Kanban in software development: A systematic literature review

TLDR

Kanban is an emerging topic in software development. The review aims to analyze current trends in Kanban usage and identify its benefits and challenges. The authors searched 492 papers, selected 19 primary studies, and extracted suggested practices to guide practitioners. The review reports benefits such as improved lead time, quality, communication, consistency, and fewer defects, while noting challenges like insufficient knowledge, training, and organizational issues, thereby aiding researchers and practitioners.

Abstract

Using of Kanban in software development is an emerging topic. This systematic literature review was conducted in order to analyze the current trend of Kanban usage in software development and to identify the obtained benefits and involved challenges. The search strategy resulted in 492 papers, of which 19 were identified as primary studies relevant to our research. The main reported benefits of using the Kanban method were improved lead time to deliver software, improved quality of software, improved communication and coordination, increased consistency of delivery, and decreased customer reported defects. The reported challenges included lack of knowledge and specialized training as well as various organizational issues. Additionally, suggested practices were extracted from the primary studies and summarized for guiding the practitioners interested in adopting Kanban. The findings of this literature review are intended for helping researchers and practitioners to gain a better understanding of the current state of Kanban usage in software development.