Kanban vs Scrum Methodology: Which Is Best for Your Team?
The use of well-known and widely-used kanban vs scrum methodologies can make it easier to run your team in a more efficient and organized way, keeping stress levels as low as possible and helping team members to collaborate more effectively. In this Kanban vs Scrum comparison, we will look at two of the most popular methods you might be considering.
What Is Kanban Methodology?
This is a workflow management method that gives you a visual representation of how the tasks are progressing. Traditionally, physical board can help, with the team moving the tasks across columns such as To Do, In Progress, and Done.
It keeps life simple and gives you a high degree of clarity on how the team is doing at all times. This method can also be used on more complex processes where additional columns are needed to cover areas such as quotes, customer feedback and so on. It lets you very quickly see if any bottlenecks are developing in the process.
The Kanban methodology began as an innovation by Toyota in the 1940s. However, it has been embraced by industries such as IT and software development in modern times. This has led to the introduction of online tools to manage the process more effectively, which we will look at in a moment.
What Is Scrum Methodology?
The Scrum framework is part of the Agile process for running projects. It is a fast, adaptable way of working that is focused on getting the customer what they need.
It was first highlighted in the 1980s, with business leaders in the West noting the team-based approach that Japanese companies like Canon and Honda were starting to take. The empowerment of self-organised teams is a crucial step when adopting Scrum.
These days, it is well-known in software development. Short blocks of work – sprints – are carried out, usually periods of just a couple of weeks at a time. There is then a period to collect feedback and reflect on the progress to date.
Comparison of Kanban and Scrum
While they might appear similar at first glance, this Kanban vs Scrum comparison lets us see that they are both extremely useful in different situations.
Scrum can be a powerful approach in a project where the requirements are changing rapidly and you need a development team that is capable of reacting speedily when necessary. It also makes the information more transparent, to lower the complexity of the work.
As for Kanban, this a methodology that can help your team to gradually improve an existing process. It also allows everyone to see a very simple visual representation of how the work is going, which can be effective in lowering stress levels.
Pros and Cons
Every way of working has a series of pros and cons associated with it. Therefore, the secret to choosing between Kanban vs Scrum is in finding the approach that gives you the most advantages that are relevant to your projects and the lowest number of drawbacks.
Kanban Pros
- It is very easy to use
- Support continuous, sustainable improvements
- It is low cost and can be implemented quickly
- Encourages adaptability and collaboration in the team
Kanban Cons
- May not be suitable in a very fast-moving environment
- The lack of dates can reduce its usefulness
- Not focussed on strategy or goals
Scrum Pros
- A quick and efficient way of meeting project deliverables
- Large tasks are broken up into more manageable chunks
- Customer feedback is important
- Changes can be implemented more speedily
Scrum Cons
- Scope creep can be an issue
- It needs an experienced, motivated team to carry it out
- Large teams can struggle to adapt to it
Kanban Online Tools
The traditional method of working with a Kanban board is no longer appropriate for every type of business. Whether it is because you have the challenge of managing a global team that is scattered over different sites or because too many people need to use it at once, this approach can seem too limited and outdated now.
This is where online Kanban tools come into the equation. Kanbanchi is an example of an online tool that encourages collaboration among any type of team, while using the same basic principles that have kept Kanban boards popular for so long.
Since it is integrated into the Google Workspace suite of tools, it can give the team a very easy way of adding the benefits of this methodology in a way that helps them to share and collaborate with one other.
Scrum Online Tools
You will see a range of Agile-related project management tools, many of which carry out the Scrum methodology more efficiently. They each work differently and there isn’t a single option that covers all of the different ways of using Scrum that you might be interested in.
For example, some teams may prefer to use Scrumfast as a sort of basic, no-frills project management tool. ClickUp is another option, with time tracking and project templates among its features.
Kanban vs Scrum: Conclusion
We have seen in this Kanban vs Scrum comparison that they are different approaches to project management that can both be hugely effective in varying situations. If you have fast-changing requirements and a highly experienced team, you might feel that Scrum allows you to react more speedily and to meet your customer’s requirements.
On the other hand, if you want a simple, flexible approach that encourages collaboration and continuous improvement, you might decide that Kanban gives you exactly what you need.
However, you choose to do this, bear in mind that the right online tool will make it easier. This is particularly true if you have a remote team that needs to collaborate as smartly as possible. A powerful, intuitive tool such as Kanbanchi can make the integration of the new methodology a lot smoother.