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KMP: Kanban System Design: Building a System That Fits Your Work

KMP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Kanban System Design: Building a System That Fits Your Work

Kanban System Design asks you to design a kanban system around the work, not around an org chart. The exam tests whether you can start from the current state, model the workflow, make policies explicit, set WIP limits, define classes of service, and choose metrics and cadences that fit demand and capability.

Design from the current system

A kanban system is more than a board: it includes work item types, commitment and delivery points, explicit policies, WIP limits, pull signals, feedback cadences, and measures. Use STATIK: understand purpose and sources of dissatisfaction; analyze demand and capability; model the workflow; discover classes of service; design the system; socialize it; run a small experiment. Visualize the real value stream, including waits and handoffs. Lead time starts at the commitment point, not when someone first has an idea.

Rules that shape the design

  • Limit WIP at the system and column level; limits create pull and expose bottlenecks.
  • Make policies explicit: definition of ready/done, entry/exit criteria, expedite rules, blocker handling.
  • Use classes of service to manage risk and cost of delay, not to label people.
  • Choose cadences for replenishment, standup, delivery review, and risk review.
  • Measure lead time, throughput, WIP, and flow efficiency against the system's purpose.

Worked example

A team has 6 items in progress and delivers 2 per week, so average lead time is 6 ÷ 2 = 3 weeks. Demand is 3 per week, so WIP will grow unless intake is controlled. The team sets a total WIP limit of 4 and a replenishment cadence. Expected lead time becomes 4 ÷ 2 = 2 weeks, while new work waits in the ready queue. The reasoning is Little's Law: average WIP = throughput × lead time. The limit does not create capacity; it protects flow and makes waiting visible.

Traps

Designing columns by role, setting WIP limits equal to headcount, treating classes of service as priorities, omitting policies, and measuring lead time from the backlog. Copying a board without demand/capability analysis also loses marks.