Personal Kanban
Personal Kanban is a structured group exercise for convergent alignment: it helps participants compare options and move toward a shared decision.
How to run it
- Divide a whiteboard or sheet of paper into four columns: Backlog, Ready, Doing, and Done. Or you can use this template.
- Using sticky notes, fill the “Backlog” column with all the work that needs to get done.
- Move the highest priority jobs to the “Ready” column. Then rank the jobs in the “Ready” column, from highest to lowest priority.
- Take the top one to three jobs from the “Ready” column and move them to the “Doing” column. These are the things that you will work on right away.
- As you finish each job, move it to the “Done” column.
- Personal Kanban was created by Jim Benson, based on kanban as used in Lean manufacturing.
- . Divide a whiteboard or sheet of paper into four columns: Backlog, Ready, Doing, and Done. Or you can use this template.
- . Using sticky notes, fill the “Backlog” column with all the work that needs to get done.
- . Move the highest priority jobs to the “Ready” column. Then rank the jobs in the “Ready” column, from highest to lowest priority.
- . Take the top one to three jobs from the “Ready” column and move them to the “Doing” column. These are the things that you will work on right away.
Run this exercise live
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Prompts to use +
Divide a whiteboard or sheet of paper into four columns: Backlog, Ready, Doing, and Done. Or you can use this template.
Move the highest priority jobs to the “Ready” column. Then rank the jobs in the “Ready” column, from highest to lowest priority.
Take the top one to three jobs from the “Ready” column and move them to the “Doing” column. These are the things that you will work on right away.
As you finish each job, move it to the “Done” column.
. Divide a whiteboard or sheet of paper into four columns: Backlog, Ready, Doing, and Done. Or you can use this template.
. Move the highest priority jobs to the “Ready” column. Then rank the jobs in the “Ready” column, from highest to lowest priority.
Run this with your AI assistant +
Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.
Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Personal Kanban. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Divide a whiteboard or sheet of paper into four columns: Backlog, Ready, Doing, and Done. Or you can use this template.; Move the highest priority jobs to the “Ready” column. Then rank the jobs in the “Ready” column, from highest to lowest priority.; Take the top one to three jobs from the “Ready” column and move them to the “Doing” column. These are the things that you will work on right away.; As you finish each job, move it to the “Done” column.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.
Origin unverified
- Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Gamestorming; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (2 sources observed, including Gamestorming, SessionLab.)
- What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
- No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
- Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.