In this article:
1. Introduction to WIP Limits
1.1. WIP Limit Definition
1.2. Types of WIP Limits
2. How to Configure Your WIP Limit System Behavior?
3. How to Set Up WIP Limits in the Workflow?
3.1. Set Up a Column WIP Limit
3.2. Set Up a Limit per Group of Columns (CONWIP)
3.3. Set Up a Cell WIP Limit
3.4. Set Up a Swimlane WIP Limit
3.5. Set Up a User WIP Limit
4. How to Configure the WIP Limit per User?
Applying WIP limits to your workflows is one of the core Kanban practices. In Businessmap, you can configure WIP limits per swimlane, column(s), cell, and even user. Let's dive right in!
1. Introduction to WIP Limits
1.1. WIP Limit Definition
In general, a WIP Limit or "Work-in-Progress" limit stands for the maximum amount of work items that a given stage of your workflow can hold. WIP limits essentially frame the capacity of your team’s workflow at any moment.
Limiting your work in progress makes it easier to identify inefficiency and bottlenecks in your workflow. Through WIP limits, you build a pull system in your workflow and reduce waste in your process.
To apply WIP limits on a given board in Businessmap, you must be an Account Owner, a Workspace Manager, or have a custom board role that includes the “Edit Workflow” permission for the board in question.
1.2. Types of WIP Limits
There are two types of WIP limits:
1) Card Count — limit the work based on the number of task items that each stage can hold.
For example, if any of your columns have a WIP limit of 2 (number of cards), then you will not be able to pull more than 2 cards in that column. You have to finish one of the tasks before pulling a new one.
2) Card Size — limit the work based on the tasks' size.
For example, if any of your columns have a WIP limit of 6 (the size of your cards) and each task has a size of 3, then you will not be able to pull more than 2 cards in that column. You have to finish one of the tasks before pulling a new one. If there are 3 tasks, each with a size of 2, the system will allow you and your team to work on 3 cards simultaneously.
To define the WIP limit type, use the workflow designer for the respective board. Click on the Edit Workflows button in the upper left corner of your Businessmap interface, and navigate to the Limit type dropdown menu on the left sidebar. Choose between Card Count and Card Size.
2. How to Configure Your WIP Limit System Behavior?
Now that you have selected the WIP limit type, you can also define the WIP limit system behavior. This configuration lets you decide what happens in the system when a WIP limit is exceeded.
- Always allow — if you choose this option, the WIP limit will only serve as an indicator and the system will still allow you to exceed it. When the limit is exceeded, the column header becomes red.
- Allow with reason — board users are allowed to exceed the limits, but they have to provide a reason (a comment) for exceeding them.
- Always deny — team members will not be able to exceed the limits, and the card will be automatically moved to the previous column.
To check if WIP limits have been reached or exceeded, you can open the “All Activities” menu and run a report by filtering the events based on their type (Exceeded/Reached limits).
Limits that have been exceeded or reached will also be documented in the cards' or initiatives' History tab.
3. How to Set Up WIP Limits in the Workflow?
When you define the limit type and behavior, you can start setting up WIP limits in the workflow. The system allows you to set up WIP limits:
- per column
- per group of columns (CONWIP)
- per individual board cells
- per swimlane
- per user
3.1. Set Up a Column WIP Limit
Open the edit mode of the board and click on the gear settings icon that belongs to every column in your process.
Enter a number to define the limit in the selected area. The WIP limit number will be visualized in the header of the respective column in your board.
3.2. Set Up a Limit per Group of Columns (CONWIP)
In this scenario, you have a column (for example, "In Progress") that has three sub-columns. In this case, the system allows you to set up a limit for the main column.
Go to the edit workflow page and click on the gear settings icon of the main column to input the CONWIP limit. This will be the total limit for the three columns.
3.3. Set Up a Cell WIP Limit
You can also set up a WIP limit on a particular cell. A cell is an intersection between a column and a swim lane on your Kanban board. Each limit has a gear icon to hold the limit you specify.
3.4. Set Up a Swimlane WIP Limit
The system also lets you set up a WIP limit for an entire swimlane from the respective gear icon. In general, swimlanes help you differentiate classes of work, priorities, SLAs, etc. You can learn more about their practical implementation in our dedicated guide on swimlanes.
With the swimlane limit, you control the number of cards allowed in the "In progress" area of the board. This helps you manage the distribution of your team capacity across the different work types and/or classes of service. In the Kanban domain, this is called “Capacity Allocation.”
For example, you can allocate 20% of the available capacity to change requests, 60% to regulatory requirements, and 20% to unplanned, expedited work.
3.5. Set Up a User WIP Limit
In Businessmap, you can set up a WIP limit per user. You can do this from the User Management panel in the Account Administration menu.
Note: This action is only available for Account Owners and users with the "Manage User WIP limits" admin role.
The User WIP Limits panel provides a list of all team members in Businessmap.
The "Current Cards" column shows the actual distribution of cards per area, which are currently assigned to the users. The letters stand for:
- G - Global level*
- B - Backlog
- R - Requested
- P - In Progress
- D - Done
- A - Archive
*The Global limit represents the maximum number of cards that can be assigned to a person on the account level.
The "WIP Limits" column displays the WIP limits that you have configured for each of the areas.
The "Exceed Limits" column shows if a user can exceed the WIP limit or not.
Please note that Initiatives (from the Initiatives or Timeline workflows) will not be counted in the User WIP limit. The calculation would only consider standard cards (from the Cards Workflows).
4. How to Configure the WIP Limit per User?
Hover over the "Exceed Limits" cell of the selected user and click on the pencil icon to make all sections editable.
The Global limit represents the maximum number of cards that can be assigned to a person.
You can check or uncheck each section (Backlog, Requested, In Progress, Done, Archive) to control whether the cards in it will be included in the global WIP limit calculation:
- If a section is not checked, it can contain an unlimited number of cards, irrespective of the global limit.
- If you set a limit for some of the sections AND a global limit, the global limit has a higher priority.
- If a * sign is put in the field, this means the number of cards can go as high as the global limit.
- If a * sign is put in the global limit field, it means an unlimited number of cards.
Note: Use the controls at the bottom of the modal window to define whether the limits can or cannot be exceeded. There are two options:
- Always allow
- Always deny