WIP limits

Everyone knows you can't take on many things at once and do all of them well. Limits on the amount of work clearly play an important role in organizing day-to-day tasks. They also help teams spot problems early.

In this article, we look at the concept of WIP limits: a technique that helps teams manage unfinished tasks and projects more effectively.

WIP stands for "work in progress," so a WIP limit is a work-in-progress limit. In practice, it is the maximum number of tasks or projects a team or an individual can work on at the same time. WIP limits are a core practice of the Kanban method, which focuses on managing the flow of work.

For example, a team can limit the number of tasks each developer has in progress at once. If the limit is three tasks, a developer cannot pick up a fourth one. They first have to finish one of the current tasks before starting a new one.

As a reminder, the Kanban method visualizes the workflow, splits it into stages, and manages the flow of tasks through them. The idea behind a WIP limit is to prevent team overload and keep work flowing evenly. Limits help the team complete planned work more smoothly and see each item through from start to finish.

The main goals of setting WIP limits are:

• higher throughput;
• less stress and overload for the people doing the work;
• shorter cycle time for each task;
• spotting bottlenecks in the process so they can be removed;
• more predictable delivery dates.

In short, WIP limits on a Kanban board help the team make informed decisions about which tasks to prioritize.

How to set WIP limits

Now to the main question: how do you set WIP limits? We recommend the following approach:

• find out how many tasks are currently in progress at the same time;
• analyze how quickly each type of task gets done;
• set limits for each stage, taking into account possible risks and the team's overall capacity;
• keep monitoring the results and adjust the limits when needed.

Setting a WIP limit encourages teams to break large tasks into smaller ones and manage how they are completed. WIP limits keep a balance between workload and throughput: people are not overloaded, and projects move to completion faster. Organizations use WIP limits to improve how work is managed and to deliver finished products to market sooner.

To decide whether a WIP limit can be lowered, look at:

• the tasks currently in progress;
• items that are not actively being worked on or do not contribute to the project's goals.

Changing WIP limits makes sense in specific cases, for example, when the team has trouble managing its workflow or when the current limits no longer fit the state of the project.

Benefits of WIP limits

A clear cap on how many tasks a project team works on at once has several advantages:

• the team focuses on finishing tasks, and people concentrate better on their work;
• shorter cycle time for individual tasks;
• higher productivity for each team member;
• less context switching between tasks;
• better control and transparency of the work process;
• problems surface earlier.

As a result, deadlines become easier to forecast, and the order of tasks is easier to justify by their importance. Used well, WIP limits help a team manage its work more effectively and improve the quality of the result.

WIP limits in Agile teams

Agile teams use WIP limits widely to streamline their workflow and project management. Teams apply them by:

• setting work-in-progress limits on tasks or on columns of a Kanban board;
• tracking whether tasks are completed within the agreed time frames;
• monitoring and analyzing performance on a regular basis;
• adjusting and fine-tuning the limits based on the results.

On a Kanban board, WIP limits are set as the maximum number of tasks allowed in each stage of the process. For example, a Kanban board for app development might have the following WIP limits:

• development: 3 tasks;
• testing: 2 tasks;
• review: 1 task.

Important: a new task cannot enter a stage until a task in that stage is finished.

Limiting work in progress helps the team concentrate on a specific amount of work at any given time. WIP limits on a Kanban board also make the flow of tasks easier to see, so it becomes easier to control how work gets done and manage the project.

What should WIP limits apply to?

WIP limits can be applied to:

• tasks and projects of different complexity and priority;
• different stages of work, such as analysis, development, or testing of a product.

Limits are set on individual columns of a Kanban board. They work well both for a group of people and for the team as a whole. In practice, it also makes sense to set WIP limits for people with different workloads and working speeds.

Overall, such limits help manage the stages of a project more effectively and improve the team's overall performance.

WIP limits are used in many fields, especially where work flows through a process that needs to be managed and optimized: IT projects, software development, manufacturing, marketing, administrative work, and more.

How to implement WIP limits

Setting a WIP limit together with the team lets everyone discuss and agree on the right number of tasks for each stage, so the decision works for the whole team. Reviewing how much of the planned work was completed helps the manager understand how the team uses its capacity and where the process can be improved.

Before you introduce WIP limits, consider the common mistakes:

• not enough limits on tasks;
• the maximum number of tasks for a stage is set incorrectly;
• the team does not stick to the limits.

Keep in mind that WIP limits require discipline from the project team and a clear understanding of how they work. When implemented correctly, however, they can noticeably improve project management.

To implement WIP limits successfully, we recommend the following steps.

1. Assess the team's current workload and how fast tasks get done.
2. Set the right WIP limits for each person or for the whole team.
3. Explain the goals and benefits of WIP limits to everyone involved in the workflow.
4. Start with conservative limits, then adjust them gradually based on the results.
5. Hold regular reviews and analyze how well the approach works.

You can set WIP limits in SimpleOne SDLC, an application for developing software products and solutions using Agile methodologies.

You can start introducing WIP limits at the level of a single team or project. It is important to look at the team's working culture and assess how ready people are for the change. If WIP limits need to be lowered, the product owner can discuss this with the team and agree on a new number of tasks for each stage.

To sum up, WIP limits are an important step toward well-organized work. The method improves control and transparency of how tasks get done and helps the team become more productive. Setting, applying, and implementing WIP limits correctly is a solid first step toward reaching your goals.