Kanban Boards and Communication

In establishing a team, not only must roles be delineated but communication channels must be established (Goetsch & Davis, 2021, p. 162-164). In a sense, they arise together: team members know who have similar roles, and they could be in contact when a small problem arises. Team members also know who the team leader is, and that leader can be approached either when larger problems arise or when a team member encounter a problem that does not fit into another team member’s responsibilities.

An example of the latter is as follows: suppose a member of an IT team is having problems connecting to the network. Suppose further that the team does not contain a network administrator. The person having the network issue can try asking teammates for help, but none of them can provide anything but superficial support. Approaching the team leader is the only alternative, and he will promptly refer the team member to a help desk or network support team. From that point on, the team member will know who to contact when encountering a similar problem.

Several tools (besides chat, phone or face-to-face communication) enable clear communication. One of the best, I think, are so-called kanban boards. These are boards designed to show the progress of a project. They are divided into columns for “not started,” “in progress,” and “done,” though there may be additional columns such as “in review” or “in danger.” Beneath these columns are cards that represent individual tasks needed to complete a project. A team leader or project manager can move these cards according to status reports from team members. Project managers or team leads initially create the cards. Team members can also create cards when it is necessary to break large tasks into manageable chunks.

By itself, a kanban board is not a means of communication, but it does enable communication. Now Rizka et al. (2024) state the importance of two-way communication and feedback loops for project health. Two-way communication occurs when team members talk to team leaders or when they talk among each other. Feedback loops happen when team leaders learn that a specific task is going well or is in danger and responds accordingly. Team leaders will then adjust the board to reflect the current project as reported by team members. Kanban boards serve as a record (of certain parts) of this communication.

Certain modifications of basic kanban boards allow them to be more useful (Damij & Damij, 2021). For example, the individual cards can be labeled with the name of the team member who will complete the corresponding task. Also, task dependencies can be written on the cards, so that a task card cannot leave the “not started” column unless all the dependencies are either “in progress” or “done.”

Again, kanban boards are not a method of communication, but they do facilitate two-way communication by showing the current state of the project and having team leads update the status upon information received from team members. By using kanban boards in this way, the team leader is able to avoid mission creep and unnecessary delays.

References

Damij, N. & Damij, T. (2021). An approach to optimizing kanban board workflow and shortening the project management plan. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management – November 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2021.3120984

Goetsch, D. L. & Davis, S. B. (2021). Quality management for organizational excellence: Introduction to total quality (9^th ed.). Pearson.

Rizka, I., Zukhrina, C., & Husin, S. (2024). Multiple regression analysis to the influence of communication management on project success. E3S Web of Conferences, 476, 1001. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202447601001L