WIP (Work In Progress) limits

The WIP limit is a guideline for the maximum number of cards or their maximum total size for a column, lane, cell.

Once the number of cards exceeds the set number, the column will be highlighted in red.

You can use this visual cue to indicate that at some point in your process a problem has occurred. From Kanban point of view, limits are needed to even out the flow of tasks, stabilize the system and open up the possibility of probabilistic forecasting of deadlines.

How to set a WIP limit

For a column.

Click on the three dots to the right of the column name, select "Set WIP Limit". In the window that appears, enter the WIP limit value.

For a lane

Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the lane, select "Set WIP Limit". In the window that appears, enter a WIP limit value.

For a cell

Click the three dots in the bottom right corner of the track, then click "Set WIP Limit". In the window that appears, enter a WIP limit value.

Changing/editing the WIP limit

Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the column or track for which there is a limit. For a cell, click the three dots in the lower right corner.

Then click on the pencil icon next to "Set WIP Limit".

In the window that appears, you may change the value of the WIP limit and also change whether the limit applies to the number of cards or to the total size of the cards.

Deleting WIP limit

Click on the three dots next to the column or lane name, click on the trashbin icon next to "Set WIP Limit".

Zero WIP limit

The WIP limit can be set to zero. Use the zero WIP limit to:

1. Show the team that some stage of work should be skipped.

For example, when working on urgent tasks, the checking stage is skipped. To do this, set a zero WIP limit in the cell at the intersection of the "Urgent" lane and the "Checking" column.

2. To get rid of the jam on the board.

In this case, set the WIP limit to zero in the column before the card pile-up to show that until the board on the right is unloaded, no new cards need to be taken into work.

Once the limit is set, a green icon will appear in the column or cell, showing that this step should be skipped. If your space has no background, this column will be shaded.