Kanban vs. Scrum: What's the difference?

Kanban vs Scrum

Project management is a dynamic field always on the move. Here, methods like Kanban and Scrum play a crucial part. A lot of people do not realize the difference between kanban vs scrum and both of them serve as part of the agile project management process. It's been quite a game-changer, this whole agile project management thing. It has shaken up the way we understand these methodologies, paving the way for new strategies and ways of tackling project stages. Now, teams can really play to their strengths, tailoring their approach to the specific needs of a project.

This whole scenario stirs up quite a bit of conversation, mostly around comparing Scrum and Kanban. Both of them bring something beneficial to the table, showcasing unique advantages and tackling their challenges. People love Kanban for its adaptability, while Scrum gets a nod for its structured, no-nonsense framework.

Deciding which method suits your team and your project means getting down to the nitty-gritty of Kanban and Scrum. They're both designed to help you master the skills you need as a potential product owner. So, let's dig in and explore these project management methods. We're aiming for a good understanding here, something that can help us navigate our way to choose either Kanban or Scrum.

Kanban Defined

Kanban is an instrumental tool in project management and it employs the visualization of tasks to streamline workflow. It operates on simple but significant symbols, each represented by a card, which identifies projects, tasks, or relevant activities. Arranging on a board in correspondence to their current status, allows teams to manage workflows efficiently.

Conceptualized in Japan in the mid-20th century, Kanban was a product of systematic thinking aimed at improving efficiency. Struggling to match the performance of global competitors, the key personnel devised a unique planning system. It was focused on enhancing control and management of workflows at every stage of production.

Kanban methodologies serve as an influential tool in project management, incorporating a myriad of features that streamline and optimize task execution. Its principle of visual management is symbolized by task cards placed on a board in a manner that mimics their life cycle within a project.

Central to Kanban's design is the task card, a compact encapsulation of a task's key details such as title, description, due date, and assignees. As a task unfolds, its representative card traverses the board, reflecting the task's evolution.

Accompanying the vertical arrays of tasks, the Kanban board also features horizontal "swimlanes". These lanes segregate tasks into distinct categories or allocate them to specific teams or individuals, fostering clarity in roles and responsibilities.

In a bid to accommodate unexpected tasks that do not fit into existing categories, Kanban offers the "Parking Lot" section. Positioned on the side of the board, this area holds tasks for future categorization and consideration.

The Kanban system exudes transparency, inviting team members to view the status of every task in a straightforward, visual manner. This visual layout, when coupled with a strict limit on work in progress, assures a smooth workflow while maintaining work quality as teams focus on fewer tasks at a time.

Implementing the Kanban system is more than just adopting a project management tool; it's about reshaping how teams communicate, collaborate, and deliver. The striking transparency, efficient flow of work management, and profound emphasis on quality dramatically enhance team performance and delivery outcomes.

Kanban in Practice

Consider a scenario where a team is managing a complex software development project involving numerous tasks at different stages of the workflow. Utilizing a comprehensive project management tool that embodies the concepts of Kanban can offer unprecedented clarity and control.

The Tasks such as coding could be marked as Completed, debugging might be In Review, and the creation of user interfaces may be in the in-progress phase. *Visualizing *each task on a virtual Kanban board is instrumental in understanding the big picture and swiftly identifying project risks and the areas requiring immediate attention.

The standard view of the Kanban board can include categories like:

The inherent adaptability of such a tool is evident as teams can customize their boards with additional columns to mirror their process and workflow. Adding categories such as Sprint, Waiting for Review, and Release can provide a more detailed overview of ongoing activities.

As the progress of the task, they move to different columns corresponding to their completion status. For instance, once the debugging is marked as finished, tasks like user interface creation progress to the In Progress column. Moreover, if a requirement changes and the team needs to revisit completed items, they can easily move tasks back to the To-Do column.

A Kanban-based project management tool's flexibility and intuitive design serve as a robust solution to keep up with the dynamic nature of projects and deliver top-notch results.

Kanban Measured

The essence of refining any project management method, including Kanban, lies in its measurement. Assuring a more efficient workflow requires quantifying performance initially. An automated system is built with this primary principle in mind, providing a method to track, measure, and optimize your Kanban process.

Two key metrics within this system stand out: lead time and cycle time. Both metrics track the average duration necessary for tasks to move from the start to the finish phase on the Kanban board.

The inbuilt AI transforms these metrics from just trackable to exceptional providers of actionable insights. By discerning the average time each task takes, teams can manage their workload more uniformly. This transparency helps identify and address any potential bottleneck effectively before it becomes a significant project risk.

Moreover, this tool helps keep developers focused on their tasks by highlighting their daily assignments directly on their IDE screen. This feature not only reduces the time spent on updates but also ensures that teams are working efficiently without distractions.

By enhancing these cycle times, your team is better equipped to deliver projects with increased speed and proficiency. As a result, productivity improves, and performance reaches greater heights.

In essence, measuring, tracking, and optimizing a Kanban process becomes far more manageable, efficient, and rewarding with this tool.

Kanban Applications Optimized

Kanban, with its flexibility and wide-ranging applicability, is especially effective in certain scenarios. It stands head and shoulders above other project management methods in contexts that demand superior visibility and control.

Consider teams overwhelmed with diverse requests, each with varying degrees of urgency and significance. In these situations, Kanban shines brilliantly. Its structure allows for methodical addition and prioritization of new tasks, represented as cards on the board. These cards are arranged according to urgency, priority, and specific project parameters, enabling efficient task management.

Further adding to its versatility, Kanban is a boon for teams dealing with an array of content types in different lifecycle stages. This is where the real-world benefits of an automated system become evident. This tool's intuitive nature lets users smoothly transition content through each phase while closely monitoring task progress. The result is a substantially streamlined workflow, improved productivity, and timely project completion.

Moreover, the incorporation of real-time updates in the Kanban model fosters enhanced transparency and fortifies collaboration within teams. Team members can fully access their projects, contributing to a more unified and harmonious workspace.

To top it off, this tool incorporates an indispensable feature for developers – the ability to update projects inside their IDE with a simple command. Such an ingenious facility brings about a sea change in how project updates are tracked, significantly reducing the friction between project managers and developers.

Scrum Defined

Scrum is a highly effective project management approach that employs specific timeframes to concentrate on particular tasks. Scrum revolves around 'Sprints,' which can last between a day to four weeks, contingent upon their intricacy.

Scrum embodies many essential principles:

• Sprints: Strict periods dedicated to specific tasks.
• Roles: Defined roles for each team member contributing to the product.
• Artifacts: Tangible by-products or outcomes of the project development process.
• Time Boxing: Specific, fixed periods allocated to each activity.
• Collaboration: Coordinated effort of a group to achieve a common goal.
• Constant improvement: Ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes over time.

Scrum is renowned for its fast-paced nature, allowing for focused periods of productivity. It adheres to established start and finish dates, ensuring tasks are managed effectively within the given timeframe. Within these timelines, Scrum teams are encouraged to break down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable activities.

Scrum sprints include different stages like sprint planning, sprint review, and sprint retrospective meetings, with each stage supporting timely and effective task completion. Daily Scrum meetings are typically organized to address roadblocks, and daily tasks, and share quick wins.

Particularly relevant in a tool such as ours, the 'Sprint' function allows your work to be displayed in 'Sprint Boards.' The Sprint feature, once enabled, provides teams with a well-structured, interactive visual interface to manage and track work in real time.

The salient distinction between Kanban and Scrum arises when it comes to adding tasks in the middle of a sprint. Scrum is less adaptable in this regard as it necessitates completing the entire sprint before moving on to the next sprint task or activity.

In summary, Scrum and the principles it embodies, when implemented with our tool, create an optimized and efficient workflow for project development teams. The result is a manageable, efficient, and fast-paced project development process, allowing your teams to deliver high-quality outputs within scheduled timeframes.

Scrum in Practice

The Scrum project management framework is renowned for its distinct approach to handling complex projects. It proposes assigning projects into manageable components, known as sprints, each lasting approximately two weeks.

During the first sprint, teams focus primarily on gathering project requirements and preparing the product backlog. This initial phase is vital to establish a solid understanding of the project's objectives and requirements. Following the completion of this stage, teams can move forward towards the next sprint, which generally involves the designing of the system architecture.

The Scrum framework assigns three vital roles: the development team, the product owner, and the Scrum Master. Each sprint garners complete attention, with all team members undertaking a distinct role that aligns with the sprint's objectives. Therefore, rather than simultaneously multitasking, Scrum enables the team to concentrate their full efforts towards achieving a specific facet of the project.

Next, before kicking off each sprint, the team needs to conduct a detailed planning meeting. Here they outline the sprint's end objectives, assign suitable roles to each member, and determine realistic deadlines. The Scrum Master, in particular, plays an integral role in meticulously decomposing each task into smaller, manageable sub-tasks and guiding the entire length of the sprint.

A Scrum board further enhances this process by providing a visual aid for the team to stay systematically organized. Depending on the project requirements, the Scrum board design can range from a basic layout featuring three columns (To Do, In Progress, Done) to more elaborate designs with added notes and subdivisions.

Before initiating the project, the Scrum Master gauges the estimated time required for the completion of the task list. This allows the team to reach an agreement on the sprint length in advance. In a situation where priorities shift mid-sprint, the current sprint is paused and requires a re-initiation of the planning phase.

Scrum Measured

Scrum performance measurement is a multiple-dimensional process, which involves not only calculating work output but also gauging factors like quality, predictability, and value delivery. Broadly, we can categorize measurement methods into three arenas - productivity, predictability, and value.

1. Productivity: It can be well estimated with metrics like 'velocity' which measures the amount of work a team can handle during a specific iteration. Another productivity indicator is 'Cycle Time', which refers to the amount of time it takes to complete a task from start to finish.
2. Predictability: Sprint burndown charts provide insights into whether a team is on track to meet their sprint goals. Another measure is a 'Release burn-up chart' that tracks progress toward a release goal over multiple iterations.
3. Value: To assess the returns of the project, 'Earned Value Management' could be employed. It's a systematic project management process used to find variances in projects based on the comparison of work performed and work planned.

Let's discuss an example of 'Sprint burndown charts' in Scrum performance measurement:

Consider a scenario where a team is working on a three-week sprint with a specific goal. At the beginning of the sprint, the total effort required is estimated and plotted on the y-axis of the chart. With each passing day, as tasks are being completed, the chart represents the 'remaining work' marking the team's progress towards the sprint goal. Hence, it illustrates how much work is left to be done before the end of the sprint, and if the team is behind or ahead of their target.

Therefore, using the right mixture of metrics and understanding their relation to the project is crucial for a successful scrum environment.

Scrum Applications Optimized

Scrum methodologies shine when implemented into complex projects that require multi-team involvement and continuous adaptation. The framework is most appreciated in environments that value iterative progress, flexibility, and collaboration. Such settings are often found in software development where requirements and features commonly change as the project unfolds, including the introduction of newer products, maintenance, enhancements, or even research projects.

Visualize a scenario where your organization is embarking on a groundbreaking technology venture and requires optimal efficiency. In such cases, project management tools that have been specifically developed to support Scrum frameworks can make a significant difference. A user-friendly interface in these tools allows teams to track the 'Velocity', 'Sprint burndown charts', or 'Release burn-up charts' effectively. These metrics not only help keep an eye on the project's lifecycle but also enhance the measurement of the team's productivity and predictability.

A unique feature of these tools is the focus on Scrum's collaborative nature. With real-time sharing possibilities and interactive dashboards, teams can communicate faster, leading to quicker decision-making processes and promoting adaptability in the face of evolving work patterns.

In short, with these Scrum-supportive features and an environment conducive to the implementation of Scrum methodologies, such tools take center stage in steering intricate projects toward their successful completion.

Kanban vs. Scrum: Compare the Differences

Before delving into the details, let's first introduce Kanban and Scrum, two prevalent methodologies of project management. Born from Lean manufacturing principles, both methodologies are applied across several industries, not only in software development.

While their goal to deliver high-quality products or services promptly remains the same, Kanban and Scrum emphasize different aspects of continuous improvement, team cooperation, and efficiency.

Kanban possesses a more flexible nature, allowing changes mid-way through the process. It visualizes one's workflow in its entirety, limiting work in progress and prioritizing throughput over time-boxed iterations. This makes Kanban ideal for projects with a steady output and operation.

Contrarily, the Scrum approach is more structured, dividing its workflow into fixed-length segments called sprints, complete with predefined roles and ceremonies. Scrum truly shines in scenarios where the requirements of the product rapidly shift and change.

Kanban vs. Scrum

• Process

  • Kanban: Flexible process
  • Scrum: Fixed roles, events, and artifacts

• Prioritization

  • Kanban: Continuous
  • Scrum: From the start of the sprint

• WIP Limits

  • Kanban: Set by tasks in each workflow stage
  • Scrum: Set by team capacity per sprint

• Changes

  • Kanban: Can be incorporated at any time
  • Scrum: Implemented in the next sprint

• Performance Metrics

  • Kanban: Cycle time
  • Scrum: Velocity

• Ideal Usage

  • Kanban: Projects with consistent output
  • Scrum: Projects with rapidly changing requirements

The strengths of both methodologies don't make one strictly superior to the other. The correct choice depends on the project, the team, and the specifics of the working environment. Let's explore the distinctive aspects of each approach in more depth.

Kanban

Pros of Kanban:

• Real-Time Communication: Kanban enables an immediate visual snapshot of the project status, which enhances real-time communication and problem-solving.
• Flexibility: Kanban allows changes to be made mid-process as it doesn't offer fixed-length sprints.
• Focus on Continuous Delivery: Kanban emphasizes the delivery of value to customers, encouraging constant production over batch delivery.
• Reduces Waste: By visualizing work and limiting work-in-progress items, Kanban reduces the waste generated by multitasking and context switching.

Cons of Kanban:

• Less Structure: The inherent flexibility of Kanban may lack the discipline of a more traditional project management format, which could lead to inefficiencies.
• Dependency on Physical Boards: While digital solutions are available, the effectiveness of Kanban is historically tied to a physical board and proximity, which could be a challenge for remote teams.
• Less Predictability: Without structured timeframes like in Scrum, forecasting completion dates can be more difficult in Kanban.

Scrum

Pros of Scrum:

• Structure: Scrum provides a predictive and structured approach with fixed-length iterations, known as sprints, which can improve productivity.
• Roles & Responsibilities: Defined roles within a Scrum team, such as the Product Owner and Scrum Master, ensure there is a clear division of duties, which can enhance coordination.
• Adaptability: Scrum teams review their work regularly at the end of each sprint, allowing for rapid feedback and adjustments.
• Predictability & Visibility: Regular updates, reviews, and retrospectives provide predictability and visibility into progress and foreseeable issues more proactively than other methods.

Cons of Scrum:

• Resistance to Change Mid-Sprint: Scrum's framework can be rigid within a sprint, and any changes occurring within the sprint could disrupt the team's flow.
• Dependence on Stand-Ups and Meetings: Scrum can be meeting-heavy which could potentially lower productivity if not managed correctly.
• Not Ideal For Solo Workers: If the team is too small or primarily consists of independent workers, Scrum’s benefits may be less noticeable.

Kanban vs Scrum, Which You Should Choose?

The ongoing debate about using Kanban vs Scrum in project management is heavy. While both are robust methodologies, they shine best in different situations. Understanding when to leverage Kanban and when to opt for Scrum depends largely on a variety of factors including the project's characteristics, team dynamics, and specific goals or outcomes. Let's delve into the distinct scenarios that might call for either of these methodologies.

Use Kanban when:

• The project requires real-time communication and high flexibility: Kanban's visual boards offer an immediate look at the project's status and allow changes at any time.
• The focus is on the delivery of value vs set deliverables: If you aim to deliver value over time rather than specific, set deliverables, Kanban's continuous delivery approach can be more fitting.
• The team is co-located or has robust digital collaboration tools: Given its dependency on visual boards, Kanban works well when a team can share a physical space, or when digital tools can replicate the same effect.

Use Scrum when:

• The project benefits from a structured schedule: For projects where timeliness and predictability are crucial, Scrum's fixed timelines offer a clear structure.
• Defined roles would aid productivity: If your team benefits from assigned roles and responsibilities, you should consider Scrum's distinct setup.
• The project needs regular reviews and adjustments: Projects that benefit from ongoing testing, learning, and iteration will find Scrum's regular retrospectives and review stages advantageous.

You can actually avoid the problem of choosing Kanban vs Scrum

How to avoid the problem of choosing an answer from Kanban vs Scrum? Look no further. You can combine the features of both Kanban and Scrum by using an effective project management tool. Here is a robust platform that offers exceptional versatility, meeting a wide range of project management needs on a single, Leiga. Visualize work with Kanban-style boards, or stick to structured Scrum-style iterations.

The platform accommodates varying needs with unique features. Whether you want to visualize work with Kanban, need time-boxed sprints, or wish to blend them per your requirements, this tool ensures you can handle all these without switching platforms.

What's more, team collaboration is simplified with shared boards, while efficiency can be monitored with built-in analytics. Stay competitive by fostering a culture of continuous improvement with retrospectives, in line with your chosen methodology.

Scaling your team? No worries. This platform is designed to grow with you, gracefully accommodating changing team sizes, task volumes, and project scopes. As your management tools need to scale with your team, this solution is built keeping future growth in mind.

Experience the power of highly effective and multi-functional project management, all in one place. At this point, you do not have to worry about the problem: Kanban vs Scrum, which is better? For *agile capabilities *and seamless integration of Kanban and Scrum, Register for free and unlock the full potential this dynamic solution has to offer, letting 'Leiga' guide you through the complexities of project management so you can focus on creating value.

The original article is reproduced from Leiga blogs.
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Comments

[Ethan Nelson]

I can say it's a mixed bag. While the explanations are on point and the effort to simplify complex Agile terms can be appreciated, the balance between the two methodologies feels slightly off. He does a great job demonstrating the use of Kanban and its flow.