What is Kanban? Definition, origin and practice
Kanban makes work visible and limits how much runs at once. Definition, its origin in manufacturing, and what it changes day to day.
Glossary
The vocabulary, without the vocabulary test
Project management has a jargon that often hides more than it explains. Each entry here says what a term means, where it came from and (the part most definitions leave out) what it actually changes about your work.
All terms
What is a Kanban board? Structure and columns
A Kanban board shows work as cards in columns that map the path from open to done. Structure, sensible columns and the most common mistakes.
What is a WIP limit? The cap that makes Kanban work
A WIP limit caps how many items may sit in a column at once. Why it lowers cycle time, and where to apply it.
What is a backlog? Definition and upkeep
The backlog is the ordered list of everything not yet started. What belongs in it, how it is sorted, and why an unmaintained backlog does harm.
What is an epic? Definition and boundaries
An epic groups work that together achieves a larger goal and is too big for one iteration. How it differs from a story and a task, and when it is worth having.
What is a user story? Structure and examples
A user story describes a benefit from the user's point of view rather than a task. Structure, two examples, INVEST, and how it differs from a task and an epic.
What are story points? Estimating without hours
Story points size work relative to other work instead of in hours. Why that is more accurate, how the scale works, and how teams break it.
What is a sprint? Length, sequence and purpose
A sprint is a fixed period in which a team completes an agreed amount of work. Length, the sequence of events, and when the format is not worth it.
What is Scrum? Roles, events, artefacts
Scrum is a framework with fixed roles, events and artefacts that organises work into sprints. How it fits together, and when it does not fit.
What is Scrumban? When the mixture makes sense
Scrumban combines sprints and roles from Scrum with flow and WIP limits from Kanban. What to keep, what to drop, and who it suits.
What is a daily stand-up?
A short daily meeting for a team to coordinate the day. What belongs in it, what does not, and why it happens standing up.
What is the definition of done?
The definition of done is a team's shared agreement on when work is finished. What belongs in it, and why without one the word means nothing.
What is a retrospective?
A retrospective examines how the team worked, not what it produced. Format, purpose, and the condition without which it achieves nothing.
What is a burndown chart? Reading it properly
A burndown chart shows work remaining across a sprint. How to read it, and what the common shapes actually mean.
What is velocity? Definition and limits
Velocity is the story points a team completes per sprint. What it is good for, what it is not, and why turning it into a target destroys it.
Lead time and cycle time: the difference
Lead time starts when the request appears, cycle time when work begins. Why confusing them is expensive, and what to do with the numbers.
What are acceptance criteria?
Acceptance criteria define how you know one particular card is done. How they differ from the definition of done, and how to write them.
What are Conventional Commits?
A convention for commit messages that changelogs and version numbers can be derived from. Structure, types, and what it is actually worth.
What does a product owner do?
The product owner owns the order of the backlog and the value. Responsibilities, how it differs from a project manager, common misreadings.
What does a scrum master do?
The scrum master owns the process and removes impediments, not the assignment of work. Responsibilities and the most common misplacement.
What is semantic versioning (SemVer)?
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH: what the three numbers mean, when each one moves, and why it matters for anything other people depend on.
Why so many of these terms are contested
Almost all of them come from one of two camps: from Kanban, which came out of manufacturing and describes the flow of work, or from Scrum, which brings a fixed cadence and fixed roles with it. Both work; they simply answer different questions. Mixing them without noticing produces arguments about whether a sprint is being done "properly", instead of about whether the work is landing.
So each entry says which camp a term comes from, and when it is not worth the trouble. A WIP limit helps a team working on too many things at once; it does nothing for a team of two. Velocity is a planning aid and not a performance metric, but gets used as one anyway.
Terms are one thing. The board is another.
Backlog, sprints, story points and cycle time are not theory in Zuuna: they are fields on the card. 14 days of full access, no credit card.