What should be completed when the work-in-progress (WIP) limit is reached and new work has been requested?

Decomposing work and adding it to the backlog does not respect the WIP constraint; breaking the work into smaller pieces still introduces new items into an already full system.

The WIP limit is a core Kanban constraint designed to prevent overloading the system and maintain consistent flow. When the limit is met, the new request must wait in a holding area (intake queue) until a slot becomes available, preserving the pull-based flow principle and preventing multitasking bottlenecks.

Asking for priority does not resolve the WIP limit breach; even high-priority items cannot enter a stage that has reached capacity without violating Kanban principles.

Adding work directly to the backlog bypasses the WIP limit entirely and undermines the flow management that Kanban is designed to enforce.