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LeanKit

Software by Leankitkanban

Instant Project Visibility

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• 5.0
• 1 review
• 5,314 followers

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Key Features of LeanKit

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Overview of LeanKit

LeanKit puts Kanban-style visual process management in the cloud with a whiteboard and sticky notes that are available from anywhere in the world, updated in real-time, and configurable for any industry. Whether it's on a big LCD screen in the team room, a PC on a desk, or your mobile phone or tablet, everyone can see what's really going on at a glance. Since the history of each card is automatically recorded, we can give you on-demand metrics to validate project dates, measure delivery speed, determine process variability, and balance workload. And, with our new multi-level portfolio management features, you can manage even the largest enterprises through the simple visual power of Kanban.

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LeanKit Pricing

Benefits

Kanban is an ultra-light project/process management system that gives leaders visibility into progress and data for process improvement while minimizing demands on staff to participate in the kinds of bureaucratic activities they see as busy work. At its simplest, this Lean/Agile method maps out the steps of a team’s process flow or value stream on a whiteboard with marker or tape as vertical and horizontal lanes. Sticky notes or 3×5 cards represent work the team has to do, flowing from left to right on the board.

It sounds incredibly simple, and it is, but it’s also very powerful - often resulting in 25-50% productivity improvements for teams. Different colored cards can represent different types of work. Stickers attached to the cards can indicate who’s assigned to the cards, their priority and problems. Limits can be set on the amount of work allowed in any given step of the process to encourage focus and prevent overload. Rather than meeting weekly to discuss a complex project schedule, teams hold short daily meetings around the board to discuss what’s happening that day. Rather than asking for status updates, managers just look at the board. There’s no question of “percent complete”, a card is either done with a process step, and moved to the next, or it’s not.

This allows a Kanban board to quickly convey a tremendous amount of information. For example, if a bunch of red cards (representing issues or rework) are stacked in a lane you know you have a problem even before you can read the cards. Managers can take immediate action to resolve issues before they turn into serious problems. And, by tracking the speed with which different types of cards flow across the board, you can capture valuable data on cycle time, variability, efficiency, workload distribution, etc. Leaders can focus on continuous gradual process improvement (sometimes called kaizen) instead of being trapped micromanaging today’s tasks. It mimics for knowledge work what kanban/JIT inventory management does for manufacturing organizations.

But, while this manual Kanban system is great for individual teams, it doesn’t always work as well for organizations. Senior executives can’t personally visit hundreds of whiteboards to check on progress. Distributed team members can’t easily see or contribute to the daily conversations around the board. And, while Kanban metrics are theoretically powerful, the daily tracking of data often falls by the wayside as people get busy.

LeanKit is an electronic system that works just as simply as sticky notes on a whiteboard for team members, but the whiteboard is online. It’s available anywhere and anytime, on a big LCD screen in a team room, team members' PCs, or a manager’s mobile phone or tablet. Board updates are visible in seconds to team members around the globe. The history of each card is automatically recorded so that Lean metrics can be generated on demand from LeanKit or the history exported and combined with other company data for even more powerful analysis.

There’s no software for you or your IT department to install. You can be up and running with LeanKit in minutes. And, integrations can be easily written to link LeanKit to other systems, like an overall project scheduling system. Visit our website to learn more about how we can help you to simplify your project and portfolio planning.

User Reviews for LeanKit

  LeanKit Kaban Let’s You Visualize Your Projects Via Sticky Notes

I do believe LeanKit Kanban has a lot to offer, but I also believe that other project management solutions are pretty nifty too. So that said, I think it comes down to management styles and preferences. Some people LOVE working with colors and charts while others like the old-fashioned workbook or “to do” list. Either way, LeanKit has an excellent user interface, it’s easy to manage, its analytics are excellent if not a bit too much at times and it scales for any sized user-base and industry.

— Michele Nachum (7th of June, 2012)

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