- There are a few other things you can do
to try and limit your work in progress.
Some teams try to create buffer queues.
These are columns in between your work queues
that hold your work.
It's like how airplanes are put in a holding pattern
when the runways are filled to capacity.
Another way to adjust your work in progress
is to limit cards to a person on your team.
That means if your team has one developer,
you can only work on one card in the development queue.
If the team has two testers, then you can only work
on two cards in the testing queue.
Each of these has advantages and disadvantages.
Creating buffer queues can make the kanban wall
difficult to read.
It might also slow the team down.
Buffer queues are almost like flow regulators
that can help the team have a sustainable flow,
but they might unnecessarily restrict the team's capacity.
There's also disadvantages to assigning a card
to each person on your team.
Ideally, you want your team to have a predictable cadence.
This is the overall rhythm of work coming through the board.
There should be a steady flow of completed work.
You don't have a big rush of cards one week
and then a slow down the next week.
When you assign work to an individual team member,
it's more difficult to manage this cadence.
If one developer is on vacation, it might throw off
the rhythm of the whole team.
As long as you understand these advantages
and disadvantages, you'll be much better
at deciding which approach works best.