Episode 65 Blocker Policies

Foreign Language

The video starts with foreign language music playing in the background.

Introduction

The hosts introduce themselves and thank the viewers for joining. They discuss their drinks of choice before moving on to the main topic of blocker policies.

Blocker Policies

The hosts discuss blocker policies and how they relate to kanban systems. They start by defining what it means for something to be blocked and when a policy should be put in place. They then move on to discussing how long a blocked item should continue to count against work in progress limits.

• Defining Blocked Items

• The hosts define what it means for an item to be blocked and when a policy should be put in place.

• They discuss questions such as "When is something blocked?" and "What is our policy around saying this thing has waited x amount of time or is likely to wait x amount of time?"

• Counting Against Work In Progress Limits

• The hosts discuss how long a blocked item should continue to count against work in progress limits.

• They mention that unless there is a good reason otherwise, by default, when something gets blocked it still counts against your work in progress limit.

• They caution against using a blocked column as it can lead to anti-pattern behavior.

Overall, the hosts emphasize that defining blocker policies requires careful consideration and nuanced conversations.

Criteria for Work in Progress Limits

In this section, the speakers discuss criteria for how long a blocked item should count against the work in progress limit.

How Long Should Blocked Items Count Against Work in Progress?

• By default, when something gets blocked, it should count against the work in progress limit.

• The duration of time that an item counts against the work in progress limit depends on cycle time and what kind of signal is being derived from the blockage.

• It's okay for a team to decide not to have an item count against their work in progress limit if it has been blocked for an extended period due to external dependencies or other exceptional circumstances.

Third Level of Block: Throwing Out Blocked Items

In this section, the speakers discuss when it is appropriate to throw out blocked items.

When Is It Appropriate to Throw Out Blocked Items?

• If an item has been blocked for an extended period and no one is responding or resolving the issue, it may be appropriate to throw out the item.

• This decision should be made based on whether or not the item is as valuable as initially thought and whether or not having it blocked is taking up unnecessary space on the board.

• An example of throwing out a blocked item was given by Daniel's wife who managed a support team. They would close out tickets that had been waiting for customer verification for 30 days without response.

Review and Tips for Blocker Policies

In this section, the speaker reviews the importance of discussing what it means to be blocked as a team before implementing blocker policies. They also discuss how to visually communicate blockages and track data, when blockers count against work in progress limits, and how long to leave an item blocked before removing it from the board.

Importance of Discussing What It Means to Be Blocked

• Before implementing blocker policies, teams should first discuss what it means for something to be blocked.

• Teams should also decide on how they will visually communicate blockages using tools like Jira or Trello.

When Blockers Count Against Work in Progress Limits

• By default, blockers count against work in progress limits.

• However, if there is information about how long an item will be blocked or if there are policies around blocking items for a certain amount of time, then violating work in progress limits may be reasonable.

How Long to Leave an Item Blocked

• Teams should decide how long to leave an item blocked before removing it from the board.

• Kanban is all about signals, so teams should have clear signals that indicate when something is happening with an item.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes the video by thanking viewers for watching and inviting them to leave comments with their thoughts on blocker policies.

• Viewers are invited to leave comments with their thoughts on blocker policies.

• The speaker thanks viewers for watching and concludes the video.