Kanban Board
A Kanban board is a visual project management tool used to track work items as they move through various stages of a workflow, typically represented as columns like 'To Do', 'In Progress', and 'Done'. It originated from the Toyota Production System and is widely applied in software development, manufacturing, and other industries to improve efficiency and transparency. By limiting work-in-progress (WIP) and visualizing bottlenecks, it helps teams manage flow and optimize processes.
Developers should learn and use Kanban boards when working in agile or lean environments to enhance collaboration, reduce multitasking, and increase delivery predictability. It is particularly useful for continuous delivery teams, maintenance projects, or any scenario where work items vary in size and priority, as it provides real-time visibility into progress and helps identify impediments quickly. For example, in DevOps practices, Kanban boards can streamline deployment pipelines and incident management.