![\"Microsoft](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/ms-digital-stories-300x122.png\")
Microsoft has taken a page from the auto industry to use a process called Kanban (pronounced \u201ccon-bon\u201d), a Japanese word meaning \u201csignboard\u201d or \u201cbillboard.\u201d It was developed by a Toyota engineer to improve manufacturing efficiency.<\/p>\n
Microsoft is using Kanban to drive engineering improvement and streamline workflows at Microsoft.<\/p>\n
In its simplest form, Kanban involves creating a set of cards that track manufacturing or other step-by-step processes. These cards, tacked to a corkboard, can be used to highlight trouble spots and avoid overcapacity. That latter quality helps Kanban users resist loading up a job with too many side tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned about Kanban when I was in the Marine Corps,\u201d says Ronald Klemz, a senior software engineer manager for Microsoft Commerce and Ecosystems. \u201cWhen I joined Microsoft, I could see how it applied to software engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it turns out, Microsoft already had an internal Kanban evangelist: Eric Brechner, who has since started his own company, leaving behind an influential legacy and a must-read book<\/a>.<\/p>\n [Learn how Microsoft uses Azure Resource Manager for efficient cloud management.<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n Although Kanban at Microsoft had a toehold, most engineers still used \u201cscrum\u201d or \u201cWaterfall\u201d development frameworks. Both attempt to help teams manage and assign workloads. Scrums, for instance, consist of regular planning meetings followed by two week to month long sprints that are meant to complete a particular stage of work.<\/p>\n We had a need to really visualize our work, which scrums couldn\u2019t provide. Another engineer said, \u2018Hey, have you heard about Kanban?\u2019 We did some research and decided this was a good fit.<\/p>\n \u2014Jon Griffeth, software development engineer, Microsoft Commerce and Ecosystems<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While plenty of good work has come out of scrums and Waterfalls, they are not always ideal for driving engineering improvement. In scrums, for instance, the regular meetings can be time consuming and even though scrums are designed to break big jobs into manageable pieces, teams can still become overwhelmed if customers add new requirements on the fly.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the start of each two-week scrum cycle, you\u2019re expected to know everything that you’re going to do in those two weeks,\u201d says Snigdha Bora, an engineering lead with Microsoft Digital, the organization that powers, protects, and transforms Microsoft. \u201cBut there are things that will happen in those two weeks that you can\u2019t know in advance. All of that goes away with Kanban because it has no limitations or artificial boundaries of a week or two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were having problems managing with scrums, and were constantly missing sprint conclusions,\u201d says Jon Griffeth, a software development engineer and program manager for Microsoft Commerce and Ecosystems. \u201cWe had a need to really visualize our work, which scrums couldn\u2019t provide. Another engineer said, \u2018Hey, have you heard about Kanban?\u2019 We did some research and decided this was a good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether built with simple paper tags or using more sophisticated software versions, a Kanban board shows rows of cards arranged in columns that represent stages of a project\u2019s workflow. Each card contains a specific task and who is responsible for it.<\/p>\n One of Kanban\u2019s most valuable aspects is that each column is designed to self-limit work in progress. If an extra card is added that exceeds the agreed upon limit of tasks, the column heading might light up red, indicating a possible bottleneck that could delay work.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps to simplify the workflow, so people aren’t getting hit with all kinds of sudden, ad hoc projects,\u201d Klemz says. \u201cThey’re able to focus on the agreed-upon workflow.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffeth agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we would want to add an item to the workflow, Kanban helped us have more objective conversations about what we could and couldn\u2019t do,\u201d Griffeth says. \u201cIt also brings accountability within the team, and people get to pick a task and run with it. Then, if they are done with it, they can go to the next item on the priority list.\u201d<\/p>\n If you finish a model, you don\u2019t have to go to the project manager and ask what needs to be done next. You can see what\u2019s next right on the Kanban board, pick up the next step and run with it.<\/p>\n \u2014Baala Arumugam, senior software engineer, Microsoft Commerce and Ecosystems<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That last point underscores another advantage of how Kanban at Microsoft drives engineering improvement: Its visual nature makes it easy for someone who is a newcomer to a team, has been on vacation, or is a part-timer, to look at the Kanban board and immediately see what needs to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Kanban, it\u2019s much easier to pick things up if you’ve been gone for a couple of days or if you’re just coming into the team,\u201d says Baala Arumugam, a senior software engineer for Microsoft Commerce and Ecosystems. \u201cAnd if you finish a model, you don\u2019t have to go to the project manager and ask what needs to be done next. You can see what\u2019s next right on the Kanban board, pick up the next step and run with it.\u201d<\/p>\n That is especially handy in a time when COVID-19 has essentially all Microsoft engineers working remotely, often in different time zones. With Kanban boards, often created with Microsoft Azure DevOps<\/a>, they can always immediately see the status of a project.<\/p>\n Binu Surendranath\u2019s team owns the tools, processes, and controls to ensure that Microsoft\u2019s preferred suppliers and partners are paid in a timely way once invoices are approved. They also ensure tax and other statutory compliances globally, provide tax and statutory compliance information, and report payments to the Internal Revenue Service.<\/p>\n Those multiple workflows led to siloed work, with different members of the team unaware of what co-workers were working on, or how their work had an impact on others.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody had their own priorities,” Surendranath says. \u201cIf I\u2019ve finished one part of the puzzle, I celebrate a victory. But that didn\u2019t really make a dent in the overall project. We support global businesses that are expanding exponentially. Having common, quantifiable business outcomes for everyone to work towards became an obvious need.\u201d<\/p>\n Kanban has helped his team create a more collaborative work environment while still giving engineers plenty of freedom for innovation and simplification to positively impact customer experience and business needs, Surendranath says.<\/p>\n Sounds good. But what about concrete benefits to Kanban at Microsoft? There are plenty.<\/p>\n \u201cGone are the days when we\u2019d spend nine months on a quarterly update,\u201d Surendranath says. \u201cNow when you close and open Outlook, you have a new Outlook because of the frequent updates Microsoft makes to it and other apps. That takes a more agile development approach that Kanban works well with.”<\/p>\n The agility plays well with Microsoft customers, who like to see product improvements that are rapid and seamless. The same goes for the business expansion of Microsoft Azure and data center launches and announcements.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the time Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announces a roll-out, we have just a few weeks to get everything up and running,\u201d says Surendranath. \u201cKanban has really enabled us to meet that need with a high level of confidence and transparency. Kanban dashboard enabled real-time transparency on progress of business priorities and allowed us to manage our OKR (Objectives and Key Results) closely and were able to drive our monthly business reviews more efficiently. We started bringing up the dashboard during our business reviews to give transparency to all global stakeholders, which eventually helped build stronger trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Kanban also helps Microsoft teams more effectively manage and deploy global statutory laws and compliance, which can change rapidly with predefined timelines and in most cases are non negotiable.<\/p>\n Griffeth\u2019s engineers, meanwhile, were assigned the task of creating a new purchase order workflow for a team in India.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tracked a lot of what had to be done in Kanban,\u201d he says. \u201cIt helped us see where a bottleneck might be, such as the product owner flooding the first step of the process with a lot of requests, or if code validation becomes a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n The result: A smoother process, happier customers, and a team that worked well together. The team also saw improved productivity because no one was spending time in scrum meetings or working as scrum master. Internal customers and business groups embraced real-time transparency, accountability, and predictability on engineering dependencies.<\/p>\n Kanban continues to be a learning process for Microsoft engineers using it, and it has not yet gained truly widespread acceptance. But it has shown a path to make software development faster and more trouble-free, while helping teams work together more effectively.<\/p>\n Learn how Microsoft uses Azure Resource Manager for efficient cloud management.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/04\/10183_Inside_Track_Kanban_graphic.png\")
![\"Collage](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/04\/10183_group_photo.jpg\")
![\"Related](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/related_links-300x81.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"We'd](\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2023\/05\/Customer-Survey-580x85-1.png\")
<\/p>\n