What Is a Hoshin Kanri Software?

In a fast-moving market, strategy isn't just about setting bold goals - it's about executing them. And that's where Hoshin Kanri software comes in. It gives leaders a clear line of sight, from high-level vision to daily work.

What Is a Hoshin Kanri Software?

Hoshin Kanri software is a digital platform designed to support the Hoshin planning process - a strategic management method built around aligning long-term goals with daily operations across the organization. The software transforms the core principles of Hoshin Kanri - direction, alignment, and continuous improvement - into practical tools for strategy deployment, progress tracking, and performance review.

With Hoshin Kanri software, your strategy doesn't sit on a slide deck. It becomes an integrated system that visualizes your X-Matrix, breaks down annual objectives into actionable goals, and links them directly to team-level execution. It ensures everyone knows what they're working toward - and why.

Why Your Organization Needs It

For enterprise leaders, the challenge isn't having a strategy - it's executing it. Traditional tools often fail to create visibility across layers, making it hard to track progress, detect misalignment, or adapt to change quickly.

A Hoshin Kanri software closes that gap by:

• Visualizing your strategic plan and KPIs in one central location

• Connecting high-level goals to programs, projects, and work execution

• Fostering collaboration and accountability across business units

• Enabling continuous feedback with built-in review cycles and metrics

• Supporting decision-making with real-time data and performance insights

When every team sees how their work drives strategy forward, you unlock better focus, faster delivery, and a stronger competitive edge.

5 Best Hoshin Kanri Software Solutions for Strategy Execution

Choosing the right Hoshin Kanri software is key to aligning strategic goals with real work across teams and departments. Here are five of the top tools on the market that help leadership teams move from planning to execution with clarity and precision.

1. Businessmap (formerly Kanbanize)

Businessmap is a powerful Lean strategy execution platform built for enterprise needs. It connects strategic goals to daily work by helping you visualize and manage projects, programs, and portfolios in a single place. With the help of OKRs and Portfolio Kanban, you can build your Hoshin Kanri X matrix on management boards, visualize strategic initiatives, connect them to projects, and work across teams. At the team-level, Businessmap helps you visualize and measure your workflow efficiency, enabling you to connect strategic planning with daily execution in a single environment.

Key Features

• Hoshin planning capabilities on portfolio boards
• OKRs for goals management
• Project Portfolio Management
• Work management boards supporting Scrum, Kanban, etc.
• Digital whiteboards
• Unlimited hierarchical structure
• AI work management
• Work automation

2. Amplon

Amplon is built specifically for Hoshin Kanri and policy deployment. It features a digital X-Matrix that connects KPIs, strategic goals, and project portfolios across all levels of the organization. Unlike spreadsheets, Amplon makes strategy accessible to everyone. With clean visuals, clear prioritization tools, and cloud-based collaboration, teams stay aligned and can continuously refine their direction. It's a strong choice for companies moving beyond Excel into a more connected and transparent strategy deployment process.

Key Features

• Interactive Hoshin planning X matrix
• Project planning and portfolio management
• Gantt visualization for projects
• User management
• AI coach

3. i-nexus

i-nexus is a robust strategy execution platform ideal for enterprises implementing Hoshin Kanri - from pilot deployments to full-scale rollouts. It supports X-Matrix alignment, governance, and reporting while enabling cross-functional collaboration. It's ideal for enterprises seeking a structured, flexible, and collaborative approach to strategy execution. While the platform is powerful, its user experience can feel unintuitive, requiring improvements in navigation, customization, and overall ease of use for broader adoption and day-to-day efficiency.

Key Features

• X-matrix planning
• Goal setting and cascade
• Project, program, and portfolio management
• Scorecards and bowling charts

4. KaiNexus

KaiNexus bridges Hoshin planning and execution by integrating strategic goals into daily improvement activities. With real-time dashboards, intuitive reports, and structured feedback loops, it helps align initiatives across departments. Its intuitive UI allows users to score, prioritize, and collaborate on improvements across departments. While feature-rich, some teams find it challenging to fully implement or keep up with updates - making training and change management essential for long-term success.

Key Features

• Boards and workflow customization
• User permissions management
• Milestones (available as an add-on)
• ROI Tracking (available as an add-on)
• Integrating to external systems using API (available as an add-on)

5. KPI Fire

KPI Fire is an X-Matrix software platform that simplifies strategic planning and execution. It helps you align long-term goals with action plans, assign responsibilities, and measure success through integrated KPIs. The customizable software allows you to tailor templates, workflows, and access based on team structure. With real-time updates and visual goal mapping, KPI Fire helps teams stay focused on high-impact initiatives, eliminate silos, and measure performance.

Key Features

• KPI Tracking
• Strategy Alignment
• Project Management
• Dashboards & Reporting

How to Implement Hoshin Kanri with Businessmap: From Strategy to Execution in One Place

Implementing Hoshin Kanri doesn't have to be overwhelming. Businessmap makes it simple to turn strategic plans into actionable work across every level of your organization.

1. Visualizing Breakthrough Objectives

With the help of management (portfolio) boards in Businessmap, you can visualize your breakthrough objectives.

For example, if your organization has 2 "Must-Win" battles in the next five years, you can create them at the top of your Management Board. This board becomes your control tower - giving you visibility into multiple projects or programs and their execution across teams.

Implementing the Hoshin Kanri concept by mapping breakthrough objectives in a top workflow in Businessmap

2. Breaking Down into Annual Goals

Per the Hoshin Kanri X matrix, you can break down your breakthrough objectives into annual goals using a lower workflow on your portfolio board. These annual strategies form a clear second layer of direction, bridging the gap between your high-level goals and the supporting projects or initiatives that drive their execution.

Visualizing annual goals in a second-layer workflow in Businessmap

3. Prioritizing Projects for Execution

The third layer is where the execution of prioritized projects happens. These projects support the annual goals and have the highest priority in achieving your yearly goals.

To ensure the right projects move ahead, management can implement a structured decision-making process to evaluate which initiatives will deliver the most impact. Techniques like the Cost of Delay or the Net Present Value (NPV) can help. For example, Cost of Delay - commonly used in Lean management - quantifies the financial impact of postponing a project, helping you focus on the most time-sensitive, value-generating work.

Using a third-layer workflow in Businessmap to visualize top-priority projects

4. Tracking Metrics with Key Results/KPIs

By leveraging the OKR goal-setting framework - particularly the "Key Results" - you can clearly visualize the metrics that indicate whether progress is being made.

For example, a key result like "Annual New Revenue" can be tied directly to an annual goal, serving as a measurable indicator of success. Tracking this metric reflects how well your annual strategies are performing and how close you are to achieving your long-term breakthrough objectives.

5. Aligning Goals with Project Execution Across Teams

Once your breakthrough objectives are broken down into annual goals and the key projects are prioritized, next you need to ensure seamless execution. This means mapping out all the necessary work and clearly defining the teams responsible.

With Linked Workflows in Businessmap, you can do exactly that - connect day-to-day tasks directly to your strategic and annual goals, all in a single hub. As work items move through their respective boards, you gain real-time visibility into progress, ensuring alignment between your strategy and its execution across teams and departments.

Connecting team workflows using "Linked workflows" in Businessmap for seamless execution