Simple Kanban Board: Visual Workflow Management for Agile Teams

A Simple Kanban board provides teams with an intuitive visual system to track tasks through different stages of completion. This lightweight alternative to complex project management tools helps dev teams maintain clarity on work status, limit work-in-progress, and identify bottlenecks quickly.

What Is a Simple Kanban Board?

Kanban (meaning "visual signal" in Japanese) originated in Toyota's manufacturing system and has been widely adopted by software development teams as part of agile methodologies. This Simple Kanban template features four essential columns:

  1. Backlog - All planned work items awaiting prioritization
  2. Todo - Prioritized tasks ready to be worked on
  3. In Progress - Tasks currently being worked on
  4. Done - Completed tasks

Each task is represented by a card (digital sticky note) that moves through these columns from left to right as work progresses, creating a visual flow of work across your team.

Benefits & When to Use

This Simple Kanban board is particularly valuable when:

  • You need a quick visualization of your team's current workload
  • You want to limit work-in-progress to prevent context switching
  • Your team needs to quickly identify bottlenecks in your workflow
  • You're looking for a lightweight system without the overhead of complex tools
  • You want to improve team transparency about who's working on what

Development teams often use Kanban boards during sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and for ongoing task management between formal ceremonies.

How to Run a Simple Kanban Session

  1. Initial Setup (10 minutes)

    • Review the four columns: Backlog, Todo, In Progress, and Done
    • Establish any work-in-progress (WIP) limits for each column
    • Clarify what "Done" means for your team

  2. Populate the Backlog (15-20 minutes)

    • Add all potential work items to the Backlog column
    • Use one sticky note per task
    • Include enough detail for the team to understand the scope

  3. Prioritize and Move to Todo (10 minutes)

    • Drag the highest priority items from Backlog to Todo
    • Position items within the Todo column with highest priority tasks at the top

  4. Assign and Start Work (5 minutes)

    • Team members select tasks from Todo and move them to In Progress
    • Optionally add initials or avatars to cards to show ownership

  5. Daily Management (5-10 minutes daily)

    • During daily stand-ups, update card positions based on progress
    • Move completed tasks to Done
    • Identify any blockers or bottlenecks
    • Pull new tasks from Todo as capacity allows

  6. Review and Reflect (10 minutes weekly)

    • Analyze flow efficiency and cycle time
    • Clear the Done column or archive completed items
    • Reprioritize the Backlog and Todo columns

Tips for a Successful Kanban Session

  • Keep cards simple - Include just enough information to understand the task
  • Respect WIP limits - The ideal number of items in "In Progress" is typically 1-2 per team member
  • Update regularly - Kanban works best when the board reflects the current reality
  • Make blockers visible - Use color coding or flags to highlight blocked tasks
  • Add swim lanes - For larger teams, consider adding horizontal swim lanes to organize work by feature or team member
  • Focus on flow - The goal isn't just task completion but smooth, predictable movement of work through the system
  • Start with fewer columns - Only add more columns (like "Testing" or "Review") when absolutely necessary

A Simple Kanban board works exceptionally well for remote teams as it provides a shared visual reference that everyone can access and update in real-time through Metro Retro's collaborative interface.

Use this template