Kanban Guides

The Kanban Guide

The Kanban Guide is a practical, community-curated reference for using Kanban in knowledge work.

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Version 2025.5

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Translations

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History

Explore the evolution and development history of this guide.

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Guide Overview

Key characteristics of this guide

Purpose

Minimal, official reference

Ethos

Focused, stable, canonical

Audience

Kanban system members wanting a clear baseline

Use Case

What is Kanban at its core?

Content

Clear, lightweight, and essential

Update Model

Periodic, curated

When to Use This Guide

Choose the right approach for your context

Quick Decision Guide

Choose The Kanban Guide if you’re new to Kanban or need a stable, minimal reference. It’s ideal for Kanban system members who want to start simple and build understanding.
Getting Started
The Kanban Guide is a short and clear handbook that explains how to use Kanban to manage work. It helps Kanban system members visualise what they’re working on, avoid multitasking, and deliver more reliably. It’s written to be easy to follow, with just the essentials. Perfect for any team that wants a simple way to organise work and improve flow.
For Practitioners
The Kanban Guide is the official, succinct manual for Kanban in knowledge work. It outlines Kanban as a strategy for optimising the flow of value through a process, using three core practices: visualising workflow, actively managing work items, and continuously improving the workflow. It defines a minimal set of required elements and flow metrics. This guide is ideal for establishing a shared understanding of Kanban fundamentals in teams or organisations, especially where simplicity, stability, and clarity are essential.

Current Information

Version details and community contributors

Current Version

2025.5

Updated May 1, 2025

This is the current active version of the guide.

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Contributors

Community members who shape this guide

John Coleman John Coleman Daniel Vacanti Daniel Vacanti Colleen Johnson Prateek Singh Julia Wester Julia Wester Christian Neverdal Christian Neverdal Magdalena Firlit Magdalena Firlit Tom Gilb Tom Gilb Steve Tendon Yuval Yeret Yuval Yeret Steve Porter Steve Porter Emily Coleman Ryan Ripley Ryan Ripley Todd Miller Todd Miller Jose Casal Jose Casal Jean-Paul Bayley Dave West Dave West Eric Naiburg Eric Naiburg Deborah Zanke

Thank you to all contributors who help make this guide better.

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Version History

Previous versions and their evolution

Kanban Guide (December 2020)
Dec 2020

This document aims to be a unifying reference for the community by offering the minimal guidance for Kanban. Depending on the context, various approaches can complement Kanban, allowing it to accommodate the full spectrum of value delivery and organizational challenges.

John Coleman Daniel Vacanti Colleen Johnson Prateek Singh Julia Wester Christian Neverdal Magdalena Firlit Tom Gilb Steve Tendon Yuval Yeret Steve Porter Emily Coleman Ryan Ripley Todd Miller Jose Casal Jean-Paul Bayley Dave West Eric Naiburg Deborah Zanke
Available Languages:
English
PDF Downloads:
Catalan Czech English Spanish French Japanese Marathi Portuguese (Brazil) Romanian Russian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Italian
Historical Version - December 1, 2020
View Archive
Kanban Guide (July 2020)
Jul 2020

This document aims to be a unifying reference for the community by offering the minimal guidance for Kanban. Depending on the context, various approaches can complement Kanban, allowing it to accommodate the full spectrum of value delivery and organizational challenges.

John Coleman Daniel Vacanti Colleen Johnson Julia Wester Yuval Yeret Steve Porter Emily Coleman Ryan Ripley Todd Miller Jose Casal Jean-Paul Bayley Dave West Eric Naiburg Deborah Zanke
Available Languages:
English
PDF Downloads:
English
Historical Version - July 1, 2020
View Archive

What is this Guide?

The Kanban Guide is a practical, community-curated reference for using Kanban in knowledge work. It defines the essential practices, measures, and language for designing, running, and improving Kanban systems.

Open Source & Community Driven

The Open Guide to Kanban is an open source project that thrives on community collaboration. Whether you want to suggest improvements, report issues, or contribute content, we welcome your participation. The Kanban Guide is not open to contributions here, but is included here for reference. Together, we can make these resources even more valuable for the Kanban community worldwide and anyone wishing to improve the flow of value (potential and actual realized value).

License

This work is licensed by Orderly Disruption Limited and Daniel S. Vacanti, Inc. under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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