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Design patterns

Kanban System Design Pattern Library

A curated collection of Kanban system designs drawn from real client engagements. Use these patterns as reference when designing or improving your own Kanban system — from initial board design through to portfolio-level implementations.

Kanban Guide

Board Design

A Kanban board showing workflow columns and work items
Standard Kanban board — visualising work as it flows through the system
Kanban board with WIP limits applied to each column
Kanban board with WIP limits — limiting work in progress creates pull
Physical Kanban board in use with a team
Physical Kanban board — a real-world implementation with a delivery team

Demand Shaping

Demand shaping diagram showing upstream workflow management
Demand shaping — managing incoming work before it enters the system
Portfolio-level demand shaping for a software delivery organisation
Portfolio demand shaping — managing capacity and intake at scale

Classes of Service

Kanban Classes of Service diagram showing Expedite, Fixed Date, Standard and Intangible classes
Classes of Service — managing different work types with appropriate policies
Kanban Classes of Service diagram showing cost of delay curves
Cost of Delay by Class of Service — the economic case for differentiated handling

Portfolio Kanban Systems

Portfolio Kanban board showing epics across multiple teams
Portfolio Kanban board — visualising delivery across multiple streams
Portfolio Kanban board with capacity allocation and WIP limits
Portfolio board with WIP limits and capacity allocation by class
Detailed portfolio Kanban board with dependency markers
Portfolio board with dependency markers and blocked item visibility
Network of connected Kanban systems across an organisation
Network of Kanban systems — connecting delivery teams at portfolio level

Kanban Beyond IT

Kanban board designed for an HR team
HR Kanban — applying Kanban principles to people operations and recruitment
Kanban system for a law firm showing case management workflow
Legal Kanban — managing caseloads with a Kanban system in a law firm

Real-World Implementations

Arco portfolio Kanban implementation
Arco — portfolio Kanban system for managing delivery at scale
AutoTrader portfolio Kanban board
AutoTrader — portfolio Kanban board across multiple product teams
MBNA portfolio Kanban system
MBNA — portfolio Kanban system in a financial services environment

Every system is designed for its context.

There is no universal Kanban board. The patterns here represent designs that worked in specific organisational contexts — the right combination of columns, WIP limits, classes and policies for that team, at that point in time.

Use them as inspiration, not templates. The process of designing your own system — understanding your workflow, your work types, and your bottlenecks — is where the real learning happens.

Need help designing your Kanban system?

Solutioneers works with teams to design Kanban systems that reflect how work actually flows — from first board design through to portfolio-level visualisation.