What is Scrum?
Scrum is an Agile framework which is useful for completing complex projects. It is commonly used in software development projects. Scrum as a process is iterative and incremental in nature. This means that it fosters an environment of true continuous improvement. In Scrum, teams are cross-functional and there is no overall team leader. How a problem will be tackled, or who will do what is decided by the team as a whole.
Scrum features two main roles, Scrum Master (the team’s coach) and Product Owner (represents the product as a business, and guides the team towards the right product).
What is scrumban?
Scrumban is an Agile framework that can be seen as a combination of Scrum and Kanban. It was initially introduced as a method of transitioning from Scrum to Kanban. The first ever article on Scrumban, which spells it as “Scrum-ban” lists several levels to transition from Scrum to Kanban.
In Scrumban, work is organized into small iterations and kept track of on a visual board, much like in Scrum. Planning meetings are held to decide which user stories should be worked upon in the next iteration. The team is encouraged to work on as few user stories as possible, to keep things practical and doable. This is the Kanban concept of WIP limit in action.
What are some key Scrumban terms?
Some key scrumban terms are:
- Bucket size planning – Long-term planning approach in Scrumban.
- On Demand planning – Planning approach which is only applied when there is need for new tasks on the board.
- Lead and cycle time – The time that is taken from beginning work to completion of the work.