We all love Scrum right? It provides a great framework for providing valuable solutions in an Agile way. When it comes to adopting an Agile framework within organizations, it really has no competitors. But often I get asked the question: "What about Kanban; is that a better way of doing things?"
Of course, this depends on how you define "better". If we are to understand these two powerhouses in the Agile world, it would be prudent to take a brief look at their similarities and differences:
|
SCRUM |
KANBAN |
|
Has specifically defined roles |
Does not have mandatory roles |
|
Uses Velocity, Burndown Charts to manage and measure performance |
Uses Lead Time, Cycle Time, WIP, Cumulative Flow Diagrams to manage and measure performance |
|
Agile approach |
Lean approach |
|
Uses time boxes |
No time boxes, just continuous flow |
|
Work is based around capacity |
Work is based around capacity |
|
Daily meeting |
Daily meeting |
|
More structured framework |
Less structured framework |
|
Uses a product/issue backlog |
Uses a product/issue backlog |
|
More concerned with productivity |
More concerned with efficiency |
|
No changes allowed during Sprint |
Changes can occur as needed |
As Shakespeare might have said: "To Scrum or to Kanban, now that is the question." Actually, your organizational strategy or specific business requirement will answer that question better than Shakespeare could ever do. In reality, the two can exist together, and often do.
Take a software upgrade and rollout across an organization for example. Many projects such as this begin with Scrum (delivery of the solution), then transition to Kanban for support and issue logging (maintenance of the solution). This example might be closer to DevOps, but that is another buzzword for another buzztime!
Can you think of any other similarities or differences between Scrum and Kanban?
Thank you for your interest in the Scrumptious blog. If you have any ideas for Scrum topics, please message me here. Until next time, remember, projects can be Scrumptious!
