Kanban & Lean Principles Flashcards
7 cards from real APM 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 & Lean Principles flashcards as text
In Kanban, what does the concept of 'classes of service' primarily help teams manage?
Answer: Different priority levels and SLAs for work items
Classes of service categorize work items by risk and urgency to assign appropriate policies and SLAs for each type.
Which Lean principle directly addresses removing steps that consume resources without adding customer value?
Answer: Eliminate waste (Muda)
Muda (waste elimination) is the Lean principle focused on removing any activity that consumes resources but does not add value from the customer's perspective.
A Kanban team notices their cycle time is high but throughput is low. What is the most likely root cause?
Answer: Work items are blocked or queues have large amounts of WIP
High cycle time combined with low throughput typically indicates work is sitting in queues or blocked, meaning WIP limits may be too high or blockers are unresolved.
What is the primary purpose of a 'replenishment meeting' in a Kanban system?
Answer: To decide which items from the backlog to pull into the active workflow
A replenishment meeting is used to select and prioritize items from the options pool to be pulled into the Kanban system when capacity becomes available.
In Lean, 'Heijunka' refers to which production concept?
Answer: Leveling and smoothing the production workload
Heijunka is the Lean practice of leveling production volume and mix over time to reduce unevenness (Mura) and overburden (Muri).
Which metric best helps a Kanban team predict when future work items will be completed?
Answer: Cycle time percentiles and throughput
Cycle time percentiles and throughput data enable probabilistic forecasting of when items will be delivered, without relying on estimation.
The Lean concept of 'pull system' in a Kanban context means that:
Answer: Work is started only when downstream capacity is available
A pull system means new work enters the system only when there is available capacity downstream, preventing overproduction and excess WIP.