What is Scrumban?


When we talk about agile software development, Scrum and Kanban are two widespread frameworks. Scrum is an iterative & incremental framework for product development management, while Kanban is a pull-based system for managing work. Scrum-ban is a hybrid of these two frameworks. It incorporates the principles & practices of both Scrum and Kanban. Scrum-ban aims to supply the best of both worlds by incorporating Scrum's focus on teamwork, collaboration & continuous progress with Kanban's emphasis on visualizing work, managing flow & limiting work in progress.

Scrumban Principles

  • Continuous improvement − Scrum-ban promotes continuous progress by enabling teams to reflect on their processes & make necessary changes.

  • Visual management − Scrum-ban relies on visual management tools like Kanban boards. It is to deliver a clear view of the work in progress & its status.

  • Work in progress (WIP) limits − Scrum-ban restricts the amount of work that can be in progress at any given time. It is to avoid overloading the team & to improve flow.

  • Pull-based system − Scrum-ban is a pull-based system, meaning that work is pulled into the system based on the team's capacity and the priority of the work.

  • Iterative & incremental development − Scrum-ban combines the iterative & incremental development approach of Scrum with the pull-based system of Kanban.

  • Cadence and synchronization − Scrum-ban has a cadence & synchronization that is similar to Scrum, with regular planning, reviews, and retrospectives, but with the flexibility to adjust the frequency of these events based on the team's needs.

  • Explicit policies − Scrum-ban highlights explicit policies. These are documented & agreed upon by the team. It includes policies related to WIP limits, prioritization & workflow. These policies provide a clear understanding of how work is managed & help to ensure consistency & transparency across the team.

Scrumban Practices

  • Sprint planning − Like Scrum, Scrum-ban has sprint planning where the team decides what work to pull into the system for the next sprint.

  • Daily stand-up − Scrum-ban has daily stand-ups like Scrum, where the team updates each other on their progress and identifies any impediments.

  • Retrospective − Like Scrum, Scrum-ban has a retrospective where the team reflects on their processes and identifies areas for improvement.

  • Visual management − Scrum-ban relies on visual management tools like Kanban boards to provide a clear view of the work in progress and its status.

  • WIP limits − Scrum-ban limits the amount of work that can be in progress at any given time to avoid overloading the team and to improve flow.

  • Cumulative flow diagram − Scrum-ban uses a cumulative flow diagram to visualize the flow of work through the system and to identify bottlenecks & areas for improvement.

  • Continuous delivery − Scrum-ban encourages continuous delivery by providing a focus on delivering valuable features as soon as they are ready.

Scrumban Benefits

  • Flexibility − Scrum-ban is more flexible than Scrum or Kanban alone because it can adapt to different team structures, project types, and workloads.

  • Faster delivery − Scrum-ban encourages continuous delivery, which means that teams can deliver valuable features faster than with traditional development approaches.

  • Improved flow − Scrum-ban's focus on visual management & WIP limits improves flow by reducing bottlenecks, increasing collaboration, and improving communication.

  • Increased collaboration − Scrum-ban encourages collaboration by bringing together the best of both Scrum and Kanban, which emphasizes teamwork and visual management.

  • Continuous improvement − Scrum-ban promotes continuous improvement by encouraging teams to reflect on their processes and make necessary changes.

  • Enhanced customer satisfaction − Scrum-ban emphasizes continuous delivery of valuable features, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction by delivering features faster & more frequently, while also providing greater visibility into the development process.

  • Improved team morale − Scrum-ban promotes collaboration & delivers a framework for constant improvement. It can lead to advanced team morale by giving team members a sense of ownership & control over their work. It also delivers options for growth & learning. It can result in a more motivated & engaged team. It can have a positive impact on productivity & quality.

Conclusion

Scrum-ban is a hybrid framework that combines the best of both Scrum and Kanban. Scrum-ban's focus on visual management, WIP limits, and continuous improvement improves flow, increases collaboration, and encourages faster delivery. Scrum-ban's flexibility makes it an ideal framework for teams that want to combine the benefits of Scrum and Kanban. Scrum-ban is powerful frameworks that can help teams deliver high-quality products faster & with greater efficiency.

By incorporating the principles and practices of both Scrum and Kanban, Scrum-ban offers teams a flexible and adaptable approach to software development that can meet the unique needs of each project. If you are thinking of adopting Scrum-ban, be sure to carefully consider your requirements & the advantages that this framework can show. And, to work with professional practitioners can help you get the most out of this powerful approach to software development.

Updated on: 28-Mar-2023

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