Deciding Between Kanban and Scrum: A Guide to Selecting the Right Framework for Your Team

Kanban is a method for managing and organizing work that was developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota. It is based on the principles of Just-In-Time manufacturing, which aims to minimize waste and increase efficiency by only producing what is needed, when it is needed.?The term "Kanban" literally means "signal card" in Japanese and refers to the use of visual signals to communicate the status of work and the need for replenishment of materials. In a Kanban system, work is broken down into small, discrete units, and each unit is represented by a physical card that moves through different stages of production as the work is completed.?

Scrum is an Agile framework for project management and product development. It provides a structure for teams to work together and make incremental improvements on a product or project. Scrum emphasizes iterative, incremental delivery, flexibility, and the ability for team members to adapt and change direction as needed. It is commonly used in software development but can also be applied to other fields.

Choosing between Kanban and Scrum can be a difficult decision, as both frameworks have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. To help you decide which method is best for your team, it's important to understand the nature of your team's work, your priorities, and the culture of your organization.

Here is a checklist to guide you through the process of selecting the right method for your team:

1. Evaluate the nature of your team's work: Is it complex, risky, and/or new feature-oriented? Or is it well-defined, fluid, and/or more service-oriented? If your work is complex and adaptive, Scrum is the best option. If it's well-defined and fluid, Kanban is a better choice.
2. Consider how often your priorities change: Do you have trouble locking scope for 1-2 weeks at a time? Do you have more than 25% scope churn during a 2 week period? If so, Kanban may be a better option as it allows teams to adapt to changing priorities more easily.
3. Assess the team's ability to break down work into small pieces: Can teams break work down to reasonably small, similarly sized chunks? Scrum is best when you break your work down into small, incremental pieces. Kanban removes the overhead of estimation in favor of measuring cycle time for like-sized items.
4. Analyze the team's culture of continuous improvement and self-organization: Do your teams have a strong culture of continuous improvement and self-organization? If so, Kanban is a better option as it works well in a culture of continuous improvement.
5. Determine the team's need for technical practices and craftsmanship: Do your teams need to improve their discipline with technical practices and craftsmanship such as TDD, Continuous Integration/Delivery, Shared Ownership, etc.? If so, Scrum is a better option as it can help teams iterate through improving their technical practices and delivery.
6. Assess the team's top priority: Is the team's top priority to optimize responsiveness to customer needs? Or is it to focus on predictability and productivity for larger projects? If the team's top priority is to optimize responsiveness to customer needs, Kanban is the best option. If it's to focus on predictability and productivity for larger projects, Scrum is better.
7. Consider the team's appetite for process change: What is the team's appetite for process change? If it's low, Kanban may be a better option as it doesn't require as many rules as Scrum and is easier to introduce into the organization.
8. Analyze the organization's culture and demand for ceremony and artifact: Does your organization or culture demand a higher degree of ceremony and artifact? If so, Scrum is the better option as it can integrate well into cultures requiring more structure and documentation.

In summary, both Kanban and Scrum have their unique strengths and weaknesses. It's important to evaluate your team's needs, priorities, and culture to determine which method is best for you. While Kanban doesn't have as many rules as Scrum, it can be implemented more easily into an existing process. Scrum, on the other hand, has more structure and guidance, making it ideal for teams new to the practice.