Kanban: A way of managing work on a board with columns such as To Do, In Progress and Done, focusing on a steady flow of work rather than fixed sprints.
Example
The support team uses a Kanban board and picks up the next ticket as soon as one is finished.
Why Kanban matters for IT interns
Even Scrum teams use Kanban-style boards. Moving your cards correctly keeps everyone informed.
Where you will hear it
You will hear this term in team routines such as stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives. If someone uses it and you are not sure what they mean in your project, it is completely fine to ask; every team uses terms a little differently.
Related terms
- Bug: A problem where the software doesn’t behave the way it is supposed to.
- Daily Stand-up: A short daily team meeting, often 15 minutes, where each person shares what they did, what they will do next…
- Epic: A large piece of work that is broken down into smaller user stories.
- Product Backlog: The complete, prioritised list of everything that might be built into the product.
- Product Owner: The person responsible for deciding what the team builds and in what order, representing users and business…
- Retrospective: A meeting at the end of a sprint where the team discusses what went well, what didn’t and what to change next…
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Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is Kanban?
A way of managing work on a board with columns such as To Do, In Progress and Done, focusing on a steady flow of work rather than fixed sprints.
What is an example of Kanban?
The support team uses a Kanban board and picks up the next ticket as soon as one is finished.
Why does Kanban matter for IT interns?
Even Scrum teams use Kanban-style boards. Moving your cards correctly keeps everyone informed.
Explore more internship terms
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About the author
Dhaivat has 16+ years of experience in the IT industry, working on AI and cloud technologies, project delivery, and engineering leadership. He has interviewed and mentored many interns, wrote The Lost Intern, and runs the non-commercial Career Impact Initiative, mentoring students for free.