WIPrajoja

WIPrajoja refers to the practice of imposing limits on the number of work items that can be in progress at any given stage of a workflow. The term is commonly used in Finnish to describe work-in-progress limits, a key concept in Kanban and lean software development, as well as knowledge-work environments.

The concept originated with Kanban and the broader lean manufacturing tradition, which emphasize flow, bottleneck identification, and reducing context switching. In Finnish project management, WIPrajoja are applied across software teams, product development, and service delivery to improve predictability and throughput. They are typically implemented on a visual workflow board that contains columns such as To Do, In Progress, and Review.

Practically, teams set a WIP limit for each column, such as a maximum of three items in progress. When a column reaches its limit, new work cannot start in that column until existing items advance, which highlights bottlenecks and encourages continuous delivery. Soft limits may be used to allow temporary flexibility, while hard limits enforce stricter discipline.

Benefits of WIPrajoja include reduced multitasking, improved cycle time and flow, earlier problem detection, and more predictable delivery. Potential drawbacks include the risk of upstream queueing if limits are too tight, and the need for ongoing calibration and team discipline. Effective implementation involves mapping the workflow, selecting appropriate limits, monitoring metrics like cycle time and throughput, and periodically adjusting limits to match team capacity.