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Have you encountered situations where Scrum was mistaken for the entirety of Agile? What were the consequences?

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Stelian ROMAN Project Manager| MicroSafety Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia

In the last couple of decades, the version of Agile introduced in 2001 by the Manifesto for Agile Software development, evolved from a software delivery approach into project management and organisational transformation. Agile delivery has emerged as a standard of adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Yet, a pervasive misconception persists: “Agile is just Scrum.” This reductionist view not only narrows the potential of Agile, but also raises ethical questions about professional conduct, transparency, and organisational integrity. This blog post explores the ethical ramifications of conflating Agile with Scrum and provides guidance for responsible Agile adoption.

Blog post: Ethical Dimensions of the “Agile is Just Scrum” Misconception

ProjectManagement.com - The Agile Enterprise
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
I see that regularly in large industry where predictive schedules have been around a long time. It is often associated with someone who was once on a project not at all well suited for Scrum, they were forced to go through it anyway, and they have very negative opinions. Senior leaders with that understanding might make comments about how "We haven't approved doing agile on this program." when they're actually using a lot of agile tools. If I suggest using something like Kanban, I'm careful not to mention where it comes from, or the may be summarily put off by the association.
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1 reply by Stelian ROMAN
Aug 25, 2026 9:39 PM
Stelian ROMAN
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Schedules with sprints as tasks inserted in a traditional Microsoft Project Gantt chart are not uncommon. Unfortunately, some training courses recommend that approach. Kanban originated in manufacturing, and it could be either a sign of maturity of an Agile team or a sign of Scrum failure when it is adopted to avoid time-boxed commitments. Management should understand that Agile doesn't mean forcing Scrum on project teams. It is a way to adapt fast to scope changes. If there are no significant or frequent scope changes, then perhaps Agile is not the best option.
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Stelian ROMAN Project Manager| MicroSafety Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia
Aug 25, 2026 9:02 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
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I see that regularly in large industry where predictive schedules have been around a long time. It is often associated with someone who was once on a project not at all well suited for Scrum, they were forced to go through it anyway, and they have very negative opinions. Senior leaders with that understanding might make comments about how "We haven't approved doing agile on this program." when they're actually using a lot of agile tools. If I suggest using something like Kanban, I'm careful not to mention where it comes from, or the may be summarily put off by the association.
Schedules with sprints as tasks inserted in a traditional Microsoft Project Gantt chart are not uncommon. Unfortunately, some training courses recommend that approach. Kanban originated in manufacturing, and it could be either a sign of maturity of an Agile team or a sign of Scrum failure when it is adopted to avoid time-boxed commitments. Management should understand that Agile doesn't mean forcing Scrum on project teams. It is a way to adapt fast to scope changes. If there are no significant or frequent scope changes, then perhaps Agile is not the best option.

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