Harm No. 1 of Kanban Column WIP Limits: They Hide the Real Constraint

Column WIP Limits are harmful!
1 minute read

Column WIP limits…

hide the real constraint. They might signal that one column is having problems, despite the fact that in reality another column is still the real constraint.

“Fixes” will be introduced to “remove” the “constraint” on the “bothering” column.

This does not make any sense once you realize that improving a non-constraint does not deliver any overall system improvement at all.

Quoted from: Tame the Flow.

Published : September 30, 2013
Share this article at :
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn