Kanban and Scrum are two popular agile approaches used by software development companies for their projects. If you are interested in knowing the winner between the two, the only way is to understand what suits your project better. Teams working with software or project development tools know that the whole industry is dominated by Agile methods like Scrum and Kanban.
However, you should have the proper knowledge of these two before applying it to your project development strategy. Differentiating Scrum and Kanban can be quite tricky, So let’s take a brief overview of them.
What is Kanban?
Kanban is a method used by custom software companies that helps to track the tasks and clear out the inefficiencies in a software project. The leading actor of this approach is the Kanban board, which may be physical or digital.
It is designed by dividing the phases of a project into different columns in which all the tasks are usually written. These columns are: ‘In progress (IP)’ and ‘Done’ columns.
After we analyze or identify our work stages or tasks that are meant to be completed according to the prioritization method. For example, if you have the development stage done (as per the SDLC), get all those development tasks done from the “IP” column to the “Done” column.
And that’s how the Kanban works. The best part about Kanban is that it increases project transparency. When we create a visual representation of all tasks that are required to be completed and others that are piling up, it becomes easier to perform them and reduce all the inefficiencies.
Kanban offers benefits like improving floor visibility, speed, and alignment between objectives and results. Kanban can also be used with other methods like Scrum and tandem.
What are the key concepts of Kanban?
DoW: The definition of workflow means defining the key parts of the workflow, for example, what starting or finishing of a task means and what time was taken to move through columns.
WIP Limits: Teams can set work-in-progress limits to columns or entire boards. For example, if a column is designed to have five tasks, it means it cannot have more than five cards in it at the same time. The team has to take care of present tasks before taking care of new ones.
Kaizen: It means all team members are encouraged to share their insights for improvement, not just the managers.
Knowing About Scrum:
Scrum is also a method used by custom software companies, but it is designed for more complex projects. Scrum involves shorter development cycles known as sprints. In other words, the whole development process is divided into smaller parts.
Using agile prioritization methods like MoSCoW, we first develop the alpha version with all the must-have features. After the launch of the alpha version, a meeting is held among all the stakeholders (teams, clients, developers, and testers), known as a sprint. In each sprint, changes or upgrades are made, and the development process starts again.
After the first sprint, the beta version is launched with all the should-have features. And this cycle goes ahead.
Each sprint lasts from a week to a month. The team in the scrum method consists of around nine people, including a scrum master and a product owner. The rest member of the team is called the development team.
In the scrum method, teams finish and deliver the tasks in stages, and this way, it becomes easy to adapt to changes and fix priorities.
Three essential pillars of Scrum:
Adaptation: Scrum is adaptive to the changing direction of the project.
Transparency: Each team member knows what is happening in the project.
Inspection: Consistent inspection is performed by team members and Stakeholders.
Apart from this, the five core values of Scrum are courage, commitment, openness, respect, and focus.
Overview of Kanban and Scrum At A Glance
Scrum and Kanban are both effective. Where Scrum includes the time-to-time collaboration of stakeholders, Kanban follows continuous development.
If the software has huge future users, Scrum methodology is usually considered the best. However, you can also merge or use them collectively if needed. To learn how big software development companies like Intetics use both of these methods effectively, you can visit Intetics.com.
Here’s the summarized overview of both agile methodologies.
| Kanban | Scrum |
| The main focus is on extensive planning. | The approach is open to making on the go changes. |
| Continuous flow of work | Time-boxed iterations (sprints) |
| Continuous planning with no fixed iteration | Fixed-length planning with iterations (sprints) |
| No predefined roles | Defined roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Scrum Team) |
| Well-suited for dynamic environments | Well-suited for stable requirements |
| Limited predefined artifacts | Defined artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Burndown charts) |
| Ongoing process improvement | Iterative improvement at the end of each sprint |
| Metrics include Lead time, cycle time, WIP limits | Metrics includes Velocity, burndown charts, sprint progress |
| High flexibility, can adapt quickly to changes | Less flexibility, Limited changes within a sprint |
| Making changes is possible in the middle of project. | Priority is given to stability, and mid sprint changes are discouraged. |
| Continuous reprioritization | Fixed priority for the sprint |
| Main focus is achieving the goals with continuous collaboration of stakeholders. | Main focus is given to Quality work with continuous productivity. |
| Visualization reveals bottlenecks early. | Only reviews reveal the bottlenecks. |
What are the pros and cons of using Kanban:
Pros:
· Due to the flexible structure, changes can be implemented quickly.
· The workflow charts provide transparency and progress visibility.
· Members are not overloaded with the work as the goals set the limits.
Cons:
· Visual interpretation is good, but it can sometimes move conceptual intricacies to a corner.
· Focus only on managing the workers, not the workers.
Discussing the pros and cons of Scrum:
Pros:
· There are clear expectations from each individual.
· Daily meetings help to get feedback and team help.
Cons:
· The team often under-commits due to fear of not meeting the deadlines.
· Responding to the changes takes time because the sprints are pre-planned.
What to choose Kanban v/s scrum?
Kanban and Scrum are both Strong methods used by a custom software development company. However, pitting both against each other cannot tell what you should use. You need to ask yourself, what are the needs of your team? Recognizing the challenges faced by individuals can help them decide the best method.
When should a custom software company use Scrum?
If you and your team are not larger than ten members and the workers find ways to improve the quality of delivery, Scrum can be used. Also, when the specifications of the project are known or delivered by a product owner, Scrum helps the team communicate well; therefore, it is the best strategy to use. Places where Scrum can be used:
· Your team believes in collaboration and self-motivation.
· The requirements of your project keep on changing.
· The project needs deeper understanding, and the client is adaptive to change.
· You need to build multiple features and plans to build them.
When working with Kanban is worthwhile?
If a team requires the highest degree of flexibility in roles and responsibilities, Kanban can help take the process ahead. Also, Kanban is the best strategy for projects experiencing standstills and drops in efficiency. Kanban boards give visual representation to detect and remove project blockers and give scope to improve the efforts.
· The process includes largely repeated processes.
· You don’t want to focus on planning and meetings.
· If your project requires continuous improvements.
Conclusion:
This post explained Scrum and Kanban, their differences, and their pros and cons. In the end, you need to know that Kanban can help a software development company fix minor issues or tasks. Scrum can help accomplish feature-driven goals.
One of the smartest ways to achieve goals is to combine both methods and create a scrum-ban strategy that applies great ideas from both methods. You can choose whatever suits you best based on your demands, team, and ambitions. Choose smartly to flourish your development cycle.As a custom software development company, Intetics develops the best custom software. Our knowledgeable developers work with the best methodologies to create each product on time. To learn more about us, visit Intetics.com.
