As popular as kanban has become, it’s not an ideal workflow methodology for every project because it’s best for repeatable processes. Fortunately, it’s not the only tool available. Many organizations use other methods in tandem with Kanban or switch between workflow methods for different projects.
Two of the most popular techniques used alongside kanban are scrum and lean.
What is scrum?
The scrum we’re talking about isn’t the kind in rugby — but it is similar to the sport.
Like kanban, scrum is a workflow framework that helps organizations develop, deliver, and maintain complex projects easily and efficiently. While it’s especially popular for product development in the software and tech industries, scrum can apply to sales, marketing, research, and science. Unlike kanban, however, scrum is designed for teams of 10 or less, rather than large organizations.
In the scrum framework, workers break projects down into smaller goals that can be completed in short sprints or stages that last up to a month. Like in rugby, all the team members pile on to the sprint goal, working together to achieve it. Teams also meet once a day for 15 minutes or less to update each other and assess overall progress on a project. After each sprint, two meetings follow — one to receive feedback from leadership and stakeholders and an internal workflow reflection meeting so teams can find ways to improve for the next sprint.
The principles of scrum
At its core, scrum handles complex projects without a cumbersome workflow. Here are six principles to keep in mind while following the method:
Use the empirical process
The information age has transformed work into systems that can be studied and improved — almost like a science. Stay observant while following the scrum methodology to keep work transparent, be more adaptable to challenges, and better evaluate performance and processes.
Teams are self-organizing
With scrum meetings minimized to 15 minutes or less per day, team members mostly act independently during sprints. This makes room for organic optimization of team roles and contributions rather than rigid top-down assignments from managers.
Collaborate as much as possible
Daily scrum meetings are the perfect venue for exchanging feedback with team members during sprints. Be open to sharing — and receiving — valuable ideas that can make sprints more successful.
Prioritize based on value
Scrum requires a high level of adaptability because so much can change throughout a sprint. While priorities are likely to shift daily, adjusting them also keeps the goal in mind.
Timebox work and meetings
Timeboxing allocates a fixed time period for a planned activity. Sprints imply a disorganized, mad race to the finish line — something that can be part of many scrum workflows. However, the daily scrum meetings are an anchor. By ritualizing meetings and being respectful of everyone’s time, teams get the most out of each interaction and each workday.
Keep scrum an iterative method
While priorities change and goals are revised, scrum itself is iterative, meaning its processes are repeated over and over in a cycle to create the best product possible.
You may have noticed some similarities between kanban and scrum. But it’s not always best to think in terms of kanban vs scrum as they can complement each other when needed.
What is lean?
Kanban and scrum apply to projects and workflow, but lean is a methodology for creating new businesses and products. The goal is to shorten development time by determining as quickly as possible whether a business model or value proposition for a new product is viable.
Lean is a process-driven approach that emphasizes experimentation and evaluation rather than goal achievement. It’s best understood as a learning framework rather than a workflow — though it does break down the learning process into steps and tasks that guide teams and stakeholders through a flow of activities.
Principles of lean
Like scrum, lean operates on six principles:
Make the goal a minimum viable product
You’ve probably heard this term before — it’s exactly what the name implies: a version of a new product that brings the most return with the least amount of effort. This return can be profits or data used for ongoing product development and refinement. Oftentimes, it’s both.
Speed up product development with split testing
Split testing is an experimental method that releases multiple versions of the same product to different customers and audiences at the same time. Stakeholders observe how the product is received, gaining insight into what users want and value.
Focus on actionable metrics
Actionable metrics are directly tied to revenue or success and contrast starkly with vanity metrics. Whether or not a metric is actionable often depends on how it’s valued by its tracker. For example, both the owner and marketing team of an e-commerce site may track the number of page visitors per day. This would be a vanity metric for the owner since page visits don’t always translate to revenue, but it’s an actionable metric for the marketing team because it validates how strong their campaigns are.
Embrace pivots
A pivot allows organizations to test new theories about their products or strategy. It’s most often a response to the failure of the original business model or product value proposition. Some of the most successful companies in the world were founded through pivoting. One of the most famous examples in recent history was when Odeo, a floundering podcast subscription platform, rebranded as Twitter to avoid competition with iTunes.
Use innovation accounting to assess value
In startup culture, the metrics that usually indicate success (revenue, market share, customers, etc.) are often unavailable, simply because the company hasn’t launched. Innovation accounting provides a framework for tracking less tangible progress that indicates success and helps teams focus on what matters most to their business.
Work in an endless loop
We have the circle of life — scrum has the loop of build, measure, and learn. Teams work quickly to build a minimum viable product, measure its impact, and learn from the trial. In this way, all work can be understood as a learning cycle.
When it comes to kanban vs lean, the two are so different that they don’t compete with each other. They are part of the larger agile family of methodologies.
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