I just got done presenting at the Ohio State Bar Legal Technology Conference where I tried out a new idea: Kanban in a Box. I only made a couple of prototypes and I gave them both away, but I’m working on putting a few more together and making them available on this site. In the mean time, I thought I’d post the packing list:
A few things I’ve learned from experience. 1) 3M brand sticky notes (Post-its) just work better than the generics. More stick, less bleed-through. Worth the extra cost. 2) 3M’s color pallette strategy is indecipherable. They have color “sets” but they aren’t actually consistent from one size note to the next. 3) I prefer blue painters tape to the washi tape I included in the box, but the painter’s tape is too big.
Here’s a good order list if you want to build your own from Amazon:
- Small Stickys (1.5″ x 2″), Cape Town Collection. (Amazon Link)
- Medium Stickys (3″ x 3″), Cape Town Collection. (Amazon Link)
- Large Stickys (3 x 5), Cape Town Collection. (Amazon Link)
- Sharpies (medium point). (Amazon Link)
- Blue Painter’s Tape (1″ wide). (Amazon Link)
You really don’t even need this much to get started. If you have a white-board you can use a pen to just draw the lines (and avoid the need for tape, though some like it anyway). And I actually recommend that you just start with one color of sticky and only add complexity as you find a need for it. The different sizes are for two things: (1) the smaller stickys you can use as flags to do things like assign people to tasks. And (2) the larger ones are good if you want to use big stickys to designate a larger project/matter and then use the medium stickys to show sub-tasks for that project.
That’s it for now. Let me know your thoughts!
It’s a nice exercise that creating a Kanban for Lawyers. But it’s not very portable. Nor can I see (or have room for) beyond a few projects.
Any suggestions on making sticky notes stick to a textured wall?
Depends on how much texture. Scotch tape can help to a point, as can whole-note sticky notes. But if it is really bumpy you’re probably gonna want to get a whiteboard of some sort. You could also use a corkboard and pushpins for the cards. Or, I’ve seen some cool boards using strips of steel and magnets to hold the cards. As a short-term fix if you’re just prototyping, maybe hang some butcher paper or poster board to stick things too. Good luck and lmk if you have other questions!