Kanban Principles and Practices Flashcards
7 cards from real Agile Project Management practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Kanban Principles and Practices flashcards as text
A team's board shows the 'Testing' column constantly full while 'Development' overflows behind it. What does this most directly signal?
Answer: A bottleneck at the Testing stage
Work piling up before and within a stage is the classic Kanban signal of a bottleneck constraining flow.
What is the primary purpose of setting a Work In Progress (WIP) limit on a column?
Answer: To reduce multitasking and expose bottlenecks
WIP limits curb context-switching and make flow problems visible so they can be addressed.
In Kanban, lead time is best defined as the time from when a work item is:
Answer: Committed/requested to when it is delivered
Lead time measures the full duration from commitment or request until the item is delivered.
A pull system in Kanban means that new work is started when:
Answer: Downstream capacity becomes available
In a pull system, items advance only when the next stage has free capacity, preventing overload.
Which Kanban practice most directly helps a team make its process policies clear to everyone?
Answer: Making policies explicit
Making process policies explicit is the core practice ensuring shared, transparent rules for how work flows.
A cumulative flow diagram shows the 'In Progress' band widening steadily over time. This indicates:
Answer: WIP is growing and flow is degrading
A widening in-progress band means work is entering faster than it exits, increasing WIP and lead time.
Why does Kanban favor evolutionary change over a sweeping reorganization?
Answer: It reduces resistance by starting with current roles and process
Kanban starts with what you do now and improves incrementally, lowering resistance to change.