So, what is Kanban?
Kanban (which means signboard or billboard) is a scheduling system for lean manufacturing. (also known as just-in-time manufacturing (JIT). This technique was developed by an industrial engineer at Toyota, named Taiichi Ohno, with the objective to improve manufacturing efficiency.
In this system, demand is the driver. In a manufacturing situation, requiring the maintenance of an inventory of parts, an important trigger for action is an empty storage box (i.e. that particular part is no-longer in stock and do action is required (demand) to order supply to replenish the inventory, so that the manufacturing process will not be disrupted or halted.
Kanban Board
A Kanban Board with Columns or areas to represent the progress of components of a project
There can be variations in the design of a Kanban board depending on the individual project environment, however the above picture of a simple board conveys the principle involved.