Kanban Strategy Playbook: A 90-Day Roadmap to Optimise Workflow for Your LiveOps Team
A straightforward, practical approach to streamlining workflows and delivering predictable business outcomes.
Deep Dive by NotebookLM.
Kanban refines Agile practices by enhancing workflow visibility, reducing bottlenecks, and improving efficiency without requiring a complete process overhaul.
Its flexibility makes it ideal for LiveOps teams, allowing them to quickly adapt to shifting priorities while maintaining quality and delivery speed.
Gradually implementing Kanban, with clear metrics and continuous feedback loops, ensures sustainable process improvement and increased team productivity.
When we first adopted Agile practices like Scrum, it felt revolutionary, dramatically transforming our approach to project management and team dynamics. However, as we evolved, introducing a Kanban strategy marked a more evolutionary step, enhancing and refining our existing methodologies rather than overhauling them. Kanban has seamlessly integrated into our Agile practices, providing a flexible, efficient, and effective way to manage our projects' dynamic needs. It's not about replacing what we have but augmenting and fine-tuning our processes to meet our goals better and respond to new challenges.
What is a Kanban Strategy?
Kanban is often misunderstood as a framework, but it's important to clarify that it is a strategy designed to enhance and complement existing Agile methodologies. Whether your team uses Scrum, a hybrid approach, or any other Agile system, Kanban can integrate seamlessly to improve your processes' overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Unlike prescriptive frameworks that require specific roles, ceremonies, and artefacts, Kanban is highly adaptable and focuses on improving flow, reducing bottlenecks, and increasing visibility into work status. It does this through simple yet powerful practices such as visualising work, limiting work in progress, and managing workflow, which can be applied to any existing Agile process without extensive restructuring.
The beauty of Kanban lies in its flexibility and focus on continuous improvement. It provides teams the tools to monitor their workflows closely and make incremental changes that can lead to significant benefits over time. By visualising work, teams can quickly identify process inefficiencies and adapt their strategies accordingly. This visibility also helps align team members around common goals, fostering a collaborative environment responsive to change.
Moreover, Kanban’s principles of managing flow and limiting work in progress are universally applicable and can help prevent the common pitfalls of Agile practices, such as overcommitment and context switching. These principles ensure that teams work on what's most essential and can deliver value consistently and predictably.
Adopting a Kanban strategy doesn’t mean replacing your current Agile practices. Instead, it means enhancing your team’s ability to deliver high-quality work efficiently. By integrating Kanban, you can build on the strengths of your existing system, whether it's Scrum or a hybrid approach, and create a more resilient, adaptable workflow that is better suited to the dynamic needs of your projects and stakeholders.
Core Principles of Kanban
Kanban stands out for its straightforward, practical approach to streamlining workflows. It is guided by core principles that focus on enhancing efficiency and continuous improvement.
Visualise the Workflow: Use a Kanban board to map out all steps in a process from start to finish. Each task or work item is represented by a card that moves across the board from one column (or stage) to another, providing a clear overview of work status.
Limit Work in Progress (WIP): Restrict the number of tasks in any given workflow stage. Limiting WIP can reduce bottlenecks, improve focus, and increase throughput.
Manage Flow: Monitor the movement of work items through the Kanban board to identify and address delays or bottlenecks. The goal is to achieve a steady, balanced flow where work items move from start to finish with minimal stoppage or delay.
Make Process Policies Explicit: Clearly define how tasks should flow from one stage to another and what criteria they must meet to move forward. This ensures consistency and understanding across the team.
Implement Feedback Loops: Regular meetings such as stand-ups or retrospectives help the team discuss progress, share insights, and adapt their workflow based on feedback.
Improve Collaboratively and Evolve Experimentally: Use scientific methods to propose, validate, and implement changes. Data and team collaboration should drive continuous improvement.
Benefits of a Kanban Strategy
Adopting a Kanban strategy substantially improves workflow management across various aspects of team performance. These enhancements are rooted in Kanban’s ability to refine processes and streamline operations, yielding significant advantages in project execution and team dynamics. Here are some key benefits that illustrate the impact of implementing a Kanban system.
Increased Visibility: Everyone on the team can see the status of all work items at a glance, which improves communication and coordination.
Enhanced Flexibility: Kanban does not prescribe roles or timelines; instead, it adapts to the existing workflow and evolves as needed.
Improved Efficiency: Limiting work in progress reduces multitasking and context-switching, leading to more efficient work completion.
Shorter Cycle Times: By actively managing flow and addressing bottlenecks, teams can reduce time to complete tasks.
Higher Quality: With regular feedback loops and the opportunity to focus on fewer tasks simultaneously, teams can produce higher-quality outputs.
Why LiveOps Teams Are Ideal for Adopting a Kanban Strategy?
Kanban, renowned for its emphasis on visual management and continuous improvement, is an ideal framework for LiveOps teams. These teams often juggle various urgent tasks, from rolling out new features, content, events and updates to addressing critical bug fixes. The visual nature of Kanban boards offers a clear and immediate snapshot of project status, enabling quick identification of bottlenecks and delays. This visibility is crucial in helping teams manage their workflows more effectively and respond to emerging issues with agility.
The flexibility of the Kanban system is particularly valuable for live ops teams that need to adapt quickly to changing priorities. Whether it's a sudden need to patch a game-breaking bug or the opportunity to capitalise on a trend, Kanban allows teams to adjust their focus without disrupting the overall flow of work. This adaptability ensures that new features that drive revenue can be delivered promptly, maintaining player engagement and satisfaction.
Moreover, Kanban encourages a culture of continuous delivery, which is vital for maintaining competitiveness. By enabling teams to identify issues with their processes better and enhance delivery predictability, Kanban helps reduce the time between concept and deployment. This rapid delivery cycle is crucial for meeting player expectations and driving revenue, as timely updates keep the game relevant and engaging.
Additionally, live ops teams are typically under considerable pressure to maximise output while managing limited resources. Kanban's approach to limiting work in progress prevents team members from being overwhelmed and helps maintain a focus on quality and productivity. This disciplined task management ensures that resources are used efficiently and effectively, essential in environments where teams are expected to do more with less.
Finally, the inherent data-driven nature of live ops teams makes Kanban an even more suitable choice. These teams likely already use robust data analysis to understand player behaviour and game performance. Kanban's emphasis on metrics and feedback loops can enhance this analytical approach, providing teams with deeper insights into operational efficiencies and areas for improvement. By marrying data-driven decision-making with Kanban’s systematic approach to workflow management, live ops teams can significantly enhance their operational agility and effectiveness, ultimately leading to better game experiences and increased revenue.
First 30 Days
Understand the Current Process
Assess the current state: Spend the first few weeks understanding the existing workflows, processes, and challenges. This involves mapping out the current state of the production process and identifying areas where Kanban could be beneficial. Be sure to include ALL work from ‘concept to cash’, including ideation, pre-production and post-production.
Engage with your team: Discuss with team members to understand their views on the current workflow and areas for improvement. This discussion should include team members at all levels of the process flow. Folks in the trenches will likely have insights your leads may not see.
Educate and Align Your Team
Introduce Kanban concepts: Organise training sessions to introduce your team to Kanban principles, such as visual management, WIP limits, flow, and continuous improvement.
Align on goals: Ensure everyone understands how Kanban can help meet production goals and improve efficiency.
Identify Your Early Adopters: Effective change implementation often hinges on identifying and engaging early adopters within your studio. These individuals are pivotal for successful adoption. They carefully assess the practical benefits of innovations and play a crucial role as opinion leaders. Their endorsement and adoption of new ideas significantly influence their peers, making them essential allies in driving widespread acceptance and implementation of any new initiatives.
Define and Visualise the Workflow
Create a visual model: Develop a Kanban board representing every production process step. This should be done collaboratively with the team to ensure buy-in and correct workflow representation.
Establish WIP limits: Based on your assessment and team input, set initial work-in-progress (WIP) limits to avoid overloading the team and to start managing the flow effectively.
Evaluate Your Project Management Software
Ability to track and report Kanban metrics: To effectively monitor and manage a Kanban strategy, your project management software should support several key metrics that help track performance, identify bottlenecks, and facilitate continuous improvement. Here is a list of essential Kanban metrics your software should ideally support:
Cycle Time: Measures the time it takes for a work item to move from the start to the end of the workflow. Monitoring cycle time helps understand how long it takes to complete tasks and identify any delays in the process. Be sure to include a Cycle Time Scatterplot report.
Work In Progress (WIP): Quantifies the number of tasks in progress at any given time. Keeping an eye on WIP limits is essential for managing flow and preventing bottlenecks.
Throughput: Represents the number of work items completed in a certain period. This metric helps gauge productivity and the team's capacity to deliver results.
Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD): Provides a visual representation of the different statuses of work items over time, helping to pinpoint bottlenecks, work accumulation, and the balance between incoming and completed tasks.
Aging Work In Progress: Tracks how long items have been in the workflow without being completed. This metric is vital for spotting items that risk exceeding their expected cycle times, allowing for timely intervention.
Out of the Box Jira Cloud is not enough: Although Jira may have some reports that appear to tick the boxes of a few items above, it will require a 3rd-party plugin to achieve the results you seek with a Kanban strategy. There will be a cost that will need to be approved and an installation that you may need to coordinate with IT. I recommend ActionableAgile Analytics by 55 Degrees. Another tool that I have only evaluated but have not used in a live production environment is Nave.
Software-as-a-Service solution: If you use Trello or another project management software besides Jira, ActionableAgile Analytics has a standalone SaaS version that allows you to upload your team’s data and get the desired analytics.
Day 30 to 60
Implement the Kanban System Gradually
Start with a pilot: Implement Kanban in a smaller, manageable segment of your production process. Pick one part of your value stream or team to champion this strategy. This will allow you to adjust and refine the system before a full-scale rollout. Bonus if your early adopters are part of the pilot. Use this pilot to adapt the configuration, test the systems’s reporting capabilities, and ensure it provides the data needed to make informed decisions.
Training and Onboarding: Conduct training sessions for your team to familiarise them with the new software. Everyone must understand how to use the tools to track and interpret Kanban metrics. The more comfortable they are with the software, the more effectively they can use it to manage their workflows.
Initial Configuration: Work with your pilot team to configure the software to reflect your specific Kanban setup. This includes setting up boards, defining workflow stages, and establishing WIP limits. Customise the dashboard to highlight the most relevant metrics for your team’s needs.
Pilot Testing: Before a full-scale rollout, conduct a pilot test with a small segment of your team or a specific part of your production process. Use this pilot to adjust the configuration, test the software’s reporting capabilities, and ensure it provides the data needed to make informed decisions.
Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor the workflow once the software is up and running. Monitor the metrics and reports generated to identify bottlenecks, track cycle times, and observe work ageing. Use these insights to make informed adjustments to your workflow and processes.
Regular Reviews and Adaptations
Daily stand-ups: Adapt your daily standups to where the team reviews the board and ageing work-in-progress, discusses blockers, and re-prioritises work if necessary.
Feedback loops: Encourage the team to provide feedback on what’s working and needs improvement. Use this feedback to adapt and improve the Kanban system.
Day 60 to 90
Measure and Scale
Collect Data: As your Kanban system matures, it’s essential to gather and analyse data continually. Focus on measuring cycle time, throughput, and other critical metrics that offer insights into the process's efficiency and effectiveness. These metrics will help you understand how quickly tasks move through the pipeline and how effectively the team delivers outputs. Use these insights to identify patterns and anomalies indicating bottlenecks or inefficiencies.
Analyse and Interpret: Beyond simply collecting data, interpret what it means for your production process. Look for trends in cycle times that suggest where processes can be streamlined, or capacity increased. Analyse throughput rates to assess team output and identify potential areas for resource adjustments or process improvements.
Scale Gradually: Based on the pilot's success and the insights gained from initial metrics, begin scaling the Kanban implementation to other parts of the production process. Start with areas most closely linked to the initial pilot or similar workflow patterns. Ensure each new location is fully integrated into the Kanban system before proceeding to the next to prevent overload and maintain quality.
Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Encourage Team Involvement: Create an environment where team members feel empowered to suggest improvements. This can be facilitated through regular retrospectives or by establishing an open forum for sharing ideas. Ensure that all suggestions are welcome and valuable and that continuous improvement is a shared responsibility.
Implement Feedback Loops: Set up structured feedback loops that allow for regular review of processes and outcomes. This might involve periodic retrospectives or continuous feedback mechanisms embedded into daily workflows. Use these opportunities to discuss what is working and what isn’t and to brainstorm solutions to ongoing challenges.
Iterate and Improve: Use the data and feedback collected to improve your processes iteratively. This could involve adjusting WIP limits, reconfiguring Kanban boards, or streamlining certain workflow stages. The key is to make small, manageable changes that can be quickly implemented and assessed. This approach helps foster a culture of ongoing refinement and responsiveness, critical to maintaining efficiency and effectiveness in dynamic production environments.
Celebrate Successes and Learn from Setbacks: As you make changes, celebrate the successes to motivate the team and acknowledge their efforts. Similarly, when setbacks occur, use them as learning opportunities rather than sources of blame. This will help to maintain morale and encourage a positive, proactive approach to continuous improvement.
By focusing on measurement, gradual scaling, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you ensure that the Kanban system supports and enhances your production process, leading to greater efficiency and a more engaged team.
Kanban Strategy Resources
Below is a good place to start for anyone new to Kanban:
Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability: An Introduction: This book convinced me to dedicate my time to learning and sharing the Kanban strategy. It is also a great companion to ActionableAgile Analytics software.
Flow Metrics for Scrum Teams: This free book is approachable and shows how Kanban can complement a Scrum team.
The Kanban Pocket Guide: This free guide focuses on the strategy behind Kanban and can help navigate some of that noise around Kanban and Agile methodologies.
Drunk Agile Podcast: Over 100 bite-sized episodes covering the Kanban strategy, predictability and delivering business outcomes.
Conclusion
In wrapping up our exploration of Kanban strategies, it’s clear that integrating Kanban into your current Agile practices isn’t just a shift in tools or processes; it's a strategic enhancement that refines your team's efficiency and adaptability. Kanban’s core principles provide a robust framework for continuous improvement, enabling teams to deliver high-quality work consistently and predictably. Whether you're looking to address inefficiencies, improve collaboration, or make your workflow more responsive to change, Kanban offers a versatile and robust solution.
Don’t wait to see how these principles can transform your projects and enhance your team's performance. Begin by visualising your workflow, setting clear process policies, and engaging your team in continuous feedback loops. If you're ready to take the first step towards a more dynamic and effective workflow, consider attending a Kanban workshop or working with a Kanban consultant to tailor the system to your team’s unique needs. Embrace Kanban's flexibility and focus, and watch your team’s productivity, job satisfaction, and revenue soar.