Direct answer
Use Kanban and work-in-progress limits to expose bottlenecks, reduce multitasking, improve flow, and make blocked work visible.
What to know
- Visualize work and workflow policies.
- Limit work in progress to encourage finishing before starting.
- Measure flow with lead time, cycle time, throughput, and work-item age.
- Use blocked work as information for improvement.
How to apply it
Set an initial WIP limit based on current capacity, observe queues and aging, then adjust through an explicit team policy rather than bypassing the limit under pressure.
Worked example
If testing is full, developers help remove testing constraints or finish existing work instead of starting more features and increasing the queue.
Common mistakes
- Using a board without explicit policies.
- Raising WIP limits whenever flow slows.
- Counting blocked items as invisible work.
Exam and practice connection
A WIP limit is a system-improvement mechanism, not an individual utilization target.