Success in software development isn’t just about writing awesome code. It’s about always getting better, reflecting on what works, and having a culture that really values these things. At Inedo, we embrace the philosophy of Chowa, a Japanese term for balance and harmony. One of the key pillars of this is Kaizen; (Continuous Improvement), a driver of success at Inedo. It’s what keeps us innovating and serving our customers better.

To help us with Kaizen, we put together the “Inedo Kaizen Kit”. It’s a hands-on tool that helps teams see and do continuous improvement in action. And because we think improving should be fun, we’ve included it in our Inedo Snack Box!

In this article, we’ll explore what the Inedo Kaizen Kit is, how to use it effectively, and other Kaizen initiatives we have undertaken to improve our products, processes, and customer experiences.

What is the Inedo Kaizen Kit?

The Inedo Kaizen Kit is a hands-on tool that makes team retrospectives more effective. It’s built around a simple but powerful technique called KPT (Keep, Problem, Try) to turn every reflection session into real action steps.

Here’s how it works—teams sort feedback into three categories:

• Keep – What’s working well and should continue.
• Problem – Issues or challenges that need addressing.
• Try – New ideas or approaches to experiment with.

To enhance this approach, we pair KPT with the Eisenhower Matrix, a priority-based framework that helps teams assess actions based on urgency and impact. This ensures that the most critical improvements are addressed first, leading to meaningful progress.

How to Use the Inedo Kaizen Kit

1. Set Up Your Session
   • Gather your team and hand out the sticky notes from the kit.
   • Use a whiteboard or wall space to make three sections: Keep, Problem, Try.
2. Gather Insights
   • Everyone writes down their thoughts and ideas under the right category.
   • Keep the discussion open and constructive—honest feedback leads to real improvements.
3. Prioritize with the Eisenhower Matrix
   • Take the ideas from the Try section and sort them into four buckets:
     • Urgent & Important → Do it now.
     • Important but Not Urgent → Schedule it.
     • Urgent but Not Important → Delegate it.
     • Neither Urgent nor Important → Maybe skip it.
4. Make it Happen
   • Assign tasks, set deadlines, and start making improvements.
   • Check back on past retros to see what’s working and tweak as needed.

Our Other Kaizen Initiatives

Beyond the Kaizen Kit, Inedo is always looking for ways to improve—both in our products and across the company. Here are some of the key things we’re working on:

⭐ Inedo 2025: Resolutions & Customer Feedback: To make sure we’re building what our customers actually need, we run an annual Customer Survey to get feedback on our products and services. This input shapes our roadmap and helps us create even better tools.

⭐ What’s Coming in 2025: In our recent article, Looking Ahead: What to Expect from ProGet, BuildMaster, and Otter in 2025, we shared the latest updates on our software.

⭐ New Articles and Guides: We have published new guides on NPM and Chocolatey package management. These guides help teams implement best practices and optimize their workflows with our tools.

⭐ Inedo Supply Chain Survey: Software supply chains are evolving fast. That’s why we launched the Inedo Supply Chain Survey—to get insights into the biggest challenges in development and security. The results will help us fine-tune our approach and build better solutions.

Get Your Kaizen Kit & Snack Box

We believe that continuous improvement should be both effective and enjoyable. That’s why we’re offering the Inedo Kaizen Kit along with a snack box—because who doesn’t think better with good snacks?

Why not request your snack box and Kaizen kit today, and start your journey towards a more efficient, balanced, and continuously improving team.