What are the Most Valuable Kanban Certifications?

Certifications have become a topic of discussion as they show the extent of knowledge or training that job applicants have. More and more employers are interested in attracting certified professionals to the organization as they are expected to be more efficient and skilled workers. This is where the viability of Kanban certifications comes into the picture. This approach is centered on the use of visual cues where the visual cards represent a step or task in a process that is interconnected to the next step or task leading up to completion.

What are the Most Valuable Kanban Certifications?

The visual representation of the interconnected tasks aids the teams in understanding the required workflow, resolving any blocks along the way, and improving the service that is provided. Out of the available certifications, four stand out as being most prominently wanted by employers, namely.

• Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT) certification

• Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP) certification

• Kanban Management Professional (KMP) certification

• Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP) certification.

Source: learnkanban

Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT) Certification

This is the certification that gets you ready for providing certified Kanban training classes using the appropriate training materials for the course. AKT certified professionals are the ones who have completed the training course with application review and case study requirements. These trainers are generally attached to specific Kanban training organizations and are commissioned to teach a certain number of students each year. AKTs also offer private Kanban classes to clients.
Many accredited AKT certified individuals also take up jobs in other capacities within the organization. The employers are interested to hire such individuals in the team as they might come in aid when the organizations decide to carry out Kanban training for the other employees at a later date. 

Benefits of AKT Certification

• The ability to deeply understand and impart knowledge about the Kanban methods in practice.

• Adeptness at handling all the major types of Kanban systems and knowing the appropriateness of each system.

• A higher number of job avenues as the individual is qualified to work both as a trainer with an organization and as a project manager.

• In the highly competitive business environment, an AKT professional is hired to empower the teams to make them reach the finish of life faster.

Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP) Certification

This certification is needed when you want to get the team working under your control with an improved level of collaboration and efficiency. Generally, all experience levels are welcome for getting TKP certified, and there are no requirements for prior experience or training. 

The best individuals to attend this certification course are the managers and Team members who want to get started by understanding the key concepts of Kanban.

Benefits of TKP Certification

• Getting the workload organized enough to be handled with greater ease leads to faster completion.

• Improving visibility of the goals and the pathway of attainment of the aims and objectives.

• Facilitating better communication within the various levels of the team.

• Greater ability to manage unforeseen and calculated risks leading to higher efficiency in management.

• A higher degree of collaboration within the team among both the new members and the existing participants leads to better ability at velocity estimation.

Kanban Management Professional (KMP) Certification

The KMP certification is probably the most known and popular among the Kanban certifications. A Kanban management professional understands how to take better decisions leading to streamlining of the workflows. The end results aid the company in the form of improved service delivery for the company and benefit the clients in the form of greater customer satisfaction. 

KMPs have special training in the application of the Kanban Method for greater agility and better risk management.

Benefits of KMP Certification

• The versatility factor of the KMP certification makes it easy for project managers to move seamlessly across functions. For instance, the movement of a content project from editing to the graphic designing aspect, or the transition of new software from integration to testing.

• The KMP certified professionals are also adept at meeting inventory with the demand factor by kick-starting processes into gear at a time when inventory is really low. The result is just-in-time delivery and greater levels of responsiveness.

• KMPs are instrumental in encouraging teams to limit the extent of work they have going at any point in time through a process known as limiting the work in progress. This factor encourages the teams to move towards the finishing point together by means of eliminating distractions leading to enhanced collaboration.

Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP) Certification

Kanban Coaching Professional (KCP) certification is the highest position attained by a Kanban coach. This is the certification that evaluates the existing formal training, knowledge, and experience of the professionals who are involved in the coaching of the Kanban initiatives. Professionals often go for Kanban courses online to ace certification exams. 

KCPs are held as the most skilled professionals to lead the initiative of change toward the Kanban methods for an organization. The eligible candidates for KCP are Kanban practitioners, trainers, consultants, change agents, and managers.

Why Kanban Certifications? 

Kanban certifications provide a great way to upskill and develop knowledge in the Kanban framework. Certification will formally recognize that you understand the principles and practices associated with Kanban and the best practices for leading successful Kanban projects. The global and transferable nature of obtaining a Kanban certification increases career prospects and job mobility, especially for IT Project Management professionals looking to take on higher-level positions.  

Earning the accreditation is a valuable addition to any professional portfolio, allowing the progress of learning in an increasingly digital world. Additionally, employers often favor those who have certifications over those without them when making hiring decisions, recognizing the importance of having formal qualifications, which can lead to improved performance at work. 

• Kanban is a system that helps businesses to better manage their workflows and increase efficiency. 

• A Kanban certification can help individuals to learn the Kanban system and how to apply it to their own work. 

• Kanban certifications are offered by a number of different organizations, including the Kanban Academy and the Lean Kanban University. 

• Individuals who are certified in Kanban can expect to see a number of benefits, including improved workflow management and increased efficiency. 
• There are a number of different levels of Kanban certification, from beginner to expert, so individuals can choose the level that best suits their needs. 

Become a project management expert with our online PMP certificate course. Start your journey to success now!

Key Principles of Kanban 

Kanban's key principles are designed to optimize the workflow process, providing businesses with an efficient way to manage their operations. 

Managing Work by Limiting the Progress

The main principle of Kanban is managing work by limiting progress. This means limiting the work in progress and creating short feedback cycles to limit delays while providing transparency into process performance. This approach automates decision-making and makes explicit who is responsible for each task within a project.  

By controlling how much work is completed at each stage, teams can prioritize tasks, reducing delays and ensuring that only tasks with high value are completed earlier in the cycle. Ultimately, this results in improved productivity and customer service through faster delivery times. 

Work Flow Process Visualization

Using visualization, Kanban helps improve team communication and collaboration as tasks and projects become easy to track and understand. Through this visual management process, team members can easily identify what needs to be done and what tasks have been completed, making it clear who is accountable for each task.  

In addition, with the ability to offer flexible planning, teams can adjust resources where they need them most to get efficient results. All of these benefits lead to better performance across the business while reducing stress and costs, both essential components of success. 

Management of the Flow

One of the key principles of Kanban is managing the flow of work. This means identifying and limiting how much work can progress at any given time. The aim is to ensure that no matter where they are, all tasks are actively progressing so they can be completed efficiently. The practice is built around the concept of visualization, which allows team members to view their current workloads at a glance.  

Whenever an obstacle arises or resources start running low, managers can identify potential bottlenecks and adapt quickly to prevent them from slowing down production. These strategies help teams manage their workflow and deliver results on time and within budget. 

Making the Process Policies Explicit 

Making the process policies explicit is one of the key principles of Kanban. It involves creating operational guides, making them accessible, and actively applying these to your workflow. By being intentional and clear with policy guidelines, teams are able to get on the same page quickly in terms of how processes should be managed.  

Everyone can access this information and use it as guidance, no matter their role or perspective. Articulating policies allows organizations to identify opportunities for improvement and make changes where they may be needed. Making the process policies explicit is essential for efficient and successful Kanban implementations. 

Implementation of Feedback Loops

Feedback loops are essential to the Kanban framework, allowing for continuous and adaptive management. They dictate that every request for service or information should receive a response in due time and allow teams to adjust plans gradually without affecting progress or potentially causing chaos. Feedback loops allow team members to engage in frequent and meaningful conversations to address any issues that may arise.  

By providing feedback on outcomes and performance levels, they ensure the highest service quality standards are met while still encouraging agile workflows. As part of this process, management should consider shortening cycle times when needed, assigning tasks more efficiently with greater tracking options, and introducing self-serve options so that all tasks have a designated place in Trackers or on boards - ensuring visibility across teams. 

Conclusion

There are many reasons to consider pursuing Kanban certification. The most valuable Kanban certifications can help you stay ahead of the curve in an agile world, give you a competitive edge in job markets, and provide opportunities for career advancement. So, whether you are just starting your agile journey or looking to take your career to the next level, Kanban certification could be the right move for you. 

Since Kanban is an alternative method to approach the Agile processes, the framework is highly efficient in catalyzing ongoing improvements and leading to higher effectiveness of the work. Kanban assimilates well with other approaches like Scrum and traditional methods, which is one of the major factors adding value to Kanban-certified professionals. Go for Agile Scrum with Atlassian JIRA certification training and stay ahead of the mass.