Kanban vs Scrum

What It Means

KanbanKanban boardA board split into columns for each stage of work, such as To Do, In Progress and Done, with a card for every task that moves across as the work advances. See more and ScrumScrumA lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one. See more are two popular ways to put agileAgileA way of working, set out in the 2001 Agile Manifesto, that delivers in small pieces, gets feedback early and adjusts the plan as it learns. See more values into practice. Scrum, defined in the Scrum Guide, organizes work into fixed-length Sprints of one month or less, with a Product OwnerProduct ownerThe one person on a Scrum Team accountable for maximizing the value of the product and for managing the Product Backlog, including the order of its items. See more, a Scrum MasterScrum masterThe person on a Scrum Team accountable for the team's effectiveness and for Scrum being understood and used as the Scrum Guide defines it. See more and Developers, and a set of timeboxed events. The Kanban Method manages a continuous flow of work on a visible board and limits how much is in progress at once, pulling new work in only when there's room. Many teams mix parts of both.

How People Say It

• "We dropped sprints and went to kanban."
• "Support work doesn't fit in a sprint."
• "Can we keep our retros if we switch to a board?"

The Breakdown

Side by side

Pick Scrum if

• The work can be planned in chunks of a few weeks, and a fixed goal per Sprint helps the team focus.
• You want a set rhythm of planning, review and retrospective built in.
• One person can own the order of the work as Product Owner.

Pick Kanban if

• Work arrives unpredictably, like support requests or household jobs, and can't wait for the next Sprint.
• You'd rather improve the way the team already works step by step than adopt a new set of events.
• The main problem is too many things started and too few finished.

Short version to try today (Buhata's own example). A household with a steady stream of small jobs could try a three-column kanban board with a limit of two in progress. A family planning a move by a fixed date could try one-week Sprints with a single goal each.

Good to Know

Plenty of teams mix the two. Scrum.org's "Kanban primer for Scrum Teams" describes Scrum Teams adding Kanban's flow measures, such as cycle time and cumulative flow diagrams, to see how work moves through a Sprint. Scrum.org also notes that velocity and story points come from other agile methods and aren't part of the Scrum framework, so a Scrum team can work well without them. Check the Scrum Guide at scrumguides.org and the Kanban Guide at kanban.university for the current rules of each.

Related Terms and Categories

• Kanban board

  A board split into columns for each stage of work, such as To Do, In Progress and Done, with a card for every task that moves across as the work advances.

• Work in progress limit

  A cap on how many tasks can sit in one stage of work, such as In Progress, at the same time, so new work starts only when something finishes.

• Scrum

  A lightweight framework, defined in the Scrum Guide, in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less and adjusts after each one.

• Agile

  A way of working, set out in the 2001 Agile Manifesto, that delivers in small pieces, gets feedback early and adjusts the plan as it learns.

• Scrumban

  A way of working that starts from Scrum and adds Kanban practices such as a visible board, work in progress limits and pulling work in when there's room.

Productivity methods and focus