Kanban vs Scrum: how do you choose the right method?

Choosing a methodology to manage your projects is not necessarily easy, because there are many and each has its advantages and disadvantages. And above all, it will depend on the nature of your project, your organization and the needs of your team.

Nowadays, the agile approach is very popular. Among the methods that adopt this mindset, you have surely already heard of Scrum and Kanban methods, both of which allow you to effectively manage all types of projects. But which one should you choose for your project?

Presentation

Scrum

Scrum is one of the most used agile methods. In 1986, two Japanese academics, Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka, used the rugby metaphor to describe a new method of product development. Ten years later, Ken Schwaber theorizes the principles of Scrum as we know them today.

Scrum provides a framework for structuring team work into short cycles (or iterations), called sprints, that last between one and four weeks. In this way, the project can be improved as one progresses. This method is based on three pillars:

• transparency : all the parties involved in the project speak the same language in order to have a good understanding of the project;
• The inspection : regularly review the progress of the project and the processes used in order to verify that the project is progressing as planned and that nothing is hindering its progress;
• The adaptation : based on the results of the inspection, the process is adjusted in order to improve it.

It is a more flexible way of working that makes it possible to take into account customer change requests. With Scrum, the team produces, learns, and improves through iterations.

kanban

kanban is a visual management method for visualizing the process of processing a task. It was designed in the 1950s by the Japanese engineer Taiichi Ōno, the founder of Toyota's production system. The goal of Kanban is to avoid inventory and waste in order to reduce costs while ensuring continuous improvement of the process.

The Kanban method works in cash flow, i.e. it is the need of the consumer that triggers the production of goods. In this way, you produce on demand, you limit stocks and you save money.

In Japanese, Kanban means “sign” or “label.” In industry, a kanban refers to the sheet attached to the part container of an assembly line and monitors its progress. If the sheet comes back to the beginning of the assembly line, it is because the part must be produced, otherwise it is because stocks are sufficient.

In project management, it is a sheet or a post-it that represents a task and that is moved into a table according to its status: to be done, in progress, to be tested or completed. The aim of the Kanban method is to limit the number of tasks in progress in order to improve the concentration and performance of teams, the quality of deliverables, and thus to deliver more quickly and more often.

Similarities

There are several similarities between Scrum and Kanban since these two methods follow agile principles.

Continuous improvement

Both are focused on the continuous improvement of processes, which makes it possible to be more efficient and to provide better results.

Creating subtasks

Both Scrum and Kanban make it possible to mitigate the complexity of a project by breaking down complex and important tasks into sub-tasks that are easier to manage and execute.

Visual management

Visual management is also a common point with the use of a table in which tasks are materialized, which makes it possible to better visualize the progress of the project, to identify possible blocking points and to improve the fluidity of processes.

Flexibility

These two methods are flexible and take into account possible changes during the implementation of the project.

Limiting the number of tasks

Both Scrum and Kanban limit the number of tasks in progress, which avoids multitasking and allows the team to better focus on the tasks at hand, to be more efficient and more productive.

Differences

While the bases of these two methods are the same, here are the points where they differ.

Roles and responsibilities

Scrum defines three roles precisely: a Product Owner, a Scrum Master, and the development team. And each role has its own responsibilities. With Kanban, roles are not strictly defined, even though everyone is given responsibilities.

Rhythm

Scrum has a much faster pace than Kanban. We work by sprint, a short iteration that lasts an average of two weeks, during which the team works to achieve a specific objective.

Kanban works in a continuous flow, without iteration. The team delivers deliverables as often as needed.

Delivery

With Scrum, a result (a product version, a software feature, etc.) is generally expected at the end of each iteration.

With Kanban, deliverables are delivered as soon as they are ready.

Meetings

Scrum is very structured and requires four types of meetings during each iteration:

• sprint planning,
• daily scrum,
• sprint review,
• retrospective sprint.

Each of its meetings has a specific objective.

With Kanban, no meetings are predefined, which doesn't stop the team from meeting regularly.

Change

With the Scrum method, no changes can be made during a sprint. Change requests are noted and integrated into the next sprint. Conversely, Kanban is more flexible and changes are taken into account at any time.

Conclusion

Scrum and Kanban are two valuable tools that help you organize and manage your projects effectively. You can decide to manage your project by adopting one or the other of these methods, but it is entirely possible to combine them because they are complementary. Indeed, you can opt for Kanban with its board and its limited number of tasks, while working on short Scrum-type iterations. In short, it is up to you to decide.

However, remember that Scrum involves fully mastering its principles, rules, and values, and applying them scrupulously.