The Kanban Guide describes Kanban as a strategy for optimising the flow of value through a process. The team defines its workflow and makes it visible, usually as a board with columns such as To do, Doing and Done. Each work item is a card that moves from left to right.
The central tool is the WIP limit (work in progress). It caps how many items may be in progress at the same time. New work only starts when capacity becomes available. The guide names four flow metrics for managing the system: WIP, throughput, work item age and cycle time.
Unlike Scrum, Kanban has no Sprints and no fixed roles. This makes it a good fit for teams with a continuous stream of requests, for example in support, marketing or administration. Our guide Kanban vs Scrum compares both methods. Many tools in our project management software comparison offer Kanban boards.