Scrum and Kanban are flexible models for organizing work and processes in teams and managing new projects.
Their goal is to distribute tasks and roles in the relevant department as fully as possible, to clarify deadlines and their follow-up, and to stimulate effective communication between the participants, in this case between yourselves, to achieve the expected results in a time frame without unnecessary tension. In other words, both approaches have the task of making your work easier and setting clear frameworks in your daily activities. Reference: “Kanban or Scrum for project development“, https://www.yahowto.com/kanban-or-scrum-for-project-development/
What both models have in common is that the final result aims to establish continuous communication between the members of the team and the teams themselves, clarify the details of the tasks, and remove any deviations in time. In both approaches, we have a clear distribution of functions among the participants, so that everyone knows what they are doing and what is expected of them at any given time. Also, with Scrum and with Kanban, changes are constantly taken into account inside and outside the company, and any schedule can be modified as the situation arises. Reference: “Kanban, Scrum, and Lean in Agile projects“, https://ossalumni.org/kanban-scrum-and-lean-in-agile-projects/
Table of Contents
The main difference between Scrum and Kanban
With Scrum, the roles in the team and the process are clearly defined – who is the product owner, who is the developer, who leads the process, etc. and tasks are planned for a certain time interval, the so-called Sprint, which is usually short and within which a certain result must be realized.
With Kanban, there is no clear delineation of team roles, and tasks are assigned according to their priority and status, with the goal being to focus on current activities, and task assignment itself is a continuous process. Reference: “Scrum and Kanban: similarities and differences“, https://www.policymatters.net/scrum-and-kanban-similarities-and-differences/
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of both frameworks and in which units it is appropriate to integrate them.
Scrum framework
Advantages: Roles and deadline are clear, and there is a clearly defined goal and endpoint
Disadvantages: It is possible to ignore other high-importance tasks within the Sprint, due to focusing on one or several specific goals of the Sprint
Integration: Best applied to software development, quality testing, process optimization, and project departments, Reference: “Kanban or Scrum as a project management methodology“, https://www.islandjournal.net/kanban-or-scrum-as-a-project-management-methodology/
Kanban model
Benefits: Organize and focus on current tasks daily
Disadvantages: Deadlines are not as clearly defined and the team can focus on tasks that are not as high priority but are defined as ongoing, Reference: “Scrum and Kanban: Differences and Similarities“, https://www.powerhp.net/scrum-and-kanban-differences-and-similarities/
Integration: It is suitable to be implemented in production units, maintenance units, finance and accounting, operations units, and administration
Both frameworks have their specifics, but of course, it’s a matter of analysis and discussion on which one is best for your needs.
I hope that with the above information you have gained a clearer idea of the concepts and where we can apply them in the company. Reference: “Differences between Scrum and Kanban in Agile”, – https://www.kievpress.info/differences-between-scrum-and-kanban-agile/
I will be happy to assist with details, in case of your interest.
You can read more about the topic here:
- Reference: “Lean thinking and implementation of Agile management“, https://wikipedia-lab.org/lean-thinking-and-implementation-of-agile-management/
- Reference: “Lean and Agile software development”, https://mpmu.org/lean-and-agile-software-development/
- Source: “Lean training and integration in organizations”, https://stc-montreal.org/lean-training-and-integration-in-organizations/
- Source: “Strategy for Lean Thinking and Learning in Organizations”, https://customessaysonline.net/strategy-for-lean-thinking/
- Source: “Lean integration in organizations – a real example“, https://mstsnl.net/lean-integration-in-organizations-example/
You will receive further instructions on how we can plan the integration of the approaches from your supervisors very soon.
Colleagues are interested in Scrum and Kanban models
I am extremely glad that colleagues are interested in the Scrum and Kanban models and are eager to get more information on how we can apply them. I believe that these frameworks will help us optimize activities, be more productive and achieve high results.
As per your instruction, I have sent an email to all colleagues with brief explanations of the concepts and guidance on where we can apply them. I have also sent a link to additional information on the topic, for those who need more details.
To start implementing the approaches we will need to take the following steps:
Designation of a responsible person from each process/department, in this case, it is best to be the head of the unit, to whom we will explain the approaches in detail and who will take on the task of implementing them
General and individual discussions with department managers about the nature of their work, number of employees, specifics, and what difficulties they currently have
Analysis of the information provided
Determination of starting approach for each unit, with a combination of the two also possible
Discussions with the employees in the teams and clarification of the approaches, the rules that will be followed, and the conditions for applying the frameworks
Start by applying to one or part of the tasks in real-time, to create attitudes and habits among the participants and test whether the approach is fit for the purpose.
Initial feedback after a few months from management and teams.
With positive results – gradual application to other activities.
Monitoring at the next stage.
I am available to assist in organizing the meetings with the colleagues who lead the main units and to clarify the implementation strategy.
Kanban is a popular framework used to implement agile and DevOps software development. It requires real-time capacity communication and full performance transparency. Work items are represented visually on a kanban board, allowing team members to see the status of each piece of work at any time.
This means that a plan is built with a limited number of tasks and it is updated only when a task is completed and its place is freed in the table (Column). Each task is also called (Card).
Unlike Kanban, Scrum does not limit the number of tasks and offers much in the way of dynamic planning. Also in Kanban, the board is constantly updated and in Scrum, the board is replaced with a new one after each completed sprint*.
Kanban is a project management method that helps visualize tasks, while Scrum is a method that provides team structure and a schedule. Kanban and Scrum are project management methodologies that accomplish project tasks in small steps and emphasize continuous improvement.
As you can see the Scrum method is filled with many tasks and columns and Kanban is distributed equally and with fewer columns and tasks.
By integrating Kanban, you will gain a clear and transparent allocation of tasks, but you will be stuck having to complete one task before starting another.
With Scrum, the possibilities for multi-tasking are endless and depend on the abilities of each team.
This offers a dynamic atmosphere and development of the project, but it is possible to lose control and exceed the capabilities of the team, which subsequently creates project delays or other obstacles.
To integrate one of these methods, you must have internal communication and discuss in advance which method would serve you optimally.