Workflow Process
2 minute read
Workflow management is the process the team uses to move things from “In Progress” to “Done”, as rapidly as possible in value sequence. It’s important for minimizing WIP that the team looks at the backlog as the team’s work and does not pre-assign work to individuals.
Workflow Management Process
In order to streamline business tasks, minimize room for error, and increase overall efficiency, teams need to have the following prerequisites.
- Definition of Done
- Kanban Board, virtual or physical, with a prioritized backlog
Plan Work
Unplanned work is anything coming into the backlog that has not been committed to, or prioritized. This can include feature requests, support tickets, etc.
Common struggles teams face with unplanned work can be:
Do Work
Completed work meets the Definition of Ready when work begins, the Definition of Done when work is delivered, and can be completed in less than two days.
Process smells identified for completing work include:
- Context switching
- Ineffective demos, or lack thereof
- Multiple teams owning pieces of the process
- Status and visibility of work is unclear
- Siloed work
Improve Work
In order to plan and complete work effectively, there must be an improvement process in place. The improvement process is centered around feedback loops.
Challenges associated with the improvement process:
Measuring Your Workflow
A good measure to implement in your team’s workflow is WIP. Limiting work in progress can help reduce constraints in your workflow.
Development cycle time is a key measure of success when trying to optimize and automate your team’s workflow.