Home Kanban board…. Swift Kanban software

Awesome Free of charge home Kanban board…. Swift Kanban software

People, who know me, know I prefer the good old-fashioned white boards and sticky notes over software tools, but even I stumble across tools that I find really useful, giving that extra edge to practicing Agile at home with our kids.

Don’t forget! A tool does NOT replace our direct communication. The tool just helps make our tasks even more visible, it is not a goal in itself.

I find Swift Kanban  a very useful tool for home made Kanban, it consists of a simple Kanban board, with colorful tickets and customizable flow. We can actually create our own house tasks board, with whatever columns we prefer, and assign tasks to our family.

The Swift Kanban interface has a good feel and flow to it - it’s easy to get to the different areas you need, and it’s flexible enough to let you customize it, without having to figure out complicated routines and rules.

What can we do with it ?

•  Create tasks of different types.
•  Add family members to those tasks.
• Have shared tasks on a member’s tasks.
• Define Due date for tasks.
•  Drag and drop tasks as we wish.
• Add our picture
•  Add attachment
• Colors
• And many more….

http://help.swift-kanban.com/getting-started/projects/creating-a-project.html?id=31

I love it!

Limitation:

Free Limited to 4 users

Enjoy :)

Operating a task board in 10 min

Agile@Home :

Materials:

v  Sticky notes

v  writing implement (pen, pencil) , marker pen

v  Board / wall. Window

:Start simple

v  Introduce the idea to the kids

v  Remember that it should be a fun game

v  Encourage the kids to take an active part

v  Kids are the ones building the board

Start with the simplest board

3 columns

v  To do

v  In progress

v  Done

.Add tasks to the board

v  Start simple. With the most simple one or two tasks

.Pull tasks according to what you need to do

.Set tasks priority and make sure to move tasks according to their priority

.Pull – Not push

You can add an impediment column if you like

!!!Don’t forget to have Fun

Thank you the greatest family for your pics J

Time management games, multitasking and Agile

OK, I confess, I can find the Agile connection in nearly everything. It’s just that practising Agile at home is not just a fantastic communication tool, it also teaches us how to manage ourselves better, more goal oriented and effective.

In one of my earlier posts, I explained how we should manage our task lists better, and see what needs to be done, using the Eisenhower Method. The Eisenhower Method is a basic time management method.

Today, I’d like to suggest we play games. Yes, I said games. Computer games, that do nothing but make your kids spend hours in front of a screen.

Apparently, that’s not true. Really.

When I started to look more into games that seemed a complete waste of time, I noticed that some of them have serious aspects of how to be effective and manage your time in the best possible way.

I believe that experience is built from training, and intuition is built on the ability to make choices, to ‘feel’ what’s right, based on previous experience. And these games, that consist of a message and constraints, such as ‘manage a pizzeria’, are exactly that. These games force us to practice our efficiency and speed, to focus, and to achieve our goals. The game trains the player to be goal-oriented, but also effective, teaching you something that you can’t learn just from talking about it, and it’s no secret that children learn the best by playing. So do adults, by the way.

So stop bothering me. I’ve got pizza to make.

"Refurbish a rundown castle and turn it into a pizza palace! Armed with their secret family recipe, Rebecca and Robert are out to build a successful pizzeria franchise. Save money to spend on new appliances, better menu items or developing their skills. Accumulate enough to open a second location in an even more unique setting. Restaurant management has never been so fun!

·       

• Multi tasking demanding high efficiency to serve a lot of customers with the right order and the right time.
• Grow your business - Buy new items and upgrade your restaurant
• Set up higher  goals every round
• Explore 50 challenging levels"

Turbo Pizza forum: http://forums.bigfishgames.com/forums/show/774.page

More games:

http://www.candystand.com/play/time-management-games

http://www.download-free-games.com/download/cat/task_management/

How to decide what to do? – Another way to order the ‘To-Do’ column

Lets say we have a lot of issues at hand, and we need to decide what to do first. The catch here is, that we need to decide as a group (we’ve already discussed the benefit of a group and empowerment before). The group leader (teacher/ manager) agrees that the best way to have an assignment completed in the best possible way, and get people highly motivated and have fun, will be to allow the team/class to decide on their own.

But we have so many issues at hand and only a short time frame to make our decision. So  how are we all going to agree in, say, an hour?

Imagine we are in a classroom where the class has tons of many social assignments, from which they need to pick just two activities that will benefit the entire school and probably win them a prize. But again, there’s a catch. What if they don’t win? Well, even then, at least they had fun and achieved the feeling of success and accomplishment.

The technique, a simple sort of brain storm that I’ll show you, is a very common "game" we play almost in every implementation in the industry or wherever. In fact, I even remember playing it when I was in the Girl Scouts.

So why not try it out at home or in the class room?!

So ,We have a huge list of idea we want to achieve.

1.       Ask the each class/ team member to offer two ideas and write them down on a sticky note.

Paint the school fence

Build a Muskie over in the lobby

Clean the tree area

Have an party during one of the breaks

 Create an hour of fun for first grader

Build a coffee shop for the next parents day

**No one can object to a team member idea at this point.

2.       Once every one is done , each team member has ten seconds to present his idea and place it on the board in the order of its importance.

3.       If more then one team members have the same idea, they add their note to the note already on the board.

4.       Each team member in his turn will  add his note to the board and place it according to the priority he thinks it has.

5.       The next step  may be done in two different ways:

a.        The ideas that got the most votes are selected.

b.       We can ask each team member to grade the ideas 1-5, (or whatever points we like to use) and see what two ideas got the most points.

6.       Discuss the ideas selected: drill down into practical tasks.

7.       Examine again the effort of this idea selected vs. the effort needed. Do we still want this idea or not?

The point is that

1.       We have an open discussion.

2.       Everybody’s  ideas are visible.

3.       We select the ideas as a group.

4.       We can change our mind after we have selected an idea.

5.       And, we can do this every time we have lots of things to do. A project can be a trip or a birthday party , or an event or something we are planning to do, and there are always more than one way to do things.

a.       Place the high priority ideas higher , and the rest of assignments as a wish list inside your backlog.

b.       We now have a visibility over more then only two things we wish to do.

A trip to San Diego

The Four Quadrants of the To Do list

Stick to the important, before it becomes urgent.

Here’s another way to manage the ‘To do’  list when there are many tasks that need to be taken care of , immediately, or in the long run. This method is also very useful when we find ourselves doing nothing but putting out fires. 

Instead of just putting out the fires, and constantly chasing after the daily tasks, we should stop for five minutes, and even without knowing time management theories, simply present our tasks in a visual way. That way we can start working on what’s REALLY important, and stop the constant crisis breaking out.

So what DO you do?

Start off with KISS. Keep It Simple.

Now, how can we manage the task list better?

Let’s divide our tasks into four, like below:

Now, start adding your tasks to the board, each task according to how important and urgent it really is.

(Of course, when it comes to Agile Kids, we do this as a family).

This way, the task board appears much clearer, and we know what needs to be done.

This is known as the Eisenhower Method.

Now, when you want to complete a task, just follow these simple rules to determine if it’s REALLY what you need to do next.

1.     Stick to the important
Sometimes you find that what’s really important as a family - like reading a book to your children, or talking to them - isn’t urgent, so it keeps getting postponed. Don’t forget that what you don’t do today, will come to haunt you in the future as a crisis. So if the task is important  - make sure you complete it. 

2.     Start with those that are due soon and assign them with a date and an owner.

3.     Then work on those tasks that may be due later.

4.     Delegate urgent and non important issues.

5.     Make sure to review your tasks from time to time and see if their position in the four quadrants has changed.

The cards on the wall

The task card represents what needs to be done.

There are a few types of cards.

The Simple card:

Describes itself, for example, ‘do the dishes’.

The Parent card:

These cards include other tasks that may even be performed by other family members. For example, the math exam task below includes different types of problems that need to be learnt, each as a separate task. When they are completed, only then is the Parent task complete.

The details on the card

A card may include more specific details, such as who is responsible for it, maybe a deadline, and more.

Between you and me - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that the tasks are visible, and that your kids see their name on the boards, and understand what they need to do. Other than the family, no one needs to understand the board, so put up the cards that make the most sense to you.

Don’t forget though - Keep It Simple. You aren’t running a software project, this is your family.

Here are a few examples of tasks that families have included in their Agile Kids efforts, ranging from the simple ones like ‘brush my teeth’ to the more complicated ones like ‘clean the house’, or ‘plan my birthday’.

Here, the small blue sticker shows the family who owns the task.

Here, you can see a large task broken down into smaller ones.

Here, the colour of the note shows who owns it.

Here, each small coloured note shows the owner.

What is it about Agile and Kanban that teaches us and our children how to succeed?

Everything we need to succeed is here: 

1. Agile creates visibility. Visibility in turn creates security and control.

When I see where I’m supposed to go, I feel safe. Imagine you’re driving in the rain, at night. Now imagine you’re driving on a clear sunny day. Which one makes you feel safer?

2. Agile Kids enables you to clearly set challenges.

Our children put up everything on the board. They see what they are up against. It isn’t a vague in their heads. It is there, and belongs to them. They can see what is more and less important, it gives them a sense of control, reduces the confusion and leads them to success. They can also see their progress.

I will really ask my children, what do they intend to do tomorrow, next week or next month. And if you are planning a month in advance, what are you going to do? These tasks will go on the board, and we’ll see progress.

Prioritize your tasks:

This doesn’t mean that we’ll need a board every time we want to challenge ourselves - not at all. In the future, we won’t need the board at all.

3. Challenges according to age and ability

Each child chooses their own tasks, and moves forwards at their own pace. The board belongs to the family, and we each have our own tasks. Danny has tasks that are suitable for a first grader, and 12 year old Lisa already has tasks such as babysitting her brother when Mom is late from work. This way, the success is relative and suitable for each age. On the other hand, we can also see where we can move forwards. We see others’ successes and failures, and the children talk to the parents during the daily or weekly meetings, and they learn from their experiences.

4. The key word here is trust

I am training myself and my children to see what lies ahead. We are training to divide our tasks into doable actions. I am showing them the way. How a task is created, what happens during the progression, and how it ends. The training will make the board obsolete, but the principle remains the same. I experience successes (because I completed tasks), I saw the way, and I learned how to accomplish this.

5. Success is key

I’ll say it again. Children aren’t born with the ability to manage projects. They have to learn how to. They don’t always know how to divide their assignments into tasks, and some learn slower and some learn faster. What’s important is the feeling of success. They don’t need large rewards to feel they were successful - all they need is a smile and to succeed at their homework. That’s enough for them.

6. Listening

Listening to the children and listening to ourselves. It’s vital to succeed. Listening to what they have to say about their tasks during the daily meetings, giving them a place to be heard and to express themselves. When I speak, I’m learning and developing. When people listen to me and react to what I say, that strengthens the learning a thousand fold.

7. Empowerment

Setting these small goals, even from a young age, and enabling the child to choose their own tasks, is the basis for empowerment (we’ve written more about it here). And empowerment is one of the best ways to succeed.

8. The daily family pulse

The daily meetings and the order they bring to the house, send out a message. A message of doing, of support from others when I get stuck. I personally believe, that without these values, luck will be a major factor in our future successes, not our own actions or initiatives.

9. Initiative as a state of mind

Initiative is part of empowerment. The children are encouraged to take the initiative. Think of tasks, ask for help from others, and make things move when they get stuck. This isn’t just encouraged - it becomes a state of mind.

10. The state of mind and messages that come from the family and the house affect your children outside as well

For example, a singer’s son can become a singer with less effort than others. It’s not just the voice - you have to think like an artist as well, to know how to express your feelings, create, and so on, which is something that the child is immersed in at home every day. The same goes for doctors, or business people.

Now, just imagine that you immerse your children in empowerment. Every day, things that come naturally to them, will affect them in the future. Everyone agrees that it doesn’t matter HOW you raise your kids, it affects them a whole lot more than any courses they might take in the future. So isn’t it in our best interests to make sure they get confidence, empowerment, and the ability to follow tasks through?

Want to know how? Read the AgileKids book, and of course, get the latest updates from this blog.