Kanban & Lean Principles Flashcards
7 cards from real CAE 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
Which of the following best describes the Kanban practice of 'making policies explicit'?
Answer: Clearly defining and displaying the rules that govern how work flows through the system
Making policies explicit means clearly defining and visibly displaying the rules (e.g., WIP limits, DoD, pull criteria) that govern the workflow.
In Lean thinking, which of the seven wastes applies when a developer waits for code review approval?
Answer: Waiting
Waiting is the Lean waste that occurs when people or work items are idle, such as waiting for a review, approval, or dependency.
A team wants to use a cumulative flow diagram (CFD). What does a widening band in the CFD indicate?
Answer: Growing work in progress and a potential bottleneck
A widening band in a CFD indicates that work is accumulating in a stage, signaling a bottleneck or growing WIP.
What is 'pull' in the context of a Kanban system?
Answer: Downstream steps signal upstream steps to provide more work when capacity is available
Pull means downstream stages signal upstream stages to provide more work only when there is available capacity, preventing overproduction.
Which Lean principle is best demonstrated by a team holding a brief daily standup at the Kanban board?
Answer: Visual management
Visual management is demonstrated by using the Kanban board as the centerpiece for communication, making work status visible to all.
A team's Kanban board shows several items stuck in 'In Review' for many days. Which action aligns with Lean principles?
Answer: Conduct a root cause analysis to identify why reviews are delayed
Root cause analysis (like a 5 Whys) identifies the underlying reason for delays, which is the Lean approach to eliminating recurring waste.
What distinguishes a Kanban system from a Scrum system in terms of time structure?
Answer: Kanban is flow-based with no fixed iterations; Scrum uses fixed-length sprints
Kanban is a continuous flow system with no fixed iterations, while Scrum structures work into fixed-length sprints (typically 1-4 weeks).