Use a Kanban-style board to show how office requests move from a defined start to a defined finish. Agree when new work may be started, keep blocked work visible, and use actual flow data to adjust capacity. There is no universal limit of one to three cards per person.

Define what a card represents

Choose a unit of work with a recognizable outcome, such as one office service request. Avoid mixing an entire relocation project with tiny follow-up actions unless their different scale is explicit.

For an illustrative request queue, use these stages:

Stage Entry and exit rule
Received Request logged; required information still being checked
Ready Enough information and authority exist to begin
In progress An assigned person has started the work
Review Output is ready for the required check
Complete Output accepted and required evidence recorded

This example is a starting design, not a prescribed number of columns. Define whether your measured start is Received or In progress; changing that boundary changes the meaning of your metrics.

Control work in progress

The Kanban Guide defines work in progress as items started but not finished. It also distinguishes throughput, item age and cycle time. Set an explicit capacity policy and pull new work when capacity is available. The Kanban Guide, May 2025.

A blocked item remains unfinished work. Mark its blocker and next owner without making it disappear from the applicable WIP count. Moving everything waiting for approval into an uncounted lane can make overload look solved when it is not.

For a hypothetical team that chooses a combined In progress/Review limit of four, three active items and one blocked item already occupy four places. Resolve or finish work before starting another, unless an agreed exception applies. Four is an example, not a recommended default.

Keep the next action visible

Each card should identify the request, responsible role, next action, relevant deadline and linked evidence. Record a blocker with the person who can resolve it and the next review action. “Waiting” without an owner or condition is not an explanation.

Keep private details in the authorized record system rather than exposing them on a public wall board. A physical board may suit a shared room; remote participants need an accessible, maintained view. Avoid two manually maintained boards that disagree.

Review flow, not just card appearance

Examine aging unfinished requests, completed items and where work accumulates. An old item may be legitimately waiting under agreed terms or may be abandoned; investigate rather than deleting it because it exceeded ten days.

Use the board alongside the records, approvals and dependencies the process requires. It does not replace those controls. The office intake guide defines request capture, while the approval guide helps explain work waiting for a decision.