation with two Brasilian gentlemen who visited Stockholm for a medical convention.

Posted by Jens on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 12:17 am.