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Planning & Processnoun · /ˈkænbæn/

kanban

In simple English

Kanban originated in Japanese manufacturing and has become central to Agile software development. The term literally means 'billboard' or 'visual signal' in Japanese. In tech, teams use physical or digital kanban boards to visualize workflow, limit work in progress, and improve delivery speed. Each task or user story appears as a card that moves across columns representing different stages of completion. Kanban emphasizes continuous delivery, quick feedback loops, and reducing bottlenecks. Unlike Scrum, which uses fixed sprints, kanban is a continuous flow process where work is pulled as capacity allows.

Understand how kanban boards work and how to use them for project management in software teams.

At a glanceCEFR B2
Commonness4/5
Versatility4/5
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDirect
RegionUS and UK
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Say it like this

✓Let us move this card across the kanban board
✓We are using kanban to manage our workflow
✓The kanban board shows our current work in progress

Real examples

in a standup

"I moved the authentication feature to in-progress on our kanban board this morning."

in a team meeting

"Our kanban board is getting crowded in the in-progress column, so we need to limit new work."

in a retrospective

"Since we adopted kanban, our average cycle time has dropped from three weeks to five days."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Kanban is a noun referring to a methodology or board, not a verb. Do not use it as 'to kanban something.' Also, it is not synonymous with Agile—it is one Agile framework among several.

✕We need to kanban this bug immediately.
✓We need to add this bug to our kanban board immediately.— Kanban is a noun and system, not a verb. You cannot 'kanban' something; you track it on a kanban board.
✕Kanban is the same thing as Agile.
✓Kanban is one framework within the broader Agile methodology.— Kanban is a specific approach to Agile delivery, not synonymous with Agile itself. Scrum is another popular Agile framework.
✕Our kanban works best with two-week sprints.
✓Our kanban uses continuous flow rather than time-boxed sprints.— Kanban is not sprint-based; it emphasizes continuous delivery. Sprint-based delivery is a Scrum concept.

Other forms

noun

kanban

"Our kanban board tracks tasks across four stages: backlog, ready, in-progress, and done."

noun

kanban board

"The kanban board is displayed on the wall next to the developer workstations."

noun

kanban card

"Each kanban card represents one user story or bug."

Often used with

kanban boardThe physical or digital board used in kanban methodology
kanban cardIndividual work items represented as cards on the board
work in progress (WIP) limitA kanban practice that restricts how many cards can be in the in-progress column
kanban columnEach vertical section of a kanban board representing a stage in the workflow
kanban workflowThe entire process of moving work items through the kanban system

Similar words

kanban systemBroader term referring to the entire methodology and implementation
visual workflowGeneral term for any system using visual representation of work
continuous flowThe underlying principle of kanban, emphasizing ongoing delivery rather than sprints

Opposites

waterfallScrum

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your manager asks how you are tracking the new feature work. What do you say?

Complete the sentence

2. We pull new work into the development phase only when there is capacity in our _______ limit.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses kanban incorrectly?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this in natural tech English using kanban: 'We have a system where we show work items moving through different stages visually, and we do not use time-based sprints.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "kanban" in a standup this week?

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