Continuous Improvement

Photo of Sohrab Salimi
Sohrab Salimi
1 min. reading time

Definition of Continuous Improvement:

Continuous Improvement is a process of improving quality and efficiency through many small incremental changes. In Kanban, Continuous Improvement refers specifically to the process of improving the flow of work and reducing the cycle time, resulting in an increase in productivity.

Synonymous with continuous improvement:

Kaizen

Use of Continuous Improvement:

Continuous improvement is used to incorporate improvements into the work process on an incremental basis and includes the following steps:

  1. Identification
  2. Planning
  3. Implementation
  4. Review

Especially in Kanban, there are no fixed deadlines so the team can focus on the work in progress. By having team members tackle problems and think about new ideas together, the process becomes more efficient and streamlined, cycles become shorter, and workflows are improved. In Kanban, teams do not have to be interdisciplinary.

Benefits of Continuous Improvement:

  • Improved productivity and delivery.
  • More accurate predictions in terms of future work and delivery.
  • Lean workflows and less waste.
  • Improvements are implemented incrementally.
  • Sense of pride and accomplishment among team members is enhanced.

Related articles

How to create great working agreements using the Working Agreement Canvas

Learn to create effective working agreements with the Working Agreement Canvas by Agile Academy. Improve team collaboration in Agile projects.

Velocity in Scrum – Definition and how you can calculate it

The Velocity is a Scrum metric, that helps you to find the right amount of work for each sprint for the Scrum Team. We explain how to calculate it!

Servant Leadership: How Does Leadership Work in an Agile Context?

What is Servant Leadership and why is it so essential in Scrum and Agile? We'll answer your most pressing questions about Servant Leadership in the Blog!