Kanban & Unplanned Work: A Practical Guide

Aug 3, 2025 by Rajiv Sharma 43 views

Hey guys! So, you've made the switch from Scrum to Kanban, huh? I totally get it. Those pesky external initiatives can really throw a wrench in your Scrum plans. Day-to-day planning sounds like a smart move, but how do you handle those unexpected tasks that pop up out of nowhere? Let's dive into how to keep your Kanban flow smooth even when the unplanned work hits the fan.

Understanding the Kanban Approach to Unplanned Work

In the Kanban world, managing unplanned work is all about flexibility and transparency. Unlike Scrum, which operates in fixed sprints, Kanban is a continuous flow system. This means you can adapt to changes more readily. But let's be real, even in Kanban, unplanned work can feel like a chaotic storm if you don't have a strategy.

Kanban's Core Principles and Unplanned Work

First, let's quickly recap some Kanban principles that are super relevant here:

Visualize the workflow: A Kanban board helps you see all the work items, their stages, and any bottlenecks. This visibility is crucial for spotting the impact of unplanned work.
Limit Work in Progress (WIP): This is a big one. By setting limits on how many tasks are in progress at each stage, you prevent your team from getting overloaded. WIP limits force you to prioritize and make tough choices about what gets done and when, especially when unplanned work shows up.
Manage flow: Kanban is all about keeping work flowing smoothly. Unplanned work can disrupt that flow, so you need strategies to minimize interruptions and delays.
Make process policies explicit: Documenting how you handle different types of work (planned and unplanned) ensures everyone is on the same page.
Implement feedback loops: Regular meetings and reviews help you identify patterns, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement in your process. This is where you can tweak your approach to unplanned work based on real-world experiences.
Improve collaboratively, evolve experimentally: Kanban is about continuous improvement. Don't be afraid to try new things and adjust your process based on what works best for your team.

The Impact of Unplanned Work

Unplanned work can come in many forms: urgent bug fixes, critical client requests, or sudden changes in priorities. When these tasks aren't handled properly, they can lead to:

Context switching: Jumping between tasks kills productivity. Every time someone switches gears, it takes time to get back into the flow.
Delays: Unplanned work can push planned tasks to the back burner, leading to missed deadlines and frustrated stakeholders.
Reduced quality: When the team is stressed and rushing, the quality of work can suffer.
Team burnout: Constantly reacting to urgent requests can be exhausting and demotivating.

So, how do we tame this beast called unplanned work? Let's get practical.

Strategies for Handling Unplanned Work in Kanban

Okay, guys, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Here are some battle-tested strategies to handle unplanned work without derailing your Kanban flow.

1. Class of Service (CoS)

Class of Service is your secret weapon for prioritizing different types of work. Think of it as creating express lanes on your Kanban board. By categorizing work based on urgency and impact, you can ensure the most critical items get attention first.

Common Classes of Service include:

Expedite: This is the highest priority, reserved for emergencies or critical issues that need immediate attention. Think “the website is down!” level urgency. Expedite tasks jump the queue and take precedence over everything else.
Fixed Delivery Date: Tasks with hard deadlines, like regulatory compliance or a promised feature release. These need to be started in time to meet the deadline.
Standard: Regular tasks that are important but don't have the same time sensitivity as Expedite or Fixed Delivery Date.
Intangible/Date Optional: Lower priority tasks, like internal improvements or research, that don't have a strict deadline. These can be deferred if necessary.

How to implement CoS:

Define your Classes of Service: Work with your team to determine the categories that make sense for your work. Don't go overboard – 3-4 CoS are usually enough.
Visualize them on your board: Use different colored cards or labels to represent each CoS. This makes it easy to see at a glance what needs attention.
Set policies for each CoS: Define how tasks in each CoS will be handled. For example, Expedite tasks might have a dedicated resource or a shorter WIP limit.
Train your team: Make sure everyone understands the CoS and how to apply them.

When unplanned work arrives, the first step is to assign it to the appropriate CoS. This helps you determine its priority and how it should be handled within your workflow.

2. Dedicated Buffer or Slack Time

Think of this as creating a safety net in your schedule. A dedicated buffer or slack time is a block of time set aside specifically for handling unplanned work. This allows your team to address urgent issues without completely disrupting their planned tasks.

How to implement a buffer:

Allocate a percentage of time: Decide what percentage of your team's capacity should be reserved for unplanned work. A common range is 10-20%.
Block out time in your schedule: This could be a few hours each day, or a whole day each week.
Use it wisely: The buffer should only be used for truly unplanned work. Don't let it become a dumping ground for poorly planned tasks.
Monitor and adjust: Track how often you use the buffer and adjust the allocation as needed.

If unplanned work doesn't materialize, the buffer time can be used for other activities, such as:

Refinement: Grooming the backlog and preparing for future work.
Learning: Training, workshops, or exploring new technologies.
Process improvement: Identifying and addressing bottlenecks in your workflow.

3. Prioritization Techniques

When unplanned work arrives, you need a system for deciding what to do and when. Prioritization techniques help you make informed decisions based on value, risk, and urgency.

Some popular prioritization methods include:

Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF): This method considers the cost of delay, job size, and value to prioritize tasks. It's particularly useful for projects with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
Cost of Delay (CoD): CoD focuses on the financial impact of delaying a task. It helps you quantify the cost of waiting, making it easier to compare different options.
MoSCoW: This technique categorizes tasks into Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have. It's a simple and effective way to identify the most critical items.
Impact/Effort Matrix: This matrix plots tasks based on their potential impact and the effort required to complete them. It helps you identify quick wins and avoid low-value, high-effort tasks.

How to use prioritization techniques:

Choose a method: Select a technique that fits your team's needs and the complexity of your work.
Involve the team: Prioritization should be a collaborative process. Get input from team members, stakeholders, and customers.
Regularly review priorities: Priorities can change, so make sure to revisit them regularly.

4. Limit WIP for Each Class of Service

We talked about WIP limits earlier, but let's dive into how they relate to unplanned work. Just like you set overall WIP limits, you can also set WIP limits for each Class of Service. This helps prevent high-priority tasks from getting stuck behind a wall of standard work.

How to implement CoS-specific WIP limits:

Start with a baseline: Look at your current workflow and identify how many tasks are typically in progress for each CoS.
Set limits: Based on your baseline, set WIP limits for each CoS. Expedite tasks might have a WIP limit of 1, while standard tasks might have a higher limit.
Enforce the limits: When a CoS reaches its WIP limit, no new tasks can be pulled into that category until one is completed.
Adjust as needed: Monitor your WIP limits and adjust them based on your team's performance and the flow of work.

By limiting WIP for each CoS, you ensure that high-priority unplanned work can flow through the system quickly, without being blocked by lower-priority items.

5. Make Policies Explicit and Transparent

This is a crucial step that often gets overlooked. Documenting your policies for handling unplanned work creates clarity and consistency. When everyone knows the rules, there's less confusion and debate when unexpected tasks arrive.

What policies should you document?

Definitions of each Class of Service: What criteria are used to classify a task as Expedite, Fixed Delivery Date, etc.?
Process for handling Expedite tasks: Who needs to be notified? What steps need to be taken? How quickly should it be addressed?
Prioritization process: Which techniques will you use? Who is involved in the decision-making?
WIP limits: What are the WIP limits for each CoS? How are they enforced?
Communication protocols: How will the team communicate about unplanned work? Who is responsible for updating the Kanban board?

How to make policies transparent:

Document them in a central location: Use a wiki, shared document, or team knowledge base.
Make them visible on the Kanban board: You can add a section on your board that outlines the policies.
Regularly review and update them: Policies should evolve as your team and process mature.
Communicate changes: Make sure everyone is aware of any updates to the policies.

6. Feedback Loops and Continuous Improvement

Kanban is all about continuous improvement. Regular feedback loops help you identify what's working, what's not, and where you can make adjustments to your process for handling unplanned work.

Key feedback loops to implement:

Daily Stand-ups: A quick daily meeting where the team discusses progress, identifies roadblocks, and plans for the day. This is a good time to flag any unplanned work that has come in.
Replenishment Meetings: Regular meetings to review the backlog, prioritize tasks, and pull new work into the system. This is where you can discuss how to incorporate unplanned work into the plan.
Service Delivery Review: A review of the overall service delivery, including metrics like cycle time, throughput, and customer satisfaction. This helps you identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
Operations Review: A review of the Kanban system itself, including policies, processes, and WIP limits. This is where you can make adjustments based on feedback and data.
Retrospectives: Regular meetings for the team to reflect on their work, identify areas for improvement, and plan action items. This is a great forum for discussing how unplanned work was handled and what could be done better in the future.

How to use feedback for improvement:

Collect data: Track metrics like cycle time, throughput, and the number of unplanned tasks. This data will help you identify trends and patterns.
Analyze the data: Look for bottlenecks, areas of inefficiency, and recurring issues.
Experiment with changes: Don't be afraid to try new things. Implement small changes and see how they impact your workflow.
Measure the results: Track the impact of your changes and make further adjustments as needed.

Real-World Examples and Scenarios

Let's walk through a few scenarios to illustrate how these strategies can be applied in practice.

Scenario 1: Urgent Bug Fix

The website is throwing errors, and users can't complete transactions. This is a critical issue that needs immediate attention.

How to handle it:

Class of Service: Assign it to the Expedite CoS.
Notification: Notify the on-call engineer and the product owner.
Prioritization: Expedite tasks jump the queue. The team stops working on current tasks to focus on fixing the bug.
WIP Limit: Since Expedite has a WIP limit of 1, no other Expedite tasks can be started until this one is resolved.
Communication: Keep stakeholders informed of the progress and estimated time to resolution.

Scenario 2: High-Priority Client Request

A key client has requested a new feature by the end of the month. This is a Fixed Delivery Date item, but it's not an emergency.

How to handle it:

Class of Service: Assign it to the Fixed Delivery Date CoS.
Prioritization: Use a prioritization technique (like WSJF or CoD) to determine its priority compared to other tasks with deadlines.
Capacity Planning: Assess the team's capacity and determine if the feature can be delivered by the deadline without jeopardizing other commitments.
WIP Limit: Ensure the Fixed Delivery Date CoS has sufficient WIP capacity.
Communication: Communicate the timeline and any potential trade-offs to the client.

Scenario 3: Internal Improvement Task

The team has identified a process improvement that could save time and reduce errors. This is an Intangible/Date Optional task.

How to handle it:

Class of Service: Assign it to the Intangible/Date Optional CoS.
Prioritization: Use an Impact/Effort Matrix to assess its value and effort.
Buffer Time: If there's available buffer time, the team can work on this task. Otherwise, it can be added to the backlog for future consideration.
WIP Limit: Ensure the Intangible/Date Optional CoS doesn't block higher-priority work.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Alright, guys, let's talk about some common mistakes people make when handling unplanned work in Kanban and how to steer clear of them.

1. Treating Everything as Expedite

This is a classic trap. When everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. If you overuse the Expedite CoS, it loses its effectiveness, and your team will be constantly in firefighting mode.

How to avoid it:

Clearly define the criteria for Expedite: Make sure everyone understands what qualifies as an emergency.
Enforce the WIP limit: Stick to the WIP limit for Expedite tasks. If the limit is reached, other tasks need to wait.
Challenge requests: Don't be afraid to push back on requests that are labeled as Expedite but don't truly meet the criteria.

2. Neglecting the Backlog

Unplanned work can easily push planned tasks to the bottom of the priority list. If you neglect your backlog, you'll miss opportunities to deliver value and might end up working on low-priority items.

How to avoid it:

Regularly groom the backlog: Dedicate time to review and prioritize backlog items.
Use prioritization techniques: Ensure backlog items are prioritized based on value, risk, and urgency.
Don't let unplanned work completely consume your capacity: Allocate time for planned work as well.

3. Ignoring WIP Limits

WIP limits are crucial for managing flow and preventing overload. If you ignore WIP limits, you'll create bottlenecks and your team will be stressed and unproductive.

How to avoid it:

Make WIP limits visible: Display them prominently on your Kanban board.
Enforce the limits: When a WIP limit is reached, stop pulling new work into that stage.
Adjust limits as needed: Monitor your workflow and adjust WIP limits based on your team's performance.

4. Lack of Communication

When unplanned work arrives, communication is key. If the team isn't communicating effectively, tasks can fall through the cracks, and stakeholders can be left in the dark.

How to avoid it:

Establish clear communication channels: Use daily stand-ups, team chats, and project management tools to keep everyone informed.
Communicate about changes in priorities: Let stakeholders know if unplanned work is impacting planned tasks.
Be transparent about progress: Regularly update the Kanban board and communicate the status of tasks.

5. Forgetting to Learn and Adapt

Kanban is all about continuous improvement. If you're not reflecting on your process and making adjustments, you're missing out on opportunities to optimize your workflow.

How to avoid it:

Hold regular retrospectives: Discuss what's working, what's not, and what you can do better.
Collect data: Track metrics like cycle time, throughput, and the number of unplanned tasks.
Experiment with changes: Try new techniques and see how they impact your workflow.

Conclusion

So, there you have it, guys! Handling unplanned work in Kanban is all about being flexible, transparent, and proactive. By implementing Classes of Service, setting WIP limits, using prioritization techniques, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you can keep your Kanban flow smooth even when the unexpected happens. Remember, Kanban is a journey, not a destination. Keep experimenting, keep learning, and keep adapting your process to meet your team's needs. You've got this!