In my opinion, Scrum is still relevant, but its effectiveness depends on how it is implemented. In many teams, it feels outdated not because the framework is weak, but because it is reduced to rituals rather than being used as a value-driven, adaptive approach.
The Disciplined Agile training I attended, several years ago, was the first time I was exposed to the words "ways of working" in relation to agile, but they spoke to a concept that had long been on my mind. Disillusionment from Scrum often comes from being led to believe that it was the best way to run projects, and then watching it fail to meet your expectations. There are multiple factors that can help determine whether Scrum will be an effective approach for a given company or team - the nature of the work, organizational structure, change readiness, leadership behavior, skill levels, market volatility, etc. - not all of them have anything to do with the team doing the work, and there is usually more than one factor that makes or breaks it.
I'd be curious to see figures for the causes of when Scrum feels more ritualistic - was it the team not engaging (for any of several reasons), the Scrum Master not leading effectively, leadership wanting "agile" but not adapting to it and creating conflicting structures in the organization, a disconnect between the delivery mindset and the executive mindset (output vs outcomes), all of the above, or something else? Saving Changes...
In software and data engineering the widespread adoption of DevOps practices and cloud infrastructure greatly reduced the need for detailed "project" style planning in favour of more "productised" and continuous delivery against changing priorities. Put that together with automated testing and AI-augmented development and the Sprint Planning ceremony and sprint cadence is much less important than it was two decades ago. If cycle time is measurable in hours and business outcomes are realisable in days then there's not so much value in trying to set sprint goals and plan everything one or two weeks ahead. Longer term goals are still important of course, sprint goals perhaps much less so. For these reasons among others I have seen teams adopting a more Scrumban or Kanban -style approach over Scrum.
Arguably the need for the SM role has been reduced because agility skills are more widespread among engineers and stakeholders.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The problem is most of the people do not understand what Scrum is. Scrum is a framework then it does means you have to complete it with the artifacts that best fits for your current situation. You will not find one line regarding to user user stories, story points and things like that in Scrum definition. How much people understand that? So, Scrum, as any other type of frameworks, will not be updated. Frameworks dont prescribe.
Program Manager| HARPER SRLSanto Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
I don’t think Scrum is outdated, but I do think many teams outgrow how they were using it. When the context changes, sticking to the same cadence or ceremonies without adjusting them can starts to feel heavy.
Teams moving toward what works for them, sometimes closer to Kanban or hybrid approaches, depending on how fast they need to move and what they’re delivering.
...
1 reply by David Portas
Apr 14, 2026 2:34 PM
David Portas
...
Hi Lissette, Is Scrumban a hybrid approach? The answer seems to depend on who you ask. Personally I avoid the word "hybrid" because I'm not sure what it means any more.
I don’t think Scrum is outdated, but I do think many teams outgrow how they were using it. When the context changes, sticking to the same cadence or ceremonies without adjusting them can starts to feel heavy.
Teams moving toward what works for them, sometimes closer to Kanban or hybrid approaches, depending on how fast they need to move and what they’re delivering.
Hi Lissette, Is Scrumban a hybrid approach? The answer seems to depend on who you ask. Personally I avoid the word "hybrid" because I'm not sure what it means any more. Saving Changes...
Community Champion
