Kanban/Scrum Key Differences

Agile methodologies such as Kanban and Scrum are widely utilised to expedite product delivery while retaining high quality. Nevertheless, despite sharing a common objective, the two techniques differ in various facets.

Firstly, Scrum endorses fixing the scope of work for each sprint spanning two to four weeks, while Kanban allows the team to adjust the scope of work at their discretion.

Secondly, Scrum follows a predefined workflow with a set order of stages. Conversely, Kanban's workflow is more adaptable and customisable to conform to the team's idiosyncrasies.

Thirdly, Scrum endows the product owner with the prerogative to prioritise the team's work. In contrast, Kanban vests the team with greater autonomy in prioritisation and enables them to select the subsequent work based on their existing capacity.

Fourthly, Scrum teams are typically cross-functional, encompassing all the required skills within the team. Conversely, Kanban teams may have a more specialised orientation, with each team member focussing on a specific area of expertise.

Fifthly, Scrum features a structured and comprehensive set of meetings, including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint review, and sprint retrospective. On the other hand, Kanban has fewer mandatory meetings and may rely on frequent check-ins to monitor the flow of work.

Finally, both Scrum and Kanban place significant emphasis on continuous process improvement. However, in Scrum, the team uses the sprint retrospective to reflect on their work and identify areas for improvement, while in Kanban, process improvement is an ongoing endeavour driven by the team or the Kanban coach.

Ultimately, the decision between Scrum and Kanban depends on the team's and the organisation's specific needs and objectives. While both methods can effectively enhance productivity and deliver high-quality products, their suitability may vary based on the nature of the work at hand.