Are you torn between Scrum and Kanban? You are not alone. These two agile methods, although complementary, are often confronted and are the subject of many questions within organizations that work in agile mode.
So what are they? Qhat are the differences in the approach? Lhich one is best suited to your organization? Why not a mix of both? That's the purpose of this this article.
Kanban and Scrum: definitions
The Kanban and Scrum methods have become true door-openers.-standard-bearers of agility. It is therefore the specific features of each.
What isa method Scrum?
Among the many agile methods based Manifesto Agile, Scrum is a method that focuses on project management collaborative and a short development cycle with a single goal in mind: optimize team productivity.
To make a long story short, here are the six pillars of Scrum :
- Iteration: we work on a short period of time of fixed duration (between one a week to a month) marked by a series of activities ending with a delivery.
- Incremental: we work task after task in a progressive way.
- Adaptation. short cycles facilitate pivoting in the project.
- TransparencyCommunication and monitoring must be transparent to ensure thea success of Scrum.
- Inspection. it must be regular in order to monitor the gap between the objectives set and the actual work done.
To understand the Scrum approach in detail, check out our article on the Scrum Master and his organizational role compared to a project manager.
What is the Kanban method?
Kanban is a method agile which is inspired by the the Lean approach. Kanban is inherited from the automotive industry (Toyota) and is based on the fames systems of "pulled flows" (production method that is triggered only by customer orders).
In short, Kanban is ae approach in perpetual adaptation to the customer's needs. customer, sot The objective is to limit overproduction and reduce lead times and costs. We restrict the overload to create availability.
Another particularity of the Kanban method is the visualization of the progress of tasks. The Kanban approach allows to represent thehe work flow in a perspective of improvement.
3major differences in the Scrum and Kanban approaches
Cycle length
Where, with Scrum, we work on short cycles (fromonee to sometimes four with Kanban, we focus on continuous improvement. Levelopment is not set in stone, and can be the subject of dt evolution throughout the project.
Kanban is therefore more suitable when dealing with many different subjects: continuous delivery facilitates the staggering of test plans. Whereas if everything is delivered at the end of a sprint, it can create bottlenecks when the number of taskss is high.
Visualization
The Kanban method esis much more visual than the the Scrum method Scrum: Kanban is based on a visual modeling of all the operations to be carried out. Each step is strictly delimitedeach step is strictly delimited, as shown in this table:
Scrum is more based on an approach and an interface interfaces. The workflow is precisely described from start to finish. And if there are still tasks to be done in the sprint, they are carried over to the next one!
Empowerment of employees and delineation of roles
In the Scrum method, thes roles of each actor are clearly defineds. In general, there are three main roles :
- The Scrum Masteris responsible fortionationation of the the team and the management of the backlog.
- The Product Owneris responsible for meeting and managing deadlines.
- Developers: they execute the tasks agreed upon during the sprint.
With Kanban, there is no radical change to the current team constitution. However, it is recommended to implement two roles:
- A service delivery manager servicesHe is responsible for the flow. He ensures that tasks are carried out continuously while avoiding blockages and traffic jams.
- A service request manager: this is a team leader.
And Scrumbanin all this?
As you might expect, the Scrumbanis a clever mix of Scrum and Kanban.
The working method is similar to that of Kanban: pThere are few iterations and few tasks, which leaves room for the teams to adapt if necessary. Scrumban also borrows from Kanban the pull-flow method.
Scrumban adds to that elements and artifacts of Scrum: the frequency of events is not fixed at allewhich can leave room for recurring sprints (whereas whereaswith Kanban, there are no sprints).
You want to implement (or improve) an agile method in your organization ? Our teams ofspecialists in management and methods agile are here to help you implement thetion of the method lbest suited according to your needs and your resources.
