Maintenance fun using Kanban

Sergii MaliarovLohika Systems

What we’re going to see?

1. How maintenance takes away fun

2. How Kanban brings back fun on a real-life example

3. Some tips from my experience

4. And of course some nice cats pictures

About me

- 8 years in software development, 6 years in Java development

- Worked on different projects with different processes used (Scrum, RUP, different mixes)

- For the last year working as a Lead Engineer in Lohika Systems on a project that first was managed using Scrum and after that moved to Kanban

- smaliarov@lohika.com, sergey.malyarov@gmail.com

Support stage specifics

New task may arrive any time

Some bugs may need to be fixed immediately

There is no release date

Big tasks can arrive

You may need several teams (e.g. development team, release team, etc)

So Scrum or RUP are not really great for maintenance

And what does it bring us?

Fun goes away- A lot of time is wasted on meetings, planning, etc

- You may stuck for days with some problem

- Customer is not satisfied

- Developer is bothered with things other than development

Here comes Kanban

Only three principles:

- Visualize the workflow- Limit Work In Progress- Measure the lead time

Let’s see how it works on a real example

Visualize the workflow

Use any tool you want. We tried Google Docs and GreenHopper (JIRA plugin)

Use as many columns as you need

If some column is constantly empty or contains 1 item – you don’t need that column. Or you may descrease its WiP.

Limit Work In Progress

- Probably the most important principle- Classic WiP is n where n is number of

developers- We are using n+1- Item should go through cycle as fast as it’s

possible

Measure the lead time

- Don’t forget to add or remove columns to optimize the lead time

- Add releases and cycle time if you want. Like we did

Here comes the fun

- Just-in-time- Few teams may work on one board- Big tasks can be taken- Very transparent process- Customer is happy

What else can be done

- Experiment- Take what works for you from another

processes- Don’t forget about the fun for all

Resources

Henrik KnibergLean from the Trenches

Henrik Kniberg, Mattias Skarin

Kanban and Scrum. Making the most of both

Question and Answers