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How Visuals Make Complex Projects Simple

Published By Planview Blog
How Visuals Make Complex Projects Simple

The complex, digital world of business makes us often feel like we’re being bombarded with information. By visualizing your workload, you’ll take a huge leap from complexity to simplicity.

Whether you like it or not, thousands of messages demand our attention each day. In fact, the average person has between 50,000–70,000 complexity-to-simplicity-chaos-project-managementthoughts per day. At 35–48 thoughts per minute per person, is it any wonder most people experience information overload at work?

This information overload results alarmingly often in confusion, missed deadlines, inefficient use of resources and failed projects. We have described this further in the Chaos Theory report.

But our brains also have a remarkable capacity to process information, particularly visuals. In fact, they can process these 60,000 times faster than text and can process an image in just 13 milliseconds. What if there was a way you can use this to your advantage and visualize teamwork, boost project simplicity and get things done?

placeits_ipad_600The solution is Kanban. A Japanese system that means ‘card wall’, it features a board on which cards can be placed in different columns to represent workflows of projects. As tasks progress, the cards move through the columns until they are complete.

Group physiology and behavioral sciences have found that visualizing information this way can neutralize cognitive overload, reduce uncertainty, and promote sensible and appropriate follow-through actions.

Even so, traditional Kanban boards wouldn’t work as a central hub with the geographically dispersed and mobile teams of today’s workplace. Many project managers use digital Kanban boards online, enabling teams to easily visualize work and absorb large amounts of information quickly. All in one place, on any device and from anywhere in the world.

Kanban quite literally helps users to see the ‘bigger picture’ on their projects. That means knowledge transfer, joint problem solving and the ability to coordinate individual commitments.

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Discover how Kanban can benefit your own performance and the management of projects.

Download the guide for free here

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