Kanban Systems for Workflow Optimization

One of the top three most asked questions I get is "Is it better to start with Kanban at the team or Kanban at the portfolio?" Team-level Kanban is actually pretty simple. Work items are small and discreet, the workflow is prescriptive, and progress is fairly easy to visualize. However the not-so-pretty reality is that when you zoom out to the portfolio level things get messy fast. Work stops being about one team’s flow and starts being about how value moves through the entire organization. You are dealing with dependencies, shifting priorities, and competing commitments across teams and business units. Work waits on other work. Priorities change midstream (leaving work stalled or abandoned). Initiatives compete for the same limited capacity. And that’s why Portfolio Kanban gets my vote! It gives leaders a way to visualize, manage, and optimize the flow of initiatives (or perhaps better stated as investments) across the enterprise. It exposes where big bets (and big costs!) get stuck, where handoffs create drag, and where too much WIP is quietly slowing everything down. Without it, organizations end up with busy teams but still have delayed outcomes/returns. Portfolio Kanban makes work visible at the level where strategy meets the execution so you can make better decisions, and ultimately better investments, in real time.

From 87 days to 16 days - an 82% reduction I’m working with a client who, as part of my assignment, put me in charge of a support team for one of its enterprise applications. When I was officially given the reigns of the team, the average open ticket age was 87 days. I had already done some work with the team that reduced that number prior to being put in the leadership role, but 87 is the first measurement I have. (Note to self: get better at collecting “before metrics - always bites me.) As of this morning, we are at a 16 day average. That’s an 82% reduction in the average age of open tickets - achieved in roughly 3 months. We’ve also: *Reduced the quantity of open tickets by 67% *Reduced cycle time by ~70% *Increased customer satisfaction *Increased throughput How did we (I say “we” bc I couldn’t have done it without the fabulous team sticking with me through multiple small changes) achieve this? * Simplify the workflow. When I first saw the workflow the team was using in Jira, it looked like a bunch of scribbles on a page. It was impossible to understand how work flowed through their system. We moved to a very simple, left to right flow. * “Blocked” is a state, not a workflow step. It means we need to resolve the block, not that we put it in the closet and forget about it. * Clarify next action to be taken when a team member frees up: we work items on a Kanban board sorted by priority and date. We work top to bottom, right to left. * Remove sub queues: each team member only “owns” tickets they are actively working. Also, we leave comment trails so any team member can work a ticket at any stage in the workflow. Team members being sick, taking vacation, etc. doesn’t mean tickets stop being processed. * Removed SLAs. The team had SLAs to “respond” to tickets within a small time window. This led to tickets being responded to immediately, causing distraction and leaving tickets owned by whoever responded first. A customer would be told “we’re working on this” but in reality no work was being done- often for weeks or months. These changes aren’t huge or revolutionary, but they allow focus. They ensure we “stop starting and start finishing.” If you’ve got a struggling team or two and could use help to deliver more effectively, let’s chat!

We don’t talk enough about the hidden cost of in-progress work for law practices. Stuff that's being "worked on," but not getting Done. On a factory floor, it’s obvious; half-built products and unused inventory take up space, tie up cash, and make the entire system slower to move and harder to manage. In a law practice, those same dynamics show up in subtler but equally disruptive ways. Every half-finished drafting project, every document waiting on attorney review, every unread or unanswered email. They all create friction. They take up mental (and even emotional) space. They generate administrative overhead. And they slow down your team's ability to deliver client value. But they are hard to see. One of the most powerful aspects of the Kanban method is that a well-structured system makes these inefficiencies visible. Kanban boards give shape to otherwise hard-to-see knowledge tasks and how they flow through your practice. And when you incorporate more advanced techniques — like WIP limits, explicit policies, and flow metrics — you can tap into decades of process improvement wisdom from the manufacturing world. A well-designed Kanban system will help your team members finish what they start, and give you a clearer picture of what truly needs your finite time and attention. More importantly, it will help shift your mindset from pushing work onto your team based on demand to pulling cases through your workflow based on your team's readiness and real capacity. This week’s podcast episode goes back to where these ideas first emerged: the Toyota Production System starting in the 1950s. I explore how that system tackled challenges still familiar to legal teams today — inconsistent throughput, misaligned incentives, and the burden of too much unfinished work. Importantly, Toyota realized that optimizing for speed and efficiency didn't work — at least not directly. Instead, they designed their systems to emphasize smoothness, predictability, and, most importantly, quality. By putting quality first, and respecting the human element, Toyota built a system that flows and used it to become a global leader. If your law practice feels stuck, with too much in-progress work (and not enough work getting all the way to Done), the factory floor might have more to teach you than you think. Look for Ep 75 of the Agile Attorney Podcast in your favorite player. #lawfirm #legalops #legaltech #agileattorney #legallean Photo: A certain giddy knowledge worker using a leather stamp-cutter to make something physical on the amazing Danner Boots factory tour in Portland.

There are various ways for you to visualize your Portfolio Kanban in Jira, but before we dive into them, let's first define what a Portfolio Kanban is. 🏔️ What is Portfolio Kanban? In a very simple and straightforward version, it is having a view of all projects, their respective status, progress, and ideally (cost and return). Among other things, it can be used to: - Prioritize one or more projects; - Track the development of projects; and - Provide visibility over the ongoing work. It is not necessary to have this visualization on boards; you can have it in lists, graphs, but the most common is to apply them on boards. 🏆 3 Ways to Create a Portfolio Kanban in Jira [1] Creating an Epic Board with Percentage Columns This is the simplest and most practical way. Follow the steps below and watch the video in the comment explaining how to do it. 1. Create a new Kanban board in your project; 2. Adjust the filter to display only epics; 3. Create a workflow with the following statuses (you can adjust it to your context): Backlog -> Discovery -> Refinement -> Ready to Start -> In Delivery (0% - 19%) -> In Delivery (20% - 39%) -> In Delivery (40% - 59%) -> In Delivery (60% - 79%) -> In Delivery (80% - 99%) -> Done 4. Organize the columns to visualize the statuses You can update the statuses manually or automatically based on the number of tasks completed. 🚨 I won't enter the debate on which method is better. Each team should evaluate what makes the most sense for their context. [2] Use the Epic Maps App Simple, practical, and free. Install the Epic Maps in your Jira, and you'll have a view of the Epics with the delivery percentages. There is no configuration effort; enjoy what the view has to offer. [3] Using JXL Sheets This plugin allows you to have a spreadsheet view within Jira. Here are the steps: Option 3.1: 1. Install JXL Sheets; 2. Adjust the sheet to display only epics; 3. Use the same workflow described above; 4. Insert a Summary of Situation column (text type) and update it every week. Option 3.2: 1. Install JXL Sheets; 2. Adjust the hierarchy to display the Epics and their child issues below them; 3. Add a sum feature to the status field; 🔔 Use the workflow without the percentages, as the JXL sheets calculate for you based on the tasks delivered. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further explanations on implementing Portfolio Kanban using Jira. And if you're looking to enhance your project management processes with effective Kanban practices, stay tuned for more insights; I will share the videos about how to set up each one soon. #kanban #jira #AtlassianCreator

Looking for a more innovative way to stay on top of your projects? Here’s a productivity hack to help you manage your workload and get a clear view of what’s coming next: 👉 Create a Personal Kanban Board with Strategic Columns (and WIP Limits). Here’s how to set it up for maximum oversight: 1. Set Up Columns Like These:   - "Backlog" for upcoming projects and ideas.   - "Prioritized" for tasks you're ready to tackle next.   - "In Progress" to track active projects.   - "Review" for projects needing approval or feedback.   - "Completed" to celebrate wins and capture lessons learned. 2. Add WIP Limits: Keep your workload manageable and focused without overcommitting. 3. Maintain Oversight: Visualizing tasks across these stages helps track projects, identify bottlenecks, and manage incoming requests without feeling overwhelmed. Bonus: Building your Kanban board is a skill in itself. As you refine it, you’ll discover the nuances—from setting the right WIP limits to designing columns that suit your workflow. It’s not just about managing tasks but mastering the process. Make your Kanban board a central tool for oversight, not just task tracking. Your projects—and productivity—will thank you. What's your experience with Kanban boards? Share your thoughts below! Like this post if you're ready to take control of your workflow, and follow me for more productivity tips! 🚀

Pull vs. Push in Kanban — Why It Matters Let’s make this simple. Imagine a kitchen. You’re the chef. And there’s a line of people placing orders. 🍽 Push system: Someone keeps sending tickets to your counter whether you’re ready or not. You’ve got 10 meals to make at once. Half burn. Nothing flows. Then, 🍽 Pull system: You say: “I’m ready for the next one.” You finish what’s on your plate before taking on more. You stay focused. The kitchen stays calm. The quality goes up. That’s the heart of Kanban. ✅ Push says: “Here’s more work. Deal with it.” ✅ Pull says: “I’ll take more when I have capacity.” In a pull system: ✅Work flows better ✅Teams manage their own pace ✅Overwhelm is reduced ✅Quality improves Kanban isn’t about moving cards. It’s about respecting flow and trusting the team to pull when they’re ready. So before you ask “Why isn’t this done yet?” Ask: “Did we push too much into the system?”