Kanban Service Delivery Review

Purpose

The Service Delivery Review examines how well the Kanban system is performing. By analysing lead time, throughput, and WIP data, the team identifies bottlenecks and agrees on actionable improvements.

At a glance

How to run

1. Review metrics (15 min) — Present throughput, lead-time distribution, cumulative flow diagram, and blocker-cluster data.
2. Highlight anomalies (10 min) — Point out trends: Are lead times growing? Is WIP consistently above limits? Are blockers recurring in one area?
3. Root-cause discussion (15 min) — For the top 2–3 anomalies, discuss why. Use 5 Whys or fishbone if needed.
4. Improvement actions (15 min) — Agree on 1–3 concrete experiments: adjust WIP limits, change policies, add a new column, or remove a bottleneck.
5. Review SLAs (5 min) — Check service-level expectations. Are we meeting the 85th-percentile target for lead time?

Materials needed

• Cumulative flow diagram
• Lead-time histogram or scatter plot
• Throughput run chart
• Blocker-clustering data
• SLA targets

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• No data — Without metrics the review becomes opinion-based. Automate data collection.
• Blame instead of system improvement — Focus on the system, not individuals.
• Too many actions — Limit to 1–3 experiments per cycle to avoid overload.
• Skipping the review — Without regular inspection, the system drifts silently.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Share metrics dashboards in advance so participants can study them.
• Use accessible chart colours and provide data tables alongside graphs.
• Rotate the facilitator role to build metrics literacy across the team.

Variations

• Operations review — A broader version involving multiple services or teams.
• Monthly vs. bi-weekly — Adjust cadence to the team's delivery rhythm.
• Combined review + retrospective — Use metrics to drive the retro conversation.

When NOT to use this

• If the team has been using Kanban for less than 2 weeks — not enough data.
• If no one is collecting flow metrics — set up data collection first.

Source & further reading

• Anderson, D. (2010). *Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change*. Blue Hole Press.
• Vacanti, D. (2015). *Actionable Agile Metrics for Predictability*. ActionableAgile.