Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Lean Portfolio Management Practice Exam

Which technique helps visualize work and determine bottlenecks in a project?

1. Scrum meetings

2. Kanban boards

3. Gantt charts

4. Pareto analysis

The correct answer is: Kanban boards

The technique that helps visualize work and determine bottlenecks in a project is the Kanban board. Kanban boards are a powerful visual management tool that displays work items and their stages in a workflow. By using columns to represent different stages of the process—such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done"—teams can see the current state of work at a glance. This visualization allows teams to identify where work is getting stuck or delayed. When a particular column has more items than others, it indicates a bottleneck that needs attention. Teams can then focus on addressing these specific areas, whether by reallocating resources, streamlining processes, or implementing other improvements to enhance flow. In contrast, scrum meetings are primarily focused on team communication and planning rather than visualizing work in progress. Gantt charts provide a timeline perspective but do not offer insights regarding bottlenecks in real-time workflow. Pareto analysis is a statistical technique that helps identify the most significant factors in a dataset, but it does not serve the same purpose in visualizing ongoing work or project bottlenecks like a Kanban board does.