Kanban vs. Scrum: Discover the best agile methodology for your team
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Kanban vs. Scrum
Title

Kanban vs. Scrum: Which Methodology is Best for Your Team?

Kanban and Scrum are two popular agile methodologies in project management. If you’re considering which to implement, it’s important to understand how each one works and what sets them apart. This article will help you decide on the best methodology for your team.

What is Kanban?

Kanban is a visual method that helps teams manage their work through various stages. Focusing on continuous improvement and project productivity allows teams to see the current status of tasks, helping identify bottlenecks and optimize workflow.

Main characteristics of Kanban:

📌 Workflow visualization

Kanban uses a visual board that allows teams to observe the status of each task in real-time. This board is divided into columns like “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Completed,” providing a clear view of progress and pending tasks. This visualization helps all team members understand workflow and current priorities, promoting transparency and collaboration. By looking at the board, teams can quickly identify possible bottlenecks and areas for improvement, optimizing process productivity.

kanban board

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🚫 Work-in-progress (WIP) limit

 One key rule in Kanban is limiting the number of tasks in progress in each column. This helps prevent team overload and ensures members focus on completing tasks before taking on new ones. WIP limits encourage a sustainable work pace, reducing stress and promoting a more efficient task flow. Additionally, when a column reaches its limit, the team must work on clearing tasks in that phase before moving forward, improving quality and focus.

⏱️ Continuous improvement

 Kanban is based on constant workflow optimization. Using metrics like lead time (the time it takes for a task to move from “To Do” to “Completed”), teams can assess and adjust their process to achieve optimal performance. This continuous measurement enables incremental improvements, allowing for regular, quick adjustments that benefit team productivity over time.

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a framework  structured in sprints or short work cycles that aims to achieve a defined set of goals.

Main characteristics of Scrum

🔄️ Sprints

In Scrum, sprints are work cycles of a specific length, typically two to four weeks, in which the team focuses on meeting concrete goals. Each sprint starts with planning, where priority tasks are defined, and ends with a review of the results and process. This approach allows the team to work with clear goals and facilitates regular value delivery, helping keep the project aligned with client or business needs.

🧑🏼‍💼Defined roles and responsibilities

Scrum establishes key responsabilities to ensure efficiency and organization in the process. These responsabilities include the Scrum Master, who facilitates the process and removes obstacles; the Product Owner, who manages the backlog and represents the client's vision; and the developers, tasked with executing the work planned in each sprint. These clearly defined responsibilities  ensure each member focuses on their shttps://go.certiprof.com/4hIOh5bpecific assignments , improving collaboration and avoiding task confusion.

📆Daily meetings

Scrum includes daily meetings called Daily Scrum, where the team reviews daily progress and coordinates upcoming tasks. These meetings follow a simple format, with each member answering three key questions: “What did I do yesterday?” “What will I do today?” and “Is there any obstacle?” Additionally, Scrum incorporates retrospective meetings at the end of each sprint to evaluate team performance and propose improvements. These practices foster transparency, ongoing progress, and continuous improvement in each cycle.

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Key differences between Kanban and Scrum

While both approaches promote agility, they differ in several key aspects:

Kanban

Structure: Flexible, no fixed deadlines.

Work change: Allows continuous changes.

Visualization: Continuous flow visual board.

Scrum

Structure: Defined sprints.

Work change: Changes are prioritized according to their value generation.

Visualization: Sprints with defined goals.

Which is best for your team?

Kanban is an excellent choice if your team needs a flexible system that can quickly adapt to priority changes. This method allows for continuous workflow management by visualizing each task on a board that shows the current status of each activity. Kanban adapts well to teams with variable work processes since it doesn’t impose strict deadlines for task delivery. It’s also ideal for continuous improvement, as it helps identify and resolve bottlenecks in real-time, optimizing efficiency without needing to restructure the workflow.

On the other hand, Scrum offers a well-defined structure, which is ideal for teams that need to work with clear objectives and regular delivery cycles. Scrum provides a framework that facilitates planning, collaboration, and regular reviews by dividing work into sprints, usually lasting two to four weeks. This is especially useful for projects with frequent deliveries and high predictability, as each sprint has clear goals and allows teams to evaluate their progress and adjust their approach incrementally. In short, while Kanban brings flexibility and a continuous workflow, Scrum provides structure and predictability, so the choice depends on your team’s specific needs and the type of project you’re working on.

Conclusion

Kanban and Scrum offer effective solutions for agile project management, but the best methodology for your team will depend on your specific needs and work dynamics.
Are you interested in learning more about these methodologies? 

At Certiprof, we offer certifications in Kanban and Scrum, designed to help you successfully implement these methodologies and take your team to the next level.
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