Post by LeanSuite

Putting work on a board feels like progress. For a lot of teams, it is the last real change they ever make to how work flows. The board goes up, the cards become visible, and the rollout gets declared a success. But visualizing work is only the first of Kanban's six practices. The other five are where flow actually changes, and they are also the ones most teams quietly skip. Here is how we have seen them build on each other: 1. Visualize the workflow. The work and its bottlenecks become impossible to ignore. 2. Limit WIP. Visibility turns into focus, so finishing beats starting. 3. Manage flow. Attention moves off busy people and onto moving work. 4. Make policies explicit. The unwritten rules about how things get done finally get written down. 5. Implement feedback loops. The system stays honest at every cadence, from standups to retros. 6. Improve collaboratively. The board keeps changing instead of freezing on day one. A board shows you the work. The other five practices are what make the work move. Visibility is not the goal. It is the starting line. Which of the six is hardest for your team to actually sustain?