Simulate kanban board workflows with columns, card movement, and WIP limits. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Diagrams & Workflows collection.
Use Cases
Model a software development kanban workflow to understand how WIP limits affect throughput.
Simulate a support ticket board with SLA-based prioritization and escalation lanes.
Practice kanban board design before rolling out a new workflow to a team.
Demonstrate Little's Law (Throughput = WIP / Cycle Time) interactively with a simulated board.
Tips
Set WIP (work-in-progress) limits per column to surface bottlenecks — if a column consistently hits its limit, that's where your workflow is constrained.
Use swim lanes to separate work by team, priority, or type within the same board without creating a separate board.
Track cycle time (time a card spends in progress) alongside WIP to identify which card types take disproportionate effort.
Fun Facts
Kanban originated in Toyota's production system in the 1940s, developed by Taiichi Ohno. The word means 'visual card' or 'signboard' in Japanese — physical cards were used to signal production authorization.
Software kanban was first introduced by David Anderson in 2007 at Corbis (a Microsoft subsidiary), adapting the physical manufacturing method for knowledge work and software development.
Research published in 2019 found that teams using explicit WIP limits resolve bottlenecks 34% faster than teams with unlimited WIP, because constraint visibility forces prioritization decisions.
FAQ
What's a WIP limit and why does it matter?
A WIP limit caps the number of cards allowed in a column at one time. Hitting the limit forces the team to finish existing work before starting new work — preventing the accumulation of half-done tasks.
How is kanban different from scrum?
Scrum uses fixed-length sprints and role definitions (Scrum Master, Product Owner). Kanban is continuous flow with no sprints — work enters and exits based on capacity, not sprint planning cycles.
Does it support cycle time tracking?
Yes — cards show the time spent in each column. Aggregate cycle time statistics (P50, P90) are shown per card type to identify outliers and predict future delivery times.
