Give an urgent WIP exception an exit
An exception is a deliberate change to the working agreement, not an invisible fourth item. This fictional board record shows the trade-off, owner and expiry that make an urgent exception reviewable. It is new editorial practice, not a reported result from Richard Durnall’s work.

1. Define the limit and which items count before discussing urgency. Keep blocked items visible rather than moving them off the board to make room.
2. Name the urgent item and why waiting is unacceptable. Record who approves the exception and what planned item will stop receiving attention.
3. Set a review time and a closing condition. “Until things calm down” is not an observable exit; completion of the urgent item can be one.
4. At review, restore the limit or make a new explicit decision. Record any unfinished work and tell affected recipients what changed.

Before: Review column limit 3; three items already present. No unused slot exists.
Exception card — fictional: E-04: urgent correction; approved by duty lead. Review count temporarily 4. Item R-12 pauses; its recipient is told.
Review appointment: Today at 15:00, duty lead checks E-04. The time is part of the invented example, not a service commitment.
Exit condition: When E-04 leaves Review, the count returns to 3. No fifth item enters under this exception.
Reusable card: Item __; reason __; original limit __; temporary count __; displaced work __; approval __; review time __; exit __; affected recipient __.

Before: ____________________
Exception card — fictional: ____________________
Review appointment: ____________________
Exit condition: ____________________
Reusable card: ____________________
An exception card does not prove that throughput improved. Evaluate the actual consequences before deciding whether the policy needs a permanent change.

Durnall — WIP working agreement — https://richarddurnall.com/guides/wip-limits-for-software-teams/