Scrum vs. kanban (by Dan Radigan)
(Excerpt)
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Kanban and scrum share some of the same concepts but have very different approaches. They should not be confused with one another.
| Scrum | Kanban | |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence | Regular fixed length sprints (ie, 2 weeks) | Continuous flow |
| Release methodology | At the end of each sprint if approved by the product owner | Continuous delivery or at the team’s discretion |
| Roles | Product owner, scrum master, development team | No existing roles. Some teams enlist the help of an agile coach. |
| Key metrics | Velocity | Cycle time |
| Change philosophy | Teams should strive to not make changes to the sprint forecast during the sprint. Doing so compromises learnings around estimation. | Change can happen at any time |
Some teams blend the ideals of kanban and scrum into “scrumban.” They take fixed length sprints and roles from scrum and the focus on work in progress limits and cycle time from kanban. For teams just starting out with agile, however, we strongly recommend choosing one methodology or the other and running with it for a while. You can always get fancy later on.