product backlog management isn’t rigid adherence to strategy or blind adaptability — it’s the ability to recognise when a skills gap is an obstacle

Agree what “blocked” means, make it obvious, keep it in WIP, swarm to fix it, preserve data, and learn fast.

In Kanban, daily discussions should focus on managing the flow of work by prioritising ageing items, resolving blockers, and controlling WIP. The goal is to keep work moving predictably by shifting from status updates to risk-focused, value-driven conversations.

While moving an item backwards in a Kanban workflow isn’t ideal—and can complicate flow metrics if not handled properly—there are valid reasons to do it. The most common reasons stem from a need to protect quality and fix issues that surface downstream in the process.

Current Value (CV) is a measure designed to assess the actual value an organisation delivers to its customers and stakeholders right now.

Unrealised Value (UV) represents the untapped potential in a product or service, indicating the value an organisation could capture by fully meeting the needs of all potential customers or users.

How Boyd’s OODA provides competitive advantage