Welcome to a deeper exploration of how a Kanban board fits into your project workflow. Imagine you’re running a small café. You have incoming orders (features), different stages of preparing those orders (Kanban pipelines), and a way to track which orders are currently being worked on, which are waiting, and which are finished. A Kanban board brings that same level of organization and clarity to your development process.
At this point, you know that Kanban boards help you see all tasks and the state they’re in, so you can keep things moving at a steady clip. Now we’ll break down how each column (or pipeline) works and what it means for you as the developer and your Project Manager (PM).
The Backlog is like a waiting room. It contains tasks or features you plan to implement, but haven’t started yet. Think of it like a list of menu items that customers want to order eventually, but the chef hasn’t begun cooking them.
Whenever you brainstorm a new feature or your PM shares a new idea, you create a card for it and place it in the Backlog. This ensures all planned work is documented and not mixed with tasks you’re currently working on.
The Next Tasks pipeline helps your PM and you align on what’s coming up soon. These tasks aren’t in development yet, but are a higher priority than the rest of the Backlog. Think of it as a short list of “top picks” from the menu you’ll cook immediately after finishing your current dish.
If you look at your Kanban board and see “In Progress” is empty, you pick the next card from Next Tasks, move it over, and start working. This way, there’s no confusion about what to tackle next.
The In Progress pipeline signals a card is actively being worked on. When you start a task, you typically create a feature branch corresponding to that card. As you code, you can reference this card to confirm what needs to be done.
In many cases, you’ll only have one card in “In Progress” at a time—this helps you focus. Once you complete the feature, you move it to “In Review.” If your PM checks it and wants additional changes, you may move it back to “In Progress” for the revision work.
Once you’ve finished coding and deployed your feature, you can slide the card to the In Review pipeline. Think of it like a dish plated and ready for a taste test. Now it’s time for your PM (or a code reviewer) to test it, confirm it meets the requirements, and either accept it or request changes.
Typically, you won’t wait around doing nothing while your PM reviews the card. You can move on to the next task in Next Tasks and move that card into In Progress, keeping productivity high. If your PM later suggests changes, just move the reviewed card back to “In Progress” so you can implement the feedback.
The Accepted pipeline is your victory lap. Think of it as “Order completed and served.” Your PM, after reviewing, places the card here to confirm it’s fully approved.
Once a card is in “Accepted,” you know it’s done, polished, and meets all its requirements. The pipeline also showcases your cumulative progress—an indicator of how much you’ve accomplished so far.
With a well-maintained Kanban board, you can glance at it and instantly see where every feature stands. Cards flow from Backlog to Next Tasks to In Progress to In Review and finally to Accepted. This flow:
As you progress through your project, make sure to regularly update your Kanban board. This way, it remains an accurate snapshot of your work and helps you stay organized and efficient every step of the way.