Managing workflows with Kanban

In EGroupware EPL you control processes easily and intelligently with the new Kanban application. The Kanban method is suitable for sales processes, project organisation, software development or the management of other services.

The core of Kanban is the visualisation and limitation of the tasks to be completed simultaneously. As soon as capacities become free, an employee “picks” a task from the pool and pulls it onto “Work in Progress”.

Kanban presentation

Practical example of the sales process

In the video you can see a Kanban board and the workflows using the example of a sales process for acquiring new customers.

Of course, you have to adapt the process, the address books or Infolog types and the status to your processes. As soon as the board is created and you have discussed the processes with the corresponding sales teams, the process can start.

It makes sense to directly plan reviews and improvement processes in the sales team. Then adapt your board accordingly to the feedback from the sales team.

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Define Kanban Board

In the first step, you define a name for your Kanban board, the applications to be used and which groups have access to the board. By default, 3 columns are created: “New (Pool)”, “In Progress” and “Done”. You can rename, delete, change colours or add new columns at any time.

In addition, so-called swimlanes can be created, either to categorise the process or to visualise different responsibilities. A swimlane is also assigned a title and, if necessary, a colour and access rights. The access rights here control who is authorised to move entries in this swimlane.

The general rule is: keep the board as simple and clear as possible, with effective use.

Kanban favourites

  • Authorised applications
  • Permissions
  • Board description
  • Boards as favourites

Design Kanban

  • Free design of columns and swimlanes: Number, colours,
    Designations/names.
  • Available EGroupware applications and access authorisations
    can be set.
  • Access rights for swimlanes can be set separately.
  • Maps are moved between columns (and swimlanes) by DnD.
    moved.
  • Columns and swimlanes can be collapsed by clicking on the
    can be collapsed by clicking on the designation.

Sort columns and swimlanes

  • Possible via DnD in board editing.
  • The handle is located at the front.

Elements via DnD into a Kanban board

  • Drag a contact from address book to the Kanban tab and from there “drop” the element on the corresponding column
  • “Drag and Drop” also works between other modules (where it makes sense)

Process control in the Kanban board

Processes can be controlled at different levels:

  • “New Entries – Lists (Listen)”: Here you define how new entries are automatically added to the first column (e.g. New or Pool). In the sales process, for example, you define a specific address book “Sales-Incoming”. In software development or complaint management, the subject area, category or version of the product.
  • “Action on column change – changes the ticket”: You can define on each column whether an action is to be carried out when the entry is moved to this column. For example, “add the user as responsible who grabs the task” or “change the status of the ticket to “testing”” when the entry is moved into this column. In addition, one can also set fixed responsibilities for the process step or responsibilities from the corresponding swimlane. If desired, one can also have completed tasks automatically removed from the board.
  • “Change of a ticket – shift in the board”: Furthermore, you can also define in the area “Lists (listening)” how existing entries of the board are automatically shifted between the columns. Concretely: A developer sets a “Work in Progress” ticket from the Kanban board to status “testing” with a comment on what needs to be tested. The ticket is automatically moved to the “testing” column in the board. This saves time and extra effort if the ticket is being processed anyway.

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Kanban Basic Principles & Core Practices

Kanban Basic Principles:

  • Start with what you are doing right now – simple introduction
  • Evolve through small/evolutionary steps
  • Consider current processes, roles and responsibilities
  • Encourage showing leadership at every level of the organisation

Kanban Core Practices:

  • Visualisation of tasks and processes (workflow)
  • Limit “Work in Progress” (WIP) and concurrent tasks
  • Measurement and process control
  • Defining all rules and terminology in the process
  • Regular feedback loops and reviews
  • Continuous improvement processes in the team and process flow

Customer testimonials

Martin Reinhardt
Head of Department Kommunale Immobilien Jena DV-TK

We chose EGroupware because the solution made the most mature impression among the open source solutions at the time of the decision. We use the modules calendar, infolog,…
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Mika Alexander Hoppe
SISU security.service Sicherheitsdienst

After detailed comparisons on various Internet portals, the EPL stood out as an excellent, modern and highly developed software with an attractive design, as a perfect all-round solution.…
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Frank Michel
Michel Ingenieure GmbH

With the EGroupware EPL we have a software solution with which we can send emails, process addresses, carry out administrative tasks and organize information and data regardless of…
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