Kanban Role in Managing Socio Technical Debt: A Nordic Case Study on Team Dynamics and Agile Practices

This case study investigates how Kanban implementation influences socio-technical debt (STD) management and team dynamics within Nordic organizational contexts. We conducted twenty semi-structured interviews in a large Nordic ICT organization across diverse roles. Participants had minimum three years of Kanban experience, ensuring analysis of mature implementations rather than initial adoption effects. Data were thematically analyzed. Our findings identified five key mechanisms through which Kanban influences STD: collaborative problem-solving that enhance knowledge sharing; work visualization that minimizes process debt via explicit workflow transparency; rapid communication patterns that decrease STD; voluntary work selection through pull systems that increasing autonomy; and work-in-progress principle helps to minimize technical debt and improved focus. However, these benefits are significantly mediated by organizational culture (i.e., Elegatarian Nordic culture with flat hierarchies enabling empowering). These insights offer both theoretical contributions to STD literature and practical guidance for organizations implementing Kanban.