What are the key differences in using Kanban for Software Development versus IT Operations?

All answers to this question.

While the principles remain the same, the implementation definitely differs. For Ops, you need a dedicated "Expedite" or "Fast Track" swimlane for P1 incidents that bypasses standard WIP limits. However, for Dev, an expedite lane should be extremely rare. In Ops, your "Classes of Service" are more critical because you are balancing planned maintenance with unplanned outages. I recommend using different board layouts: Dev boards should focus on the "Value Stream" stages, while Ops boards should emphasize "Ticket Type" and "SLA Urgency" to ensure nothing is missed.

   Answered 2024-07-14 by Patricia Moore

How do you handle the "hidden work" in Ops? Often, SysAdmins do small tasks that never make it to the board, which makes the WIP limits feel inaccurate and frustrating for the team.

   Answered 2024-07-18 by Thomas Wright

• Thomas, we made a "No ticket, no work" policy to solve this. Even if it’s a 5-minute task, it gets a card. This revealed that our Ops team was spending 40% of their time on unrecorded requests. Now that the work is visible, management finally understands why the "planned" projects were taking so long to complete.

     Commented 2024-07-21 by Michael Scott

Don't unify them too strictly. Let each team design a board that reflects their actual daily reality. Forcing a Dev board onto an Ops team usually leads to a lack of adoption.

   Answered 2024-07-24 by Barbara Taylor

• Absolutely, Barbara. Kanban is about "starting where you are." If the board doesn't reflect the team's actual pain points, they will stop updating it within a month.

     Commented 2024-07-26 by Sarah Jenkins