Training: Kanban Essentials

Duration and language:

Onsite training - 14h - 2 days each 7 hours (including breaks).

Online training - 15h - 3 days each 5 hours (including breaks). Online training schedule:

• 09:00 - 11:00 CET online session,
• 11:00 - 12:00 CET break,
• 12:00 - 14:00 CET online session,

Training is provided in English. A Polish version is also available.

Target group:

The training is intended for:

• specialists, members of operational teams,
• novice Scrum Masters and Product Owners,
• department/team leaders and managers,
• stakeholders and people involved in the development process,
• representatives of non-IT departments such as sales and marketing.

Those who want to grow the organization in the spirit of Agile and Lean.

Training preconditions:

Minimum knowledge of basic concepts in the field of product/services development and project management. Participation in the development and team engagement activities, in particular in initiatives, in which a team of at least several people cooperates, or many teams at the same time.

For online training, it is required to be computer literate and meet technical requirements: https://valkir.pl/en/online-training/.

Price includes:

• Preparation and training performed by an expert, an experienced Agile and Lean consultant.
• Effective training in a small group - on average 6-12 people.
• Training materials, requisites and a certificate of training completion issued by Valkir Academy.
• Lunch and catering (drinks and snacks). Not applicable to online training.
• Trainer’s travel and expenses (T&E). Not applicable to online training.

Certification:

Czy szkolenie kończy się lub przygotowuje do certyfikacji?

Due to the authorial’s program, the completion of the training provides knowledge and practice to be used in the organization, but does not provide Kanban University certificates. Kanban University requires participation in an accredited training, which is equal to obtaining the appropriate level of certification described at https://kanban.university/. The price of the authorial training includes training completion certificates issued by Valkir Academy (in Polish or English).

Training description:

What is the Kanban Essentials training?

Kanban Essentials is an authorial program dedicated to people who take their first steps in the evolutionary (lean) way of management (Lean Management). It is based on the compilation of knowledge from accredited Kanban University training courses and the practical experience of our experts as Lean Managers, Lean and Agile consultants. Intended for almost every industry.

Program participants are both specialists working in operational teams as well as leaders and managers who want to introduce the benefits of the Kanban method / system holistically throughout the organization, regardless of whether we are talking about an IT department, sales, marketing or e.g. accounting. Kanban Essentials does not contain engineering practices, so it is also recommended for non-technical people.

The proper use of the Kanban method allows you to visualize the entire development process of a service or any business activity process and measure the actual times of activities execution. Importantly, it allows you to identify bottlenecks and delays so that they can be eliminated, thus minimizing waste and losses. Kanban supports building the habit of continuous improvement of team competences, management practices and the improvement of the entire work environment.

You don’t need dry theory and science about adding more tasks to the team, which is anyway already overloaded with work. You want to gain practical knowledge, learn an effective approach to increase the efficiency of the running processes, which allows to engage people, reduce the number of things in progress and increase the number of completed successfully? We have something for you!

Who’s behind this?

David J. Anderson is considered a leader who brought the Kanban method from industry to the IT world, and then scaling it beyond IT. The approach itself is based on the work of figures such as Taiichi Ohno, Eli Goldratt, Edwards Deming, or Peter Drucker. It was popularized by a famous book “Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business” published in 2010.

Over 200 Kanban University trainers and coaches around the world support the development of management every day by organizing practical training, teaching through games, workshops and effective practices.

Training agenda:

1. Introduction to Kanban method: Agile management and Complexity thinking
   • A concise presentation of Agile and Lean foundations, followed by what concepts and values ​​they represent.
   • A brief comparison between a traditional management and the Agile approach with an explanation where the Agile approach fits best (based on a diagram by Ralph D. Stacey).
   • A short presentation of Complexity theory and Complexity Thinking followed by a quick discussion of the practical use of Complex Thinking.
   • A simulation game that enables understanding and experiencing aspects of the empirical development process and its improvement.
    
2. Definition and review of the Kanban method
   • A brief presentation of the Kanban theory, principles and pillars.
   • A brief overview of flow concept, metrics, diagrams, and the visualization of this information using information radiators.
   • Discussion of agendas and the rules of respecting current roles and positions.
   • Cadence, possible Kanban events and their duration.
   • What is a component and what is a common addition from the Lean and Agile methods.
    
3. Addressing the human factor
   • Differences between a workgroup and a team based on Tuckman’s cycle.
   • What is and how self-organization and self-management work, along with an explanation of what is necessary for them to function properly.
   • Characteristics of a cross-functional team, division of competences and accountability.
   • Work and accountabilities distribution in the case of many teams co-creating a complex service, project or internal initiative.
    
4. Information radiators
   • Overview of what is a Kanban board and how to build it? Good and bad practices.
   • Presentation of effective ways to visualize flow, Work in Progress limits (WIP Limits) and Classes of Service.
   • A concise analysis of tools and statistical diagrams used in the Kanban method based on Control Chart, Run Chart and Cumulative Flow Diagram.
   • Exercise: designing Kanban boards at different organizational levels, depending on the steps in the process.
    
5. (beyond Kanban method) Bottleneck and waste
   • Overview of the most common types of waste in the world of Lean Management with reference to the situation in the organizations of the training participants.
   • Understanding the approach to building discipline and habits of continuous improvement using the Kaizen approach.
   • Using the concept of Value Stream Mapping to measure process effectiveness.
   • Brainstorming for bottlenecks in processes, methods to eliminate them or transform them into opportunities for the future.
    
6. (beyond Kanban method) Introduction to stakeholder expectations management
   • Common forms of defining tasks, requirements and their estimation methods.
   • Methods for estimating the value and profitability of work execution.
   • Monitoring and visualization of work progress through charts.
   • Planning and budgeting versus Agile methods.
   • Concepts of Agile Contracts - what can be fixed and what should be especially flexible.
   • Discussion of electronic tools supporting Agile/Lean management.
    
7. Kanban in action
   • A simulation game that allows you to experience working in the Kanban method, practical and inspiring application of the acquired knowledge.
   • Open discussion of reported questions, challenges and doubts as well as the next steps necessary to introduce the Kanban method in the organization.
    
8. Training summary

Training goals:

What are the challenges we address?

• How can I explain to others what exactly the Kanban method and system is and is not?
• How does it relate to Lean and Agile?
• How can I use Kanban principles in my organization?
• How can I manage the workflow, visualize the flow and detect bottlenecks?
• How can I shape cooperation and co-responsibility for continuous improvement of myself and other teams in the organization?
• How can I increase the effectiveness in the organization without demotivating people?
• How can I estimate, plan and budget services, projects or initiatives development in Kanban?
• How can I supplement the Kanban with additional practices and tools from the Lean/Agile family?
• How can I use Kanban and improve the performance of my team, department and company without revolution?

What benefits do you get?

The training allows participants to better understand their organization, the challenges it faces and more effectively steer its growth. It contains theoretical knowledge and practical methods taken from the idea of ​​systems theory, complexity theory, self-organization/self-management, critical chain theory, process management, change management and many other areas.

As a result of this training, participants from different areas of the organization will:

• know and understand aspects needed to effectively stimulate organization growth,
• acquire skills necessary to apply mentioned methods in practice,
• understand how and why new methods can positively affect their work.

Whenever possible, topics presented during the training are explained through a game/exercise that allows to apply the learned practice or principle in the business context. Exercise or game usually ends with a debrief and discussion on how to adapt the presented practices to the participants’ context.