Agile project management methods have been firmly established for some time now, and for good reason. They enable teams to respond to innovations quickly and efficiently, improving productivity so you can achieve success.
What is Kanban?
Kanban is now recognized as an effective project management method that simplifies and optimizes work processes through visual representation. It enables teams to organize tasks transparently, create flexibility around competing priorities, and help increase team productivity.
Kanban originally comes from the Japanese and means “visual board” or “card”. It was created in the Japanese automotive industry at the end of the 1940s by Taiichi Ohno, an engineer at Toyota. Kanban aimed to increase efficiency in production through visible workflows and reduce any form of waste.
Key features and advantages of Kanban
One of the key features of Kanban is its flexibility. In contrast to other agile methods that prescribe fixed roles and time frames, Kanban adapts to the existing work process of a team. The work is divided into smaller tasks, which are displayed on cards and arranged on a Kanban board. This board is divided into different columns that represent the different stages of the work process. From “To do” to “In progress” to “Done”.
Another advantage of Kanban is transparency. As the Kanban board provides a visual representation of the workflow, everyone in the team can see the status of a task and the overall progress of the project at any time. This transparency promotes communication and collaboration within the team and helps to identify bottlenecks at an early stage.
In addition, Kanban enables continuous delivery. Instead of waiting for an entire project to be completed, teams can deliver individual tasks or features as soon as they are ready. This approach helps to create value for customers more quickly and to collect feedback that can be incorporated into the further development process.
What is Scrum?
Scrum is a structured agile method characterized by fixed roles, regular sprints and clearly defined processes. The definition of fixed roles contrasts with Kanban's flexible and fluid approach. Scrum enables teams to work on predefined tasks in fixed time frames, known as sprints, which promotes continuous development and rapid feedback. It was developed by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, two members of The Agile Alliance, and described in The Scrum Guide.
Scrum is an agile method that shines particularly well in projects where it is challenging to define all requirements from the outset. With a focus on team dynamics and the ability to work in short, concise cycles, Scrum supports fast and flexible adaptation to change and guarantees the regular delivery of usable results.
In contrast to Kanban, which is characterized by its flexibility and the continuous flow of work without fixed time frames, Scrum offers a structured approach. This is particularly advantageous for complex projects with dynamic requirements.
The basics of Scrum
A Scrum team consists of three primary roles:
Product Owner: The Product Owner is a representative of the project stakeholders who is available throughout the development process to answer questions, review completed work, and prioritize requirements. The Product Owner’s involvement with the development team helps teams adhere to Agile’s push for more collaboration.
Scrum Master: The Scrum Master leads the development team, keeps everyone focused on their work, teaches others on the team about Scrum, and leads all the Scrum meetings. He/she operates as the conductor of the team, making sure everything is running smoothly and everyone is following the rules of Scrum.
Development Team: The Development Team is a group of three to nine developers who are responsible for doing the work that’s described and prioritized by the Product Owner.
The most important events in the Scrum cycle include:
Sprint planning: a meeting at the beginning of each sprint where the team selects the tasks to be completed.
Daily standup: Short daily meetings to share progress and identify impediments.
Sprint review: A meeting at the end of each sprint to present the work and gather feedback.
Sprint retrospective: A discussion about what went well and what could be improved to make the next sprint more efficient.
Key elements used in Scrum include:
Product backlog: An organized list of all desired work on the product.
Sprint backlog: The list of tasks that the team will work on in the current sprint.
Increment: The sum of all product backlog entries completed during a sprint.
Kanban vs. Scrum: the differences
Kanban is characterized by its impressive flexibility and offers a constant flow of work without the restriction of fixed repetitions. Scrum is quite different: here, regular, time-defined sprints provide a clear framework for project work. While Kanban allows tasks to be added and prioritized dynamically, Scrum holds the team to a predefined scope of work for the duration of a sprint.
Roles and responsibilities: Scrum defines specific roles for the team (Product Owner, Scrum Master and Development Team), whereas Kanban does not prescribe fixed roles. This means that with Kanban, responsibilities can be handled more flexibly, whereas with Scrum, each role has clear responsibilities and tasks.
Iteration and delivery cycles: Scrum works in defined sprints with the aim of creating a potentially deliverable product increment at the end of each sprint. This promotes regular evaluation of progress and rapid feedback. Kanban, on the other hand, focuses on continuous flow and allows for flexible adjustment of priorities and tasks, which supports continuous delivery of results, but without the fixed timeframes that Scrum imposes.
Therefore, Scrum offers a structured approach with fixed roles and regular iterations, ideal for projects with changing requirements and the need for regular deliveries. Kanban, on the other hand, offers flexibility and continuous flow, making it ideal for projects where tasks and priorities change frequently.
Kanban or Scrum: choosing the right method for your team
Your decision for Kanban or Scrum should be based on various considerations:
What kind of project are you planning?
What are the dynamics of your team?
How complex is the project?
What time frames are available to you?
Carefully weigh the strengths and weaknesses of both methods so you can decide which method is the perfect choice for your team.
Project type and team dynamics
For teams working on projects with rapidly changing priorities or where tasks cannot be planned well in advance, Kanban provides the flexibility needed. It is ideal for continuous improvement and can be easily adapted to existing workflows without changing the structure of an entire team.
Scrum, on the other hand, is better suited to projects where clear goals and outcomes are defined, and the team can benefit from regular iterations and reviews. Scrum promotes a structured way of working, clear responsibilities and regular feedback. This makes the method ideal for teams that focus on the fast and efficient delivery of product increments.
Complexity and delivery timeframe
High complexity projects that can be broken down into smaller, manageable pieces often benefit from the structure that Scrum provides. The regular review at the end of each sprint allows the team to stay on track and manage complexity one step at a time.
Kanban, on the other hand, can be more beneficial in environments with less strict timeframes and continuous delivery. Teams that need to respond flexibly to changes without being constrained by fixed delivery dates often find Kanban the right methodology.
Advantages and disadvantages in direct comparison
The combination of Kanban and Scrum: Scrumban
Scrumban is an agile methodology that combines the structure of Scrum with the flexibility of Kanban. It retains the role-based structure and repetitive sprints of Scrum, but integrates Kanban's principles to enable continuous work.
In Scrumban, sprints are used to plan and review work, but the team is not limited to a fixed sprint backlog. Instead, new tasks can be added during a sprint if capacity is available. This allows for greater adaptability and a faster response to change.
Advantages of the combined method
Flexibility and structure: Scrumban offers the best mix of structured planning and flexibility in task fulfillment. Teams benefit from clear objectives and regular iterations, but at the same time have the freedom to adapt the workflow to unexpected changes.
Improved time management: By using Kanban's pull system within Scrum sprints, the team can work more efficiently and reduce waiting times between tasks.
Focused work with room for customization: While Scrum sets fixed goals for each sprint, the integration of Kanban allows for the addition of tasks that fall outside these goals but are still a priority. This leads to a more balanced workflow that considers both urgent needs and long-term goals.
Scrumban is ideal for teams who struggle with the rigidity of Scrum or who are looking for more structure in their Kanban process. You can combine the advantages of both methods and further improve your team's workflows.
Application examples in practice
Kanban is not only used in software development. The philosophies and frameworks of the methodologies are useful in many different industries and disciplines.
For example, a marketing team could use a Kanban board to track the progress of a campaign, from brainstorming to design and publication.
Kanban works really well for content marketing. Most content marketing workflows start with a backlog of ideas—an editorial calendar—that are planned by a content marketing manager. From there, they may go to an SEO specialist, then to a writer, then to an editor, then to a designer before they’re published.
Scrum is used in the product development of tech startups, where quick feedback and iterations are crucial. A startup could use bi-weekly sprints to develop new features, test with users and adapt quickly to stay ahead of the market.
Scrum could be used by a design team that’s working on redesigning a website. Say you need to release the redesign in six months, and there are numerous tasks that need to be completed as part of that project:
Updating site-wide elements such as navigation menus, buttons, and calls-to-action
Updating the images used on individual blog posts and landing pages
Revising the layout of all site landing pages
Updating your company style guide to reflect your new guidelines
Due to the hard deadline and the design team’s need to work with other teams like development, sales, product, and marketing, Scrum could be a perfect fit for managing this project.
Most large, dependency-heavy, and complex projects—regardless of the discipline that’s spearheading the project—can benefit from the structure Scrum provides. And most workflows that require input or attention from multiple individuals can benefit from the assembly-line approach of Kanban.
MeisterTask: simplify Kanban and Scrum for more efficiency
MeisterTask revolutionizes the use of Kanban and Scrum by making these agile methods more accessible and efficient through a simple task management tool. Designed for agile teams, MeisterTask combines the visual clarity of Kanban boards with the structured dynamics of Scrum. The result is a project management solution that is not only flexible, but also results-oriented to achieve your project goals faster and more effectively.
By integrating Kanban and Scrum principles, MeisterTask helps teams to make the most of the strengths of both methods. Users benefit from the ability to create suitable project boards that reflect either the continuous flow of Kanban or the tight sprints of Scrum. This not only facilitates the planning and implementation of projects, but also promotes collaboration within the team.
With MeisterTask, the most important aspects of Kanban and Scrum — such as individual status columns for different phases of the project, clear task assignments and set deadlines — are easily implemented. Features such as checklists and custom notifications facilitate organization and provide a clear overview of project progress. This helps to optimize workflows, identify bottlenecks at an early stage and increase productivity.
In short, MeisterTask is the ideal tool for teams looking for the agility of Kanban and the structure of Scrum, without the complexity that often comes with implementing these methods. It makes Kanban and Scrum easier, faster and more efficient — and helps you take your projects to the next level.
Start your Kanban projects faster with the Kanban template in MeisterTask. Customize predefined columns such as “To Do”, “In Progress” and “Done” as needed to get started immediately and efficiently.
MeisterTask is the perfect solution for us to organize our distributed team. It also allows us to keep track of all our colleagues who work 100% remotely. The cloud software, the easy-to-use Kanban board and the practical MeisterTask app make it possible.
Jana Ingendahl
CEO, Ingdilligenz
When it’s time for Sprint Planning, the Development Team can pull the user stories into the “Sprint Plan” lane to create a plan for the upcoming sprint. Part of the Sprint Planning workflow should include a quality assurance test that tests a new product feature and summarizes its benefits from the perspective of the end user. This is the user story that helps project managers plan future sprints.
They can also add estimates if needed and use checklists to break user stories down into individual tasks.
When the Development Team is working on a user story, team members can move the card into an “In Progress” lane. You can also add a “Blocked” lane for user stories that cannot be completed because of a blocker that the Scrum Master needs to help remove.
Finally, you can create a “Done” or “Acceptance” lane for user stories that need to be demoed to the Product Owner for approval. And when approval is received, each card can move to a completed lane for the Sprint in which the user story was completed.
In addition to Kanban tools offering a more flexible approach to both Scrum and Kanban, they’re easy for interested parties outside the team to understand. Project managers, project sponsors, and team managers can view the team’s board at any time to get a quick, overall view of the project’s progress.
This is great for teams, too, because it usually means fewer status update meetings.
Top 5 practical tips for the use of Kanban and Scrum
Adapt and review: It is essential for Kanban teams to regularly adapt and review the board to ensure it is always in line with current requirements and workflows.
Involvement and understanding: When using Scrum, it is important that all team members are fully involved in the method and understand the importance of daily standups and sprint planning.
Manage task load: Avoid overloading the team with too many tasks. Use an effective WIP (Work In Progress) limit with Kanban and set realistic sprint goals with Scrum to prevent this.
Start with Kanban for newcomers: Teams that are new to the world of agile methods could benefit from starting with Kanban to familiarize themselves with agile principles before moving on to more complex frameworks such as Scrum or Scrumban.
Scrumban as a bridge: For teams that are already familiar with agile methods but need a higher level of structure or want to combine the flexibility of Kanban with the structure of Scrum, Scrumban can be an ideal solution.
These practical tips will help you make the most of the advantages of Kanban and Scrum and make your work processes more efficient.
