Kanban is a work management method that makes the flow of tasks visible on a board and limits how many tasks are carried out in parallel, in order to deliver smoothly and continuously.
It comes from manufacturing: Toyota developed it after the Second World War, driven by engineer Taiichi Ohno, to produce at the pace of actual demand and avoid unnecessary inventory. It was adapted to software development in the 2000s.
The board is split into columns representing the stages (to do, in progress, in review, done). The key principle, often forgotten, is the work-in-progress limit (WIP limit): you do not start a new task while the column is full. This forces teams to finish before starting and exposes bottlenecks.
Unlike Scrum, Kanban imposes neither sprints nor dedicated roles. It suits teams with an unpredictable flow, such as support, operations or maintenance.
Why it matters when hiring
Having worked in Kanban says little: many teams use a board of columns without ever limiting work in progress. For a Scrum Master, agile coach or Engineering Manager, ask which limits were set and what the board helped fix. The method matters less than the ability to improve the delivery flow.