WIP Limits: Choosing What to Start and What to Defer
A work in progress (WIP) limit sets how many tasks you will keep active at once. When you reach the limit, choose whether to finish a current task, return one to the queue, or leave the new work waiting.
The limit gives you a point at which to make that choice. It does not decide which task matters most or guarantee how quickly you will finish.
What a WIP limit counts
Suppose your board has Ready, Doing, and Done stages. A limit of two on Doing means you keep no more than two cards there at a time. The cards in Ready remain visible, but they are not all active commitments.
Start with a number you can test against real work. Two is a useful starting example, not a requirement for every person or project. If one task needs your full attention, you can keep only that task active.
For the board’s basic structure, see What Is Kanban? Understanding the Kanban Board.
A WIP limit example: two active tasks and a new request
Imagine you are preparing a small project landing page. Your limit is two, and the board contains these cards:
| Task | Current stage | What you know |
|---|---|---|
| Revise the introduction | Doing | One paragraph still needs revision |
| Capture a current screenshot | Doing | The project screen is ready to capture |
| Fix the contact link | Ready | You have just found an incorrect address |
| Add a newsletter signup | Ready | It is outside the first version |
You want the contact link fixed before the page is published. Moving its card straight into Doing would give you three active tasks. There are two reasonable choices.
Finish one, then pull the next card
If the introduction is close to done, revise and check its last paragraph. Move that card to Done, then move Fix the contact link from Ready to Doing.
The active cards are now the screenshot and the contact-link fix. The newsletter stays in Ready because you have chosen to leave it outside this version.
Defer one current task
If the contact-link fix needs attention now, return Capture a current screenshot to Ready before starting the fix. Add a short note such as “Project screen is ready; capture at desktop width” so you know where to resume.
The active cards are now the introduction and the contact-link fix. You have made an explicit change in what you are working on instead of silently adding a third commitment.
Decide how waiting work counts
A task can stop because you need a reply, access, or material. A Waiting stage can make that visible, but moving a card there does not make the unfinished work disappear.
Choose a rule you can apply consistently. For example: count Doing and Waiting together when deciding how much work to start. If you exclude waiting cards, review them before pulling another task so you can see what might resume soon.
This is a rule for your own review. In toodoori, the product setting applies to individual stages in the In Progress group. It does not combine several stages into one limit. See Managing Flow for the available settings and Soft and Hard modes.
Review the limit when work keeps piling up
Before increasing the limit, check whether the cards describe work you are still doing. Return paused work to the queue and record what is needed to resume it.
If one card contains several independent results, it may need a different structure. Work Breakdown: Checklists, Subtasks, and Dependencies explains that choice. Do not create extra cards solely to make the board appear to move.
At the end of the week, review one or two moments when you reached the limit. Note which work you finished, deferred, or started, then decide whether the limit helped. Weekly Retrospective Questions and a Worked Example gives you questions and a concrete next-week action.