April 7, 2015 at 1:49 am
As always it is the right tool for the right job. When something doesn't fit it is sure to become a hindrance yet I have seen Kanban used effectively too.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
April 7, 2015 at 5:34 am
For years I have tried all sorts of tasks list from a notepad, white boards, lists on my phone, lists online.... then I found Trello. Trello was my 1st introduction to Kanban and it has been the most successful task management method I have found for my personal life. Simple, quick, effective, just enough features and since it is on my phone and my wifes, it is virtually always with me.
We recently used Trello to manage a landscaping project and it was very helpful.
I also implemented Kanban boards for my kids schoolwork (we homeschool). We used foam-core poster board and used small stickies for the daily work that needs to be done. It has worked very well. The ability to quickly scan the board and see where they are at or what has not been completed or is in progress is very helpful. They get the benefit of feeling good every time they move something to the done column.
April 7, 2015 at 5:49 am
I'm not sure that Kanban is the most appropriate tool for career planning: how about a traditional 'list of tasks' or at worst a 'Gantt chart', managed as a sprint or project etc. ...
My understanding is that Kanban is a tool suited to repetitive production, to ensure amongst other things that for a particular assembly (say) task, all the required components are gathered into a 'kit', that they are tested and ready for assembly, and that only the minimum required number of kits are located in the assembly area. Also that there is a minimum back-up supply kit in the stores (safety cover). Additionally, at the supplier of components end, the basis of supply, is one of units of 'complete kits' as needed for the final assembly task.
Happy to discuss ...
Best, Geoff M Johns
April 7, 2015 at 5:56 am
Thanks for sharing. You gave me some insight on how I can be better organized without a lot of complexity.
April 7, 2015 at 6:07 am
I wish a Kanban or any other way to organize one's personal goals and projects could begin with some way to get my wife to agree with ANYTHING that I want. 😉
April 7, 2015 at 6:50 am
I've never heard of kanban before this. We break down a project into small tasks by virtue of their difficulty level (assigned as a team), set goals for those tasks, have twice-a-week update meetings, etc. It seems to work well for us.
April 7, 2015 at 8:36 am
mmoore 76627 (4/7/2015)
We recently used Trello to manage a landscaping project and it was very helpful.
I like Trello for single projects as well. We use it for a few things here, but when we have too many things I'm assigned, it's tough for me to manage separate boards and keep track of my work.
Homework is interesting. I might have gotten my kids into it, or maybe I still will. They tend to get most of their work done in school and haven't had issues, so I'm not sure adding tracking makes sense, but I'll ask if they want to try it.
April 7, 2015 at 8:46 am
Geoff Johns (4/7/2015)
I'm not sure that Kanban is the most appropriate tool for career planning: how about a traditional 'list of tasks' or at worst a 'Gantt chart', managed as a sprint or project etc. ...My understanding is that Kanban is a tool suited to repetitive production, to ensure amongst other things that for a particular assembly (say) task, all the required components are gathered into a 'kit', that they are tested and ready for assembly, and that only the minimum required number of kits are located in the assembly area. Also that there is a minimum back-up supply kit in the stores (safety cover). Additionally, at the supplier of components end, the basis of supply, is one of units of 'complete kits' as needed for the final assembly task.
Happy to discuss ...
Best, Geoff M Johns
From what I've seen, the original aim was a repetitive set of tasks, but it evolved to cover any work items that can be broken down, including management items. The idea is to get a concrete set of items.
I do think it breaks down if too much time is spent determining the tasks, but it can be lightweight. It doesn't need to be exhaustive. For example, if I want to build an application for tracking groceries, I could make Kanban tasks like this:
- create database
- build database table for lists
- skeleton out form for adding items to list
- form for displaying lists.
That's it. However as I start, I realize I need some indexing. If I do it then, fine. If I want to think about it, I add a new task
- create indexes for list table.
It's a work tracking item that I have. As I work, I move these through the status areas (queue, working, done). If I need to add more on the fly, I do. Over time I start to get better at creating new tasks quickly as I think of them and moving them. If I don't need items, or do them right away, I don't bother adding them as work items. That's overhead, which I want to avoid.
This is more about visualizing and tracking the queue of work and work in progress.
April 7, 2015 at 8:47 am
Iwas Bornready (4/7/2015)
I've never heard of kanban before this. We break down a project into small tasks by virtue of their difficulty level (assigned as a team), set goals for those tasks, have twice-a-week update meetings, etc. It seems to work well for us.
It's similar, and more an organizational process than anything else. If what you have works, might not want to switch. Or you might play with it to see what you think.
April 7, 2015 at 10:18 am
I have a small notepad on my desk that I use to track my task list. When it gets too messy or I've crossed out a majority of the items then I'll tear off the page and migrate the items that are still outstanding to the next page. This has worked pretty well for me so far, but I like the idea of the Bullet Journal[/url] that was linked in the LifeHacker article. I might try using that so that I can maintain the history of what I've accomplished for the year.
I've tried a few electronic task managers and Kanban boards, but none of them really seemed to work for me.
April 7, 2015 at 10:34 am
I use onenote for task listing and check offs and note taking. Seems to work pretty well. I use a surface 3 with the stylus.
April 7, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (4/7/2015)
It's a work tracking item that I have. As I work, I move these through the status areas (queue, working, done). If I need to add more on the fly, I do. Over time I start to get better at creating new tasks quickly as I think of them and moving them. If I don't need items, or do them right away, I don't bother adding them as work items. That's overhead, which I want to avoid.
This is more about visualizing and tracking the queue of work and work in progress.
I've been using a personal Kanban for a few years now, it works well for me, and I love it. The software I use (LeanKit http://leankit.com/) is free for one board, but allows you to upgrade and use multiple boards (I haven't tried any others but I'll look into Trello). With this software I can color code my tasks based on areas (e.g. server build/configuration, project-specific tasks, documentation, troubleshooting, etc.) and I tend to color them lighter/paler colors for less urgent tasks and heavier colors for more urgent (e.g. my troubleshooting tasks are a deep red). You can also configure your board with multiple lanes, and you can change a lane to have sub-lanes; in effect creating a "sub-board" :-); I've used this for projects with tasks for which I needed visibility but isolation from the rest of my lanes.
I usually use a Backlog, ToDo, On Hold but Doing (for tasks I've started where I'm waiting for another person/department to complete something so they are blocked), Doing, Prior Day Done, and Done. As I complete tasks I move them from Doing to Prior Day Done, then each morning I sweep those cards to Done. When I meet with my manager every couple of weeks I confirm/track my work from the cards in Done, then move them to Archive. This saves me the trouble of trying to remember all of the tasks I worked on/completed.
And for the boards which have a mobile app, I can use that to add tasks if I think of them when I'm somewhere not near a computer, and be confident that I won't forget about it by the time I get to one.
LeanKit is can also be used by teams of people, with multiple boards, email notifications, etc.
April 7, 2015 at 1:47 pm
Amazing in this day and age we still seem to struggle with the topic of how to organize and track tasks. Seems like we have all tried various things and never been very satisfied.
At work I am forced to use a crude ticket system for both projects and work orders, but I still have some projects/tasks that are not contained in this system. I have used Windows Sticky Notes, Word docs, notepad, etc. Over time my TODO lists always pile up with numerous tasks that never make it to IP, and then IP tasks lose priority in favor of new projects/tasks or just become dormant and forgotten also cluttering up the list. And as an IT person prefer NOT to use a system that uses any physically written form (whiteboard, post-it notes).
After looking at Kanban, I wasn't impressed or excited about using it for a DBA role. However, I checked out Trello and am impressed and hopeful that this can turn into something at least more useful than past manager systems I have used. Yes it can easily be used for Kanban method but seems extremely flexible enough to become any hybrid form you choose. I can use it differently for personal boards vs task boards vs project boards, etc. I like that I can assign color labels and those labels can be different for each board. For example, one board I can assign blue=normal, orange=important, red=urgent and another board I can assign the same colors different labels, blue=bug, orange=task, red=project.
April 7, 2015 at 2:08 pm
I am all about swim lanes (Kanban) with Jira and Confluence.
I also highly recommend Jira (with Agile plugins) and Confluence for database development. Jira is pretty amazing in terms of task management. Confluence is pretty amazing in terms of Wiki (documentation). They seamlessly tie together including the Agile development plugins into your documentation. You can link tasks, builds and so much more seamlessly into your documentation while also linking documentation to your tasks.
Being Confluence also has workflow plugins from popular vendors, I'm able to design complex data models within my documentation and then link that model directly into a task for a developer to begin work on. It's pretty slick.
With swimlanes, it's been very easy for me to break down my lone developer tasks into phases that management can follow even if you're not following iteration cycles completely. For example, having lanes for in-progress, to testing to finished is a lot easier for non-software development individuals to know what's going on with the project.
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