{"id":1883,"date":"2019-09-24T21:56:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T20:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getnave.com\/blog\/?p=1883"},"modified":"2025-05-15T15:24:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T13:24:25","slug":"blocked-work-in-kanban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getnave.com\/blog\/blocked-work-in-kanban\/","title":{"rendered":"Maximize Your Predictability: How to Manage Blocked Work in Kanban"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Building a robust, reliable system that enables a smooth, predictable delivery of work requires a great deal of effort.<\/p>\n

However, even with an efficient Kanban pull system<\/a> in place, one where the team pulls the work themselves, WIP limits are set up and team members are autonomous, there will be tasks that inevitably get stuck in the workflow.<\/p>\n

Blockers come in all shapes and sizes. From dependencies between tasks, teams, and third parties, to a lack of information or unclear requirements, they vary in causes but carry the same negative effect – delay in delivery.<\/p>\n

A system prone to delayed deliveries is a system prone to unpredictability. Blocked work puts our commitments at risk, posing a threat to our consistency and reliability.<\/p>\n

But just because they’re inevitable, doesn’t mean blockers can’t be managed. By knowing how to efficiently deal with blockers, we can deliver work in a quicker, more predictable manner and drive cross-organizational evolutionary change.<\/p>\n

Distinguishing Between Waiting Work and Blocked Work<\/h2>\n

Before we delve into the ways of managing blockers, it is important to emphasize that blocked work is different than waiting work.<\/p>\n

In a Kanban pull system, the process steps are split into active and queue (waiting) states. Queue states don\u2019t constitute containers for blocked work. Tasks held in the queue states wait their turn as the team pulls them forward once they’re at capacity to do so; nothing blocks these tasks from progressing.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, blocked work is prevented from moving forward due to unforeseen circumstances.<\/p>\n

The inability to start working on a high priority feature because there isn\u2019t enough information on the goal it needs to achieve? Waiting on a license to be purchased before we can move on? Those are valid blockers preventing us from delivering customer value. We’re unable to carry on with our work despite being at capacity to handle it.<\/p>\n

Let’s go through the process of managing such blocked work, step by step.<\/p>\n

Managing Blockers in Kanban<\/h2>\n

Managing blockers, as described in the Kanban Maturity Model<\/a>, helps you facilitate effective risk management and improve service delivery by avoiding the same impediments from recurring. The process entails you:<\/p>\n

Visualize the blocked items<\/h3>\n

Making blocked work items visible on a Kanban board helps you create a sense of urgency to resolve the obstruction and unblock your flow of work as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Use a flag<\/a> to mark the card you’re unable to continue working on. Include any additional information to the card:<\/p>\n