How it works...

Setting up a workflow using columns and streams of work with swim-lanes, in addition to styling rules, makes visualizing requirements a lot easier. As you can see in the following screenshot, the columns have an information icon, which reflects the Definition of done setup through the team configuration dialog:

I've briefly touched on WIP limits in the implementation steps. To optimize the flow of value, you want to identify and eliminate bottlenecks. Bottlenecks indicate that waste exists in the overall workflow process. By monitoring your Kanban board over time, you can learn where bottlenecks occur. When several items sit in a column that hasn't worked for several days, a bottleneck has occurred. Bottlenecks typically occur when WIP limits are too high. On the other hand, no bottlenecks could indicate that WIP limits are too low. There is no right answer to what the correct WIP limit is for a column; this is something that can be discovered using empirical data by using the process and tools over time.