Tue Anderson KanbanEvolutionaryManagement LKCE13

Kanban
and evolu0onary management

Presents
Lessons we can learn

from Bruce Lees
journey in mar4al arts
Presenter
David J. Anderson
Lean Kanban
Central Europe
Hamburg
November 2013
Release 1.0
dja@leankanban.com @lkuceo
Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.
Bruce Lees Journey in Mar0al Arts
Bruce Lee rejected tradi0onal teaching and styles

of Chinese mar0al arts
There are some parallels in
the story of Bruce Lee and
the emergence of his
approach to Kung Fu
Lee rejected the idea of
following a particular style
of Chinese Martial Arts
Kung Fu Panda simplied the art to only four

styles
Mantis
Snake
Tiger
Monkey
There are in fact very many styles
Dry land swimming provides a false sense of

capability
The only way to learn is to train with a live opponent

Lee rejected the many styles of martial arts for various reasons,
mainly that they gave the practitioners a false sense of
capability, putting them at risk in real combat situations
He was against Kata (learning patterns without an opponent)
and described them in derogatory terms such as "dry land
swimming.
Lee wanted to start from rst principles and core

concepts
Four ranges of combat
Kicking
Punching
Trapping
Grappling
Five* Ways of AJack***
Single Direct AJack (SDA)

AJack By Combina4on (ABC)
Progressive Indirect AJack
(PIA)
(Hand) Immobiliza4on AJack
(HIA)
AJack by Drawing (ABD)
Single Angle AJack (SAA)
*Apparently s4ll called the Five Ways, there are actually now six **with the later inclusion of SAA
**The fact that The Five Ways has six elements is evidence of evolu4on in ac4on
***Incorporated core ideas such as "center line" and single uid mo4on from Wing Chun and parrying from Epee Fencing****
****Not a Chinese Mar4al Art and hence evidence of "no limita4on as limita4on"
Lees approach s0ll needed a name

He named his approach
Jeet Kune Do - the way of
the intercepting fist - after
one of the practices taught in
his method
He was quick to point out that
it was just a name, a way of
communicating a set of
ideas. He was passionate
that practitioners shouldn't
get hung up on the name or
the inclusion of any one
move or action.
Jeet Kune Do
Having no
limita4on as
limita4on
Using no
way as way
Jeet Kune Do encourages development of a

uniquely personal style
"absorb that which is

useful
discard the remainder
a framework from
which to pick &
develop a personal
style
an evolutionary
approach where
adoption of
maneuvers is
learned &
reinforced by
training with an
opponent
Nothing was sacred
Training with an opponent provides the core

feedback loop to drive adapta0on
Lee pursued ever
more elaborate
approaches to
protected real
combat training
to enable the
closed loop
learning that was
core to the
evolutionary
nature of JKD
Kata are not adap0ve
In comparison with JKD, patterned styles of martial

arts taught with "kata" were open loop and not
adaptive. There is no learning from practicing kata
Mar0al Arts viewed through a Cynen* Lens

Complex
Jeet Kune
Do
Emergent
Prac4ces
Complicated
PaMerned
Styles
Good
Prac4ces
Chao4c
Simple
Novel Prac4ces
Individual
Best Prac4ce
Kata
*hJp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynen
Lees genius was recognizing hand-to-hand

combat is an unordered problem
Patterned styles are
perfectly good for
controlled circumstances
such as competition
Sporting combat is an
ordered domain problem
Street fighting is not orderly
and therefore emergent
practice is required
Unordered problem
required a new philosophy
Mo0va0on for the Kanban Method
Tradi0onal Change is an A to B process

Designed
Current
Process
Defined
transition
Future
Process
A is where you are now. B is a destination.

B is either defined (from a methodology definition)
or designed (by tailoring a framework or using a model
based approach such as VSM* or TOC TP**)
To get from A to B, a change agency*** will guide a

transition initiative to install B into the organization
* Value stream mapping, ** Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes
***either an internal process group or external consultants
Change ini0a0ves fail (even) more oSen than

projects
Change initiatives
often fail (aborted)
or produce lack
luster results
They fail to
institutionalize
resulting in
regression back to
old behavior
Daniel Kahneman has given us a simple model for

how we process informa0on
Learning from
theory
Learning by
Experience
SLOW
FAST
But fast to learn
But slow to learn
System 1
Sensory Percep0on
PaMern Matching
Daniel Kahneman
System 2
Logical Inference
Engine
How we process change

I logically evaluate
change using System 2

I adapt quickly
Silicon-based
life form
I feel change emo0onally

using System 1

I adapt slowly
Daniel Kahneman
Carbon-based
life form
Adop0ng new processes challenges people

psychologically & sociologically
New roles attack identity
New responsibilities using new
techniques & practices threaten
self-esteem & social status
Most people resist most change
because individually they have
more to lose than gain
It is safer to be conservative and
stick to current practices and
avoid shaking up the current
social hierarchy
Only the brave, the reckless
or the desperate will pursue
grand changes
The Kanban Method

Rejects the traditional
approach to change
Believes, it is better to avoid
resistance than to push
harder against it
Dont install new processes
Dont reorganize
Is designed for carbon-based

life forms
Evolutionary change that is
humane
The Kanban Method

Catalyzes improvement
through use of kanban
systems and visual boards*
Takes its name from the use
of kanban but it is just a name
Anyone who thinks Kanban is
just about kanban (boards &
systems) is truly mistaken
*also known as "kanban" in Chinese and in Japanese when wriJen with Chinese characters
The Kanban Method is a new approach to

improvement
Kanban is a

method

without methodology

Water ows around the rock
be like water
the rock represents resistance

The Kanban Method
Kanban should be like water*

In change
management,
resistance is from
the people involved
and it is always
emotional (system 1)
To flow around the
rock, we must learn
how to avoid
emotional resistance
* hJp://joecampbell.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/be-like-water/
Principles behind the Kanban Method

Start with what you do now
Agree to pursue evolutionary change
Initially, respect roles, responsibilities and job
titles
Encourage acts of leadership at all levels
The first 3 principles were specifically chosen to
address System 1 objections, to flow around the
rock of emotional resistance in humans
The Kanban Lens

Kanban asks us to view the world of work through a
new lens
Creative work is service-oriented
Service delivery involves workflow
Workflow involves a series of knowledge discovery
activities
Kanban would be less applicable if a serviceorientated view of work were difficult to conceive or
the work was sufficiently new that a definable series of
knowledge discovery activities had not emerged
6 Prac0ces Enable Process Evolu0on

The Kanban Method

Visualize
Limit Work-in-progress
Manage Flow
Make Policies Explicit
Implement Feedback Loops
Improve Collabora4vely, Evolve Experimentally
(using models & the scien4c method)
Start with what you do now

The Kanban Method evolved with the principle
that it should be like water - enable change
while avoiding sources of resistance
With Kanban you start with what you do now,
and "kanbanize" it, catalyzing the evolutionary
process into action. Changes to processes in
use will occur
Evaluating whether a change is truly an
improvement is done using fitness criteria
that evaluate an external outcome
Fitness Criteria
Fitness criteria are metrics that measure

observable external outcomes
Fitness criteria are metrics
that measure things
customers or other external
stakeholders value
Delivery time
Quality
Predictability
Safety (conformance to
regulatory requirements)
or metrics that value actual

outcomes such as
customer satisfaction
employee satisfaction
Net Promoter Score is a Fitness Evaluator

but is it the only metric we need?
Steve Denning has proposed
that Net Promoter Score
(NPS) is the only metric that
business should care about
NPS is interesting because
it is a fitness evaluator. It
will indicate whether a
business (or product) is likely
to survive & thrive
But is it the only metric we
need?
Steve Denning
Net Promoter Score is a way of evalua0ng

customer sa0sfac0on
In a general sense and at an abstract level NPS tells us whether

customers like what we offer but we cannot know what they truly
care about
For the abstract problem of, Can we measure customer
satisfaction? NPV is a reasonably good measure, if used properly
The problem with Net Promoter Score is that it

doesnt tell you what to do!
Net Promoter Score (if used properly) will tell
you whether your product or service is likely to
continue selling
However, it doesnt give you any clues about
what to do or how to improve
If NPS is your only metric youre left to randomly
experiment to generate a higher score
Like biological evolution, random mutation is
expensive, takes a long time & involves luck
Can we be smarter by using beMer tness criteria

than NPS?
If we have a service-oriented view of the world,
and want to evaluate service delivery then we
already know what customers care about
Lead time
Quality
Predictability
Safety (or conformance to regulatory reqs)
If we order a pizza we know what we care about

Fast delivery
lead time from order to
delivery
Accuracy and quality

Pepperoni not Hawaiian
Still warm on delivery
Predictable Delivery
If they say ready in 30
minutes, we want delivery in
25-35 minutes
If we need a medical procedure

Short waiting time
Queuing time from diagnosis to procedure
Short procedure & recovery time

Fast procedure, fast recovery time, implies minimally
invasive surgery and use of technology to reduce the craft
input and eliminate variability
Predictability of schedule & outcome

Procedure should proceed as scheduled
Outcome should have high probability of success
Safe
Low risk of complications
Regulatory health & safety procedures followed
Validate Fitness Criteria with real customers

It is necessary to keep checking that the fitness
criteria we are measuring do indeed matter to
customers
Variation in what matters to different customers
provides the opportunity to segment demand
and offer different classes of service within your
kanban system
e.g. Will you pay extra to have your pizza delivered
faster?
Which system is Mer?

System B Mean 12 days
System A Mean 17 days

30
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
25
20
15
Frequency
10
Frequency
5
0
5
10 15 20 25 30 40 45 55 65 More
Lead Time (Days)
10
15
20
25
30
More
Lead Time in Days
We dont know!
System B is faster but without understanding
customer expectations, both may be fit enough
Measuring delivery against expecta0on

System B Mean 12 days
System A Mean 17 days

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
System B is clearly Jer!

System B delivers 5/7 within expecta4ons
System A only delivers 3/7 within expecta4ons
30
25
20
15
Frequency
10
Frequency
5
0
10 15 20 25 30 40 45 55 65 More
10
15
Lead Time (Days)
20
25
30
More
Lead Time in Days
System B
System A
12
50
10
40
30
6
4
Frequency
20
Frequency
10
2
0
0
-25 -20 -5
10 20 30 35 40 More
-15 -10
Lead Time Expecta0on Spread (Days)
-5
10
15
20 More
Lead Time Expecta0on Spread (Days)
Business Risks, Fitness Criteria & Classes of

Service should all align
If your kanban system is designed properly the
classes of service you are offering should align
with the true business risks in the domain
And the metrics being used to evaluate system
capability, should be fitness criteria that are
derived from the business risk being managed
For example, cost of delay requires us to
measure lead time
Assessing tness to pursue a

short Shelf-Life strategy
Business Agility
Are our business

agility
High
& predictability fitShort
(days, weeks,
enough for our strategy?
Frequent Short Frequent
Replenishment
Lead Time
Delivery
months)
Seldom
Long
Seldom
Predictability
If we plan to pursue short shelf-life opportunities, we must

measure predictability, lead time, replenishment & delivery
Medium
frequency as fitness criteria.
Expectations are set based on
(months,
our chosen strategy to pursue short shelf-life opportunities
quarters,
1-2 years)
Long
Low
(years,
decades)
Kanban Copyright
system
dynamics
Lean Kanban Inc.
Evolu0onary change has no dened end point

Initial
Process
Evaluate
Fitness
Roll
back
Evaluate
Fitness
Roll
forward
We dont know the

end-point but we do
know our emergent
process is Mer!
Evaluate
Fitness
Evaluate
Fitness
Evaluate
Fitness
Evolving
Process
Future process is
emergent
Kanban viewed through a Cynen*

Lens
Multiple work
types
Kanban systems alone arent

enough in the unordered
domain
Multiple classes of service
Complex
Kanban
Method
Emergent
Prac4ces
Complicated
Deep
Kanban
Good Prac4ces
System
Single work type
Single class of service
Chao4c
Novel Prac4ces
*hJp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynen
Simple
Simple
Kanban
Best
Prac4ce
System
Enabling Evolu0onary Management
Ins0tu0onalize feedback systems to enable

evolu0onary change
Operations
Review
System
Capability
Review
Standup
Meeting
manager to subordinate(s)
(both 1-1 and 1-team)
Disintermediate!
Risks, tness criteria & classes of service should
be explicit & transparent
Operations
Review
Lead 4me
Quality
Predictability
Expose risk, classes of

service & tness criteria
at all 3 levels of
Lead 4me
Quality
feedback
Predictability
System
Capability
Review
manager to subordinate(s)
(both 1-1 and 1-team)
Standup
Meeting
Lead 4me
Quality
Predictability
Is there room for improvement?
Ready
For
Delivery Delivered
Pool
of
Ideas
Testing
Development
Committed
Flow
efficiency measures
the
3
percentage
of total lead time
3 is spent
Verification Acceptance
Ongoing
Done
actually adding value
(or knowledge)
versus waiting
Flow efficiency% = Work Time x 100%
F Flow efficiencies ofD1-5% are CP1

commonly reported*, **
PB
GY
Waiting
DE
Working
Lead Time
Multitasking means time spent in

Eworking columns is often waiting time
MN
AB
Waiting
Working
Lead Time
* Hakan Forss, Lean Kanban France, Oct 2013
** 2% reported by Zsolt Fabok, Lean Kanban France, Oct 2012
Waiting
Waiting
Other metrics should only be used as input to

models to drive improvement
Flow efficiency will help us
identify wasteful delay
Time blocked and blocker
clustering will help identify
wasteful delay from specific
assignable causes such as
vendor dependency
Metrics like this help us focus
improvement initiatives to
improve the fitness criteria
results e.g. removing delay
improves lead time
hJp://www.klausleopold.com/2013/09/blocker-clusters-problems-are-not.html
Know why you are using a metric!

Is your metric a fitness criteria that assesses
system capability and indicates fitness for
purpose and likelihood of surviving and thriving
by satisfying customers?
Or, is your metric evaluating and guiding a
specific change to improve fitness of the
system?
If neither, you dont need it!
Metrics guiding improvements should be
temporary & discarded when no longer needed
Comparing
Kanban with Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do is a framework for gh0ng

JKD contains a martial art
framework. It contains a core set of
principles based on an underlying
theory of fighting and vulnerability
of the human body: concepts such
as "center line" from Wing Chun,
for example.
Center line
Kanban is a framework for service-delivery

management
Kanban is a management method. It directly
addresses service delivery and evolutionary
change (management)
It creates a mechanism for framing operational
decisions such as
Risk (or Value) trumps Flow, Flow trumps Waste
Elimination
Use of pull systems and the consequent concept of
deferred commitment (real option theory)
Kanban may be analogous to JKD for Service

Delivery Management
Kanban provides a management framework for
evolving uniquely tailored workflows for
improved service delivery
Kanban embraces the idea of using no way as
way evolving your own style of service
delivery
Kanban embraces the idea of no limitation as
limitation by encouraging the use of models
from many domains to improve workflows and
service-delivery
More Evolu0onary Management
The Kanban Method makes a business Mer for

purpose
The Kanban Method enables a business to
improve its service delivery so that it is fitter for
purpose and more likely to survive & thrive
The Kanban Method enables an adaptive
capability within the organization so that it can
adapt to changing demands and other risks in
the external environment
Lean Startup is another evolu0onary approach
Build-Measure-Learn
Cycle
Lean Startup focuses on

validating assumptions about
the fitness for purpose of a
product or service offering
It does this by engaging the
enemy directly using
techniques to create safe-tofail experiments
For example, Fake a
Feature
Lean Startup makes a product or service Mer for

purpose
By use of techniques that validate assumptions
early and quickly, Lean Startup enables a
product or service offering to evolve quickly
In doing so the product or service becomes fitter
for purpose and is more likely to survive and
thrive
Like Kanban, Lean Startup is a Pragma9c

approach
Lean Startup suggests that you dont speculate
about the future behavior of people, rather you
set up experimental situations and observe what
they actually do
In this respect, Lean Startup is like behavioral
economics applied to product or service design
Like Lees philosophy in JKD, it engages the
opponent (uncertainty) directly
Businesses need to do both be adaptable and

adapt their products
Adaptive capability enables a business to insure
it is doing things right and continuing to do them
well in the face of a changing external
environment
Adaptive product or service design enables a
business to insure it is doing the right thing and
continuing to offer the right things to a fickle and
evolving market
Together Kanban & Lean Startup bring the

philosophy of JKD to modern crea0ve
knowledge work industries
Dont adopt a methodology or patterned style
Engage the opponent (uncertainty & risk) directly
in a safe environment
Learn from fast feedback
Adapt a unique product, service or method of
service delivery that is fitter-for-purpose
Conclusion
The future of crea0ve knowledge work should be

inspired by Bruce Lee & JKD
Our opponents are uncertainty & risk.
Engage directly
Visualize & make them explicit throughout
the workflow & at all 3 levels of reporting
Teach beginners to set up safe-to-fail,
learning environments at the individual,
workflow & business unit levels
Evolutionary methods are required to help
us manage in complex environments
If humans are involved the environment is
Train
with live opponents
complex
Fitness-for-purpose
& sustainability come
No
k
ata
from developing strong adaptive capability
No "dry land swimming
Thank you!
About
[Replace with personal bio]

David Anderson is a thought leader
in managing effective software
teams. He leads a training,
consulting, publishing and event
planning business dedicated to
developing, promoting and
implementing sustainable
evolutionary
He has 30 years experience in the high technology industry starting
with computer games in the early 1980s. He has led software teams
delivering superior productivity and quality using innovative agile
methods at large companies such as Sprint and Motorola.
David is the pioneer of the Kanban Method an agile and evolutionary
approach to change. His latest book, published in June 2012, is,
Lessons in Agile Management On the Road to Kanban.
David is a founder of the Lean Kanban Inc., a business dedicated to
assuring quality of training in Lean and Kanban for knowledge workers
throughout the world.
Acknowledgements
Joe Cooper first blogged about the similarity in philosophy between the Kanban Method and
the teachings of Bruce Lee. He coined the phrase Kanban should be like water.
The data on slides 45 & 46 was provided by Raymond Keating of CME Group.
This presentation was inspired by Alistair Cockburns blog post The End of
Methodology. My approach to change was influenced by an observation from Peter
Senge, People do not resist change, they resist being changed! Safe-to-fail Experiment
is a term used by Dave Snowden in his Cynefin framework. Steve Denning proposed NPS
as the only metric that matters in his book, Radical Management.

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Kanban

and evolu0onary management

Lessons we can learn

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Bruce Lees Journey in Mar0al Arts

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Bruce Lee rejected tradi0onal teaching and styles

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Kung Fu Panda simplied the art to only four

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

There are in fact very many styles

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Dry land swimming provides a false sense of

The only way to learn is to train with a live opponent

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Lee wanted to start from rst principles and core

Four ranges of combat

Five* Ways of AJack***

Single Direct AJack (SDA)

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Lees approach s0ll needed a name

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Jeet Kune Do encourages development of a

"absorb that which is

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Training with an opponent provides the core

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Kata are not adap0ve

In comparison with JKD, patterned styles of martial

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Mar0al Arts viewed through a Cynen* Lens

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Lees genius was recognizing hand-to-hand

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Mo0va0on for the Kanban Method

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Tradi0onal Change is an A to B process

A is where you are now. B is a destination.

To get from A to B, a change agency*** will guide a

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Change ini0a0ves fail (even) more oSen than

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Daniel Kahneman has given us a simple model for

But fast to learn

But slow to learn

How we process change

I feel change emo0onally

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Adop0ng new processes challenges people

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

The Kanban Method

Is designed for carbon-based

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

The Kanban Method

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

The Kanban Method is a new approach to

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Water ows around the rock

the rock represents resistance

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

The Kanban Method

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.

Kanban should be like water*

Copyright Lean Kanban Inc.