The STATIK Method
A structured approach to designing Kanban systems for services.
1What Is STATIK?
STATIK stands for Systems Thinking Approach to Implementing Kanban.
It's a workshop-based method for designing a Kanban system from scratch. Rather than copying someone else's board, STATIK guides you to design a system that fits your specific context.
When to use STATIK:
- Setting up Kanban for the first time
- Redesigning an existing system that isn't working
- Introducing Kanban to a new team or service
- When you're stuck and need a fresh perspective
The philosophy: Your Kanban system should emerge from understanding your context, not from a template. STATIK provides the questions; your situation provides the answers.
2The STATIK Steps
STATIK typically runs as a 4-8 hour workshop with the team. Here's the outline:
Step 1: Understand What Makes the Service Fit for Purpose
What do customers actually need from this service?
- Response time expectations
- Quality standards
- Flexibility requirements
- Volume/capacity needs
Step 2: Understand Sources of Dissatisfaction
Where is the current pain?
- What complaints do customers have?
- What frustrates the team?
- What causes delays or rework?
Step 3: Analyze Demand
What kinds of work arrive? How much?
- Work types and their mix
- Arrival patterns (steady, spiky, seasonal)
- Sources of demand
3STATIK Steps (Continued)
Step 4: Analyze Capability
What can the team actually deliver?
- Current throughput (items/time)
- Capacity constraints
- Skills and availability
- Dependencies
Step 5: Model the Workflow
How does work actually flow?
- What stages does work pass through?
- Where are the handoffs?
- What decisions are made at each stage?
- Where does work wait?
Step 6: Discover Classes of Service
What different treatments does work need?
- Urgent vs. standard vs. low priority
- Fixed date commitments
- Background/intangible work
Step 7: Design the Kanban System
Now you design:
- Board structure (columns, swimlanes)
- WIP limits
- Policies for each stage
- Cadences to implement
- Metrics to track
Step 8: Socialize and Negotiate
Share the design with stakeholders:
- Does this match their expectations?
- What concerns do they have?
- What agreements are needed?
STATIK is participatory. The team designs their own system—they're not handed a system from above. This creates buy-in and better designs.
4Running a STATIK Workshop
Participants:
- The team doing the work
- Service stakeholders
- A facilitator (can be internal or external)
Materials:
- Whiteboard or wall space
- Sticky notes, markers
- Historical data (if available)
Format:
- Step through STATIK questions
- Capture answers visually
- Build toward system design
- Time-box each step
Output:
- Initial board design
- Agreed WIP limits
- Key policies documented
- First cadences identified
- Metrics to track
After the workshop:
- Implement the design
- Run it for 2-4 weeks
- Hold a retrospective to adjust
- Iterate from there
After a half-day workshop, the support team has: 5-column board reflecting their actual flow, WIP limits per stage, expedite policy for critical issues, weekly replenishment cadence, and lead time as primary metric.
Team copies a 'Kanban template' from the internet. Columns don't match their flow. Policies are wrong. Nobody follows them. The board becomes ignored decoration.
- STATIK is a workshop method for designing context-fit Kanban systems
- It guides you through understanding demand, capability, and workflow
- The team designs their own system—not copy/paste
- Run it as a participatory workshop, then iterate