Scrum Vs. Kanban board – What’s the best For Web Development?

Are you stuck in deciding whether to use Scrum or Kanban? Do you want assistance in determining which one of them will suit your web development projects? If yes, you have arrived at the right spot. This article is specially crafted to help you make better decisions regarding the use of Scrum and Kanban.

Well, Scrum and Kanban are efficient project management methods that ensure that all activities flow productively, but both have their own pros and cons. Both are agile methodologies that focus on creating a specific work environment. However, they have many key differences in terms of functionality.

That’s why it is essential to Know how they differ from each other. Learning the differences helps to choose the best one that suits the unique needs of your development team. So, without any further ado, let’s start with having a comprehensive overview of Scrum and Kanban, and then we will move towards their differences.

What is Scrum?

Scrum refers to a systematic methodology that helps you break a bigger project into smaller manageable tasks that are called increments in Scrum’s framework. It involves setting a particular time block called a sprint to complete each milestone.

It is mainly known for its organized structure that helps the managers keep a close eye on the activity and progress of their team members. Here is a simple breakdown of the structure used in Scrum boards.

Structure Of Scrum Board
A scrum board is a visual representation of the work planned for a sprint. It contains all the tasks related to a project categorized into different levels.

Backlog
Backlog refers to the pending task. This column contains the list of milestones that need to be completed.

To Do
To Do simply defines the tasks that are essential to complete in the current sprint. These are musts to finish within the set deadlines.

In Progress
This column represents the tasks that are currently being addressed by the team.

Testing
Tasks that undergo critical observation are placed in the Testing column.

Done
The term “Done” itself indicates that it entails the tasks that are completed within the set time blocks.

Scrum Team Roles

When it comes to building a scrum team, there is no specific limit. It may range from a few members to a team of dozens. To ensure that all the team members collaborate efficiently, there are three main roles that clearly define the duties of each member.

Produce Owner
Product owner is the most senior role in a scrum team. The duties of this role include ensuring a smooth workflow and effective collaboration between team members. The most important job of a product owner is to monitor the process and deliver the product on time without any delay.

Scrum Master
Scrum master is a mid-level role mainly concerned with effective team management. It serves as a bridge between product owners and developers. Its duties are clearly defined, ranging from helping the product owner plan and add backlogs to assigning tasks to developers. The scrum master also reports to the product owner about all the progress being made.

Developer
The developer is a basic-level role assigned to all the remaining members of development team who are responsible for getting all the tasks done. Developers are required to play their role efficiently by completing the assigned tasks daily. They have to regularly share the progress made on the project to make everyone familiar with potential challenges.

Key Features of Scrum Boards

When it comes to managing a lengthy project, scrum boards offer proficient features that help measure productivity. Here are some of the most prominent ones:

Time-Boxed Sprints
In the scrum framework, the work is divided into fixed-length sprints containing a list of specific tasks to be completed within the set time block. This workflow helps to maintain a balance in the pending, ongoing, and completed tasks.

Daily Stand-Ups
The scrum methodology involves conducting regular meetings called daily stand-ups. These daily sessions focus on discussing the obstacles being faced by any of the team members and brainstorming the appropriate solution.

Sprint Review
Every sprint ends with a team evaluation of the work that has been done. By identifying and avoiding the primary issues the team encountered during the current sprint, the review meeting helps to plan for the upcoming sprints.

Pros And Cons Of Scrum

Pros:

• Clearly defined roles ensure fair distribution of tasks.
• Allows to craft a goal-oriented workflow for strategic wins.
• The time-boxed sprints facilitate the prediction of deliverables.
• Regular work assessments lower the chances of risks.
• It helps to divide complex projects into easily manageable tasks.

Cons:

• The structured nature of tasks may be too strict for some teams.
• Daily meetings can sometimes be daunting for the team members.
• It may not fit teams that are not exposed to a fast-paced work environment.

What Is Kanban?

To put it simply, Kanban is the way to visualize your projects. Due to being more visual-oriented, this methodology is widely used across the world to simplify workflows. It makes the tasks, achievements, and activities visually accountable.

It involves creating visual boards to monitor the tasks being performed and assess the progress. Kanban boards are relatively easy to handle as compared to scrum boards. Due to this reason, it becomes easy for web development teams to identify potential issues and rectify them. Here is what a Kanban board looks like:

Structure Of Kanban Board
The structure of a Kanban board shares high similarity to that of a Scrum board. The only thing that makes it different from the Scrum board is that its tasks are not tied to specific timeframes.

Backlog
A list of work items that are pending to be done is mentioned in the backlog.

To Do
The to-do list contains the specific number of tasks to be completed. In the Kanban framework, these tasks have no particular time limits.

In Progress
This column encompasses the tasks that each team member performs in real time.

Done
The milestones that are completed on a daily basis come in the “Done” column.

Kanban Team Roles

Unlike Scrum, the Kanban methodology doesn’t support assigning particular roles to each of the team members. This is because it encourages a sense of collaborative ownership of the project. Although there are no specific roles in Kanban, teams can still consider assigning the following positions to some of their members.

Service Delivery Manager (SDM)
An SDM may be introduced to the Kanban team, whose key responsibility should be to improve work efficiency. Just like a Scrum master, a service delivery manager mainly oversees the workflows and ensures that all the tasks get completed without any problem. Conducting meetings, setting up meeting minutes software, and distributing work may also be the jobs of an SDM.

Service Request Manager (SRM)
In the Kanban system, a service request manager could be the person dedicated to managing customer queries. Its main duty is to set the workflow in such a way that the orders get delivered without any delay. An SRM may also be responsible for creating new policies to provide the best to the customers.

Key Features Of Kanban Board
The core features of Kanban boards are highly effective in managing and improving workflow. Below is a brief overview of the key features of Kanban boards.

Work In Progress (WIP) Limits
Work-in-progress limits are the main features that differentiate Kanban from other project management approaches. You can specify the maximum number of tasks involved in the development of a product that can be ongoing at any given time by using WIP limits. It enables team members to focus on current tasks before starting new ones.

Continuous Flow
Unlike Scrum, which works in fixed sprints, Kanban operates on a continuous basis. It emphasizes the tracking and analysis of flow metrics. Some of them are cycle time, lead time, and throughput. By regularly monitoring these metrics, the team members can find the areas where they can improve the workflow.

Pros and Cons Of Kanban

Pros:

• Allows teams to work at their own pace without time constraints.
• No daily meetings are set in Kanban, providing ease to the team.
• The visual nature of the board helps the team better understand processes.
• The use of flow metrics helps team members to make data-driven decisions.
• Kanban boards are relatively more customizable than Scrum boards.

Cons:

• The unstructured approach may not suit some teams.
• Without time limits, there is a higher risk of obstructions.
• Kanban doesn’t focus on assigning roles to team members.

Scrum Vs. Kanban: A Detailed Comparison

Flexibility
Scrum provides less flexibility to web development teams due to its time-restricted structure. It only allows to make changes when a sprint finishes, providing no option to make sudden changes.

On the other hand, Kanban gives team members freedom by allowing them to make changes at any time or whenever necessary. This enables the entire team to adjust to changing project requirements.

Workflow Visualization
Scrum boards are only helpful in visualizing the tasks and activities within a sprint. They may not provide a clear visual representation of the progress of the project.

In contrast, Kanban boards offer a continuous visualization of workflows. They help to see the project’s progress visually. This facility becomes beneficial when teams have to work on long-term projects.

Team Responsibilities
As mentioned earlier, Scrum prioritizes assigning responsibilities on different levels. It uses specific roles, such as Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developer, to distribute work among the team members.

Conversely, the Kanban system doesn’t focus on distributing work based on particular roles. Well, this might offer more flexibility to members but can also lead to confusion.

Time Management
Teams that use Scrum are highly committed to their deadlines. This is because Scrum uses time-boxed sprints to manage the project. Due to time restrictions, developers are more likely to spend each second productively.

Whereas there is no time restriction involved in the Kanban framework. This could be better for those who work at their own pace. However, it may lead to unclear end dates for tasks.

Measurement of Progress
In Scrum methodology, the progress of a project is tracked by sprint velocity. A sprint refers to the maximum number of tasks completed in a set time-block. This way of measuring progress could be beneficial for assessing the productivity of team members within a specific timeframe.

However, Kanban uses flow metrics to measure the growth in the project. Its metric cycle time defines the period from start to finish of a project. While lead time describes the total time from the task creation to completion. Both of these parameters provide comprehensive insights on productivity.

Scrum And Kanban: Popular Tools

Kanban
Kanban necessitates the tools that provide a clear view of each step of the process from start to finish. Many modern project management tools like Kanbanize and KanbanFlow incorporate Kanban functionality, allowing web development teams to create Kanban boards and keep an eye on potential blocks in workflow. However, most of them put a heavy burden on teams’ budgets by demanding costly paid subscriptions.

For teams interested in cost-effective options, exploring the best free Kanban board solutions like RingTheBell can be helpful. This tool is as effective as others and offers robust functionality. It allows you to create unlimited Kanban boards and add countless members without paying a single penny.

Scrum
Conversely, Scrum requires teams to use a specialized tool capable of generating accurate sprints. It should have productive features like backlog management, time tracking, and time-boxed boards. Most teams that need a structured workflow prefer to use Trello, an efficient tool that offers Scrum functionality.

However, as project needs evolve, teams may find Trello’s basic features limiting and need to move towards its paid version that not everyone can afford. To efficiently fulfill their needs, teams can use RingTheBell as a free Trello alternative. This project management tool offers unlimited Scrum boards with permission to include unlimited tasks and members. Also, the free features like switching between boards in one click and applying flag priority give it an extra edge over Trello.

Scrum Or Kanban: Which One To Use?

Both Scrum and Kanban are highly advantageous in monitoring workflows and ensuring that every project gets done without sacrificing quality. However, when it comes to choosing between Scrum and Kanban, it depends on the team’s working process, project goals, and preferences.

Scrum can suit web development teams who like to work under specific roles and need a structured procedure to meet their goals within set time limits. It is perfect for projects in which deliverables and timelines are pre-defined.

On the other hand, Kanban could be ideal for teams who don’t want to get bound by time limits and want a flexible work environment. It is best for projects where the priorities shift frequently.

Now, it is up to you which agile methodology you prefer. Well, whether you decide to go with Scrum or Kanban, make sure you take into account the interests of your team and nature of your development project.