Kanban board setup and design: how to organize your board, creating columns, and swimlanes

Kanban is a popular agile methodology to improve workflow efficiency, productivity, and delivery speed. It is a visual management system that uses a Kanban board to track the Progress of work items through various stages of a workflow.

The board is divided into columns and swim lanes, representing the different stages of the workflow and the teams or individuals responsible for each stage.

This blog post will discuss how to set up and design a Kanban board to optimize your workflow.

Organizing Your Board

Before you start creating your Kanban board, it’s important to identify the key stages of your workflow. This will help you determine the number of columns and swimlanes you need on your board. It would help if you aimed to create a board that is simple and easy to use but also reflects the complexity of your workflow.

To begin organizing your board, list all the stages of your workflow. These may include:

• Backlog
• To Do
• In Progress
• Testing
• Done

Once you have identified your workflow stages, you can start to group them into columns on your Kanban board. Each column represents a different stage of your workflow, and work items will move from left to right across the board as they progress through the workflow.

Creating Columns

When creating columns for your Kanban board, it’s important to keep them simple and easy to understand. Each column should have a clear and concise title reflecting the workflow stage. It would help if you also aimed to limit the number of columns on your board to 3-7, as too many columns can make the board difficult to read and manage.

Here are some examples of common columns used in Kanban boards:

1. Backlog : The backlog column represents all the work items currently waiting to be worked on. This column is usually located on the left-hand side of the board, and work items will move from this column to the “To Do” column when they are ready to be worked on.
2. To Do : The “To Do” column represents all the work items ready to be worked on. This column is usually located next to the backlog column, and work items will move from this column to the “In Progress” column when someone starts working on them.
3. In Progress : The “In Progress” column represents all the work items currently being worked on. This column is usually located in the middle of the board, and work items will move from this column to the “Testing” column when the work is complete.
4. Testing : The “Testing” column represents all the work items being tested for quality assurance. This column is usually located next to the “In Progress” column, and work items will move from this column to the “Done” column when they pass the testing phase.
5. Done : The “Done” column represents all the work items that have been completed and are ready for delivery. This column is usually located on the right-hand side of the board, and work items will move from this column to the delivery phase when ready.

Creating Swimlanes

In addition to columns, Kanban boards also use swimlanes to represent different teams or individuals responsible for different workflow stages. Swimlanes run horizontally across the board and can be used to highlight workflow bottlenecks or identify areas where improvements can be made.

Here are some examples of common swimlanes used in Kanban boards:

Team Swimlanes Team swimlanes represent different teams responsible for different workflow stages. For example, a software development team may have swimlanes for front-end developers, back-end developers, and quality assurance testers. This helps identify where work is being delayed, and improvements can be made to speed up the workflow.

1. Priority Swimlanes : Priority swimlanes are used to highlight the priority level of work items. For example, urgent work items may be placed in a priority swimlane at the top of the board, while lower-priority items may be placed in a separate swimlane at the bottom of the board.
2. Customer Swimlanes : Customer swimlanes are used to represent different customer requirements or requests. For example, if you have multiple customers with different requirements, you may create a swim lane for each customer to ensure their requests are tracked separately.
3. Time Swimlanes : Time swimlanes track the time taken to complete each workflow stage. For example, you may have swimlanes for each day of the week or for each week of the month to track the Progress of work items over time.

Designing Your Board

Now that you have organized your board into columns and swimlanes, it’s time to design it. The design of your board is important as it can impact the efficiency and productivity of your workflow. You should aim to create a board that is easy to read, visually appealing, and provides a clear workflow overview.

Here are some tips for designing your Kanban board:

1. Use Color Coding : Color coding can help to visually separate different types of work items or highlight important information. For example, you may use red to represent urgent work items, green to represent low-priority items, and blue to represent normal-priority items.
2. Use Clear and Concise Labels : Each column and swimlane should have clear and concise labels that accurately reflect the workflow stage or the team responsible for that stage. This will help to avoid confusion and ensure everyone is on the same page.
3. Use Visuals to Represent Work Items : Visuals can make your Kanban board more engaging and help to identify work items quickly. For example, you may use icons or images to represent different types of work items or different teams or individuals responsible for each workflow stage.
4. Keep it Simple :  Your Kanban board should be simple and easy to read. Avoid cluttering the board with too much information or too many columns and swimlanes. Stick to the essentials and only include information relevant to the workflow.

Conclusion

A well-designed Kanban board can significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of your workflow. By organizing your board into columns and swimlanes and using clear labels and visuals, you can create a board that is easy to read and provides a clear workflow overview. Remember to keep it simple and avoid cluttering the board with too much information. With these tips, you can set up and design a Kanban board to help your team work more efficiently and effectively.