How the Kanban Methodology Helps Founders Build Startups More Efficiently

There are many different methods and styles of product development management. In the early stages of building a startup, many founders are left to figure it out on their own. If you’re a non-technical founder looking into hiring a fractional development team, it’s important to consider their management methodology and whether it benefits your early startup’s needs.

When the Nolte team partners with founders on product development projects, we utilize Agile methodology, specifically Kanban. Many of our clients who do not come from a technical background enjoy learning about our project management methodology and are surprised at how simple it is – often adapting it to use with their internal teams. 

What is Kanban?

Kanban is a visual system (a ‘board’) for managing work as it moves through a process, making the abstract concept of work tangible and allowing team members to track progress. This methodology emphasizes continuous delivery while maintaining high quality output, aligning well with startups’ fast-paced, iterative nature.

How the Kanban Methodology Benefits Founders

Our founders can expect a steady stream of completed work (on a task by task basis) rather than waiting for large chunks of the project to be done all at once. The Kanban board allows for frequent checks, feedback, and adjustments, ensuring the final product is more closely aligned with the founder’s vision. It provides high transparency into the development process, which can be critical for making timely and informed decisions.

Moreover, Kanban’s focus on pacing the tasks at hand and limiting the amount of work in progress helps to prevent overloading the team, contributing to a sustainable pace of work and better quality output.

The most important advantage of the Kanban system is its flexibility, meaning it can easily adapt to changes, which is especially valuable in a startup environment where priorities can shift rapidly.

Remember, you only have so much time and resources to build your product. Hiring a fractional development team who uses Kanban for product development is the team that has your back. The greater transparency, flexibility, and control over your product’s development while ensuring a continuous, quality-focused delivery process, is the key to launching quickly, efficiently, and with no surprises.