My keynote at AgileJaipur on how we can learn a lot from traffic management and draw parallels with kanban-based software development

1. From Commonsense,
Physics and Maths
to Kanban
Tathagat Varma
http://thoughtleadership.in

2. World’s Worst Traffic Jam,
Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Highway, 6-Oct-2015

3. Why did it happen?
• New checkpoint merged 50-lane
highway to 20 lanes, thereby
creating a bottleneck

4. https://i.imgur.com/99KvQhf.jpg
mgur.com/99KvQhf.jpg

5. w.autoblog.com/2011/03/05/the-science-behind-traffic-jams-infographic/

7. https://youtu.be/Suugn-p5C1M

8. http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/11/12/traffic-waves/

9. http://nextshark.com/why-traffic-jams-happen/

14. Let’s consider software
Incoming OutgoingAction

15. Scenario A:
Incoming < Outgoing
Incoming
5/hour
Outgoing
5/hour
Action
10/hour

16. Scenario B:
Incoming = Outgoing
Incoming
10/hour
Outgoing
10/hour
Action
10/hour

17. Scenario C:
Incoming > Outgoing
Incoming
20/hour
Outgoing
10/hour
Action
10/hour

18. Scenario D:
Mixed priority incoming
Incoming
URGENT: 2/hour
NORMAL: 8/hour
LOW: 10/hour

19. Scenario E:
Random arrival times
Incoming
5/hour…..10/hour…..8/hour…..20/hour…..13/hour…..

20. Real Life:
A + B + C + D + E +…

21. Scrum Task Board

22. Challenges…
• No congestion-control
• No priority-handling
• High(er) Work-in-Progress

23. Kanban System

24. Kanban Board

25. Lean Kanban
• Visualize the workflow
• Limit Work-in-Progress
• Measure and Manage Flow
• Make Process Policies Explicit
• Evaluate improvement opportunities

26. A sample workflow

27. Limit the WIP!

28. Measure the flow

29. Swim lanes

30. Prioritisation based on
Class of Service

31. Benefits of Kanban
• Congestion control: Continuous flow
• Inventory control: Prevents overproduction
• Better visibility: Visualisation of work flow
• Higher adaptability: Priority-based scheduling

32. References
• This insane Beijing traffic jam will make you thankful for your commute, http://mashable.com/
2015/10/07/insane-beijing-traffic-jam/#37uMD44tkkq4
• Here’s the Physics Behind That Insane Chinese Traffic Jam, http://gizmodo.com/heres-the-
physics-behind-that-insane-chinese-traffic-ja-1735638335
• What are Traffic Waves and Why Do They Happen So Much?, http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/
2013/11/12/traffic-waves/
• A Mathematician has the Perfect Explanation for Why Traffic Jams Happen, http://
nextshark.com/why-traffic-jams-happen/
• Solving the Traffic Congestion Problem, http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba773
• Kanban Highway: The Least Popular Mario Kart Course, https://danslimmon.wordpress.com/
2015/06/05/kanban-highway-the-least-popular-mario-kart-course/
• What is a Kanban Board, http://www.swiftkanban.com/kanban/what-is-a-kanban-board/
• Kanban Reference Card, DZone