WIP Limit

A cap on how many items can sit in a given column (like 'In Progress') at once, forcing the team to finish things before starting new ones.

Example: WIP limit of 3 on 'In Progress' means a 4th ticket can't move there until something else moves out.

In practice: The whole point is fighting the instinct to start five things at once instead of finishing one.

• core to KanbanWIP limits are the primary mechanism Kanban uses to control flow — they're not optional in a real Kanban system.
• mitigated by Zombie TicketA WIP limit forces the team to confront stuck tickets instead of piling new work on top of them.