Lead Time and Cycle Time
- Lead Time: The time span between the time a task enters the work system and the time it is completed is known as lead time. Lead time is the time it takes for an input to pass through all of the operations and arrive at the finish line. In Kanban terminology, the overall time it takes for a delegated task to reach the right-most column.
- Cycle Time: The cycle time displays how much time the team spends working on a prioritized task. Cycle time begins when any team member begins working on the task and transfers it to the ‘in progress’ column, and it continues until the task is completed.
Lead Time and Cycle Time
- Cycle Time and Lead Time Relationship: The most important, though often overlooked, the distinction between cycle time and lead time is their measurement units.
Cycle time is measured in amount of time per unit/process/task
Lead time is measured in elapsed time (weeks, hours, seconds)Little’s Law gives the best description of the link between Cycle time and Lead time-
Cycle time x WIP = Lead time (Work-In-Progress)
Kanban – Agile Methodology
Kanban is a popular Agile Software Development Methodology. It is a signaling device that instructs the moving of parts in a ‘pull’ production system, developed as part of the TPS (Toyota Production System). Kanban is about envisioning the existing workflow in terms of steps. These steps can be created on the whiteboard.
Table of Content
- What is kanban?
- When Would The Kanban Approach Be Needed?
- Kanban Board/Card
- Principles of Kanban
- Kanban Practices
- Kanban Workflow – How does Kanban Pull System Work?
- Lead Time and Cycle Time
- Cumulative Flow Diagram
- How to Calculate Lead Time and Cycle Time
- Steps of Kanban Approach
- Benefits of using Kanban Framework
- Kanban vs Scrum
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions on Kanban – Agile Methodology
The main aim of Kanban is to reduce WIP (Work-In-Progress), or inventory, between processes by ensuring the upstream process creates parts as long as its downstream process needs it. The goal of the Kanban execution is to ensure work items move to the next steps quickly to realize business value faster.