What is Scrumban ?
1. What is it ?
Scrumban Definition
Scrumban is a flexible framework that combines the structured approach of Scrum with the continuous flow and adaptability of Kanban, empowering teams and organizations to deliver value more effectively in complex and changing environments.
In essence, Scrumban facilitates an environment where:
Teams start with their existing processes and integrate Kanban principles to enhance flexibility and responsiveness.
Work is visualized on a Scrumban board, providing clarity on workflow and progress, and enabling the management of Work In Progress (WIP) limits to optimize flow.
Planning is dynamic and demand-driven, allowing teams to adapt plans and priorities in real-time, based on emerging information and project requirements.
The framework supports continuous improvement and learning, encouraging iterative development, regular feedback, and collaborative problem-solving.
Scrumban is both simple and sophisticated. It encourages experimentation with its fundamental principles and structures to align with specific product and team needs. The framework is purposefully designed to be evolutionary, building upon the collective intelligence of those using it. Instead of prescribing detailed processes, Scrumban guides interactions and decision-making, enhancing the relationships and dynamics within teams.
Within the Scrumban framework, various processes, techniques, and methods can be employed, making it a versatile approach that can wrap around existing practices or streamline them for greater efficiency. Scrumban reveals the effectiveness of current management strategies, team environments, and working techniques, providing a clear perspective for ongoing improvement and greater value creation.​
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Scrumban Theory
Scrumban is grounded in the principles of empiricism, lean thinking, and continuous improvement. It posits that true knowledge is derived from hands-on experience and informed decision-making based on observed realities. By integrating lean thinking, Scrumban focuses on streamlining workflows, minimizing waste, and concentrating on delivering essential value.
The theory of Scrumban is built upon a hybrid approach that blends the structured, iterative nature of Scrum with the flow-based, adaptability-centric principles of Kanban. This combination facilitates a responsive and flexible framework, adept at navigating the complexities and uncertainties of modern product environments. Scrumban emphasizes the importance of visualizing work, managing work-in-progress, and enhancing process efficiency through ongoing refinements.
In Scrumban, the processes and practices are continuously evolving, reflecting a commitment to incremental and evolutionary change. Teams in a Scrumban setting are encouraged to start with their existing workflow and gradually infuse elements of Scrumban, thus ensuring a seamless and practical transition. This approach leverages the collective expertise and creativity of teams, fostering an environment where skills are shared and honed as needed.
Central to the Scrumban theory are the pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation, as they form the backbone of its agile framework.
Transparency is achieved through the Scrumban board and other visual tools that provide clear insights into workflow and progress, ensuring that all team members have a shared understanding of the work and its status. This level of openness fosters trust and facilitates better decision-making.
Inspection in Scrumban involves regular reviews of work processes and outcomes, allowing teams to assess their efficiency and effectiveness continuously. This ongoing evaluation is crucial for identifying areas that need improvement or adjustment.
Adaptation, the third pillar, is about the ability to respond effectively to these insights. Scrumban encourages teams to adapt their processes, priorities, and strategies based on the results of their inspections. This adaptability is key to addressing the complexities and uncertainties inherent in modern project work, enabling teams to evolve their practices to meet changing requirements and overcome challenges. Together, these three pillars ensure that Scrumban is a dynamic, responsive, and continually improving framework.
Overall, Scrumban's theory is about creating a balanced, efficient, and adaptable workflow that aligns with the dynamic nature of work, maximizes team potential, and delivers tangible value in an efficient and sustainable manner.
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2. The essence of Scrumban
To gain a better understanding of Scrumban and its contributions to product development, let's examine some of its fundamental traits.
Focus on Ongoing Improvement While the structured nature of Scrum might not suit all teams, especially due to its periodic starts and stops, Kanban’s principle of kaizen, or continuous improvement, is central to Scrumban. This philosophy is seamlessly blended with Scrum’s structural elements in Scrumban.
Visualization is Key in Scrumban The Scrumban board, a pivotal tool, visually maps out the team's workflow. This board, which can be either physical or digital, displays tasks that are pending, in progress, and completed. Unlike other boards which reset after each iteration, the Scrumban board remains consistent throughout the product development, fostering transparency, accountability, efficiency, and teamwork.
Flexibility in Team Composition and Roles: Scrumban does not mandate fixed roles or team structures. This allows for more flexibility in how teams are organized and operate.
Planning is Demand-Driven in Scrumban Planning sessions in Scrumban are not scheduled at regular intervals but are triggered when the backlog reaches a certain threshold. This approach helps maintain workflow continuity and avoid disruptions.
Effective Workload Management Each Agile framework has a mechanism to manage workload. Some delineate this with fixed sprint durations and task limits. In contrast, Kanban and Scrumban use WIP (work-in-progress) limits to control the number of tasks undertaken simultaneously, reflected on the Scrumban board.
Semi-Structured Meetings Scrumban adopts a balanced approach to meetings. Daily standups are brief and consistent, while other meetings like retrospectives are held as needed, differing from Scrum’s more regimented meeting structure and Kanban’s absence of such standards.
Prioritization Over Points In Scrumban, in contrast with story points that impact the sprint planning, task prioritization is key. Team members pull the highest priority item into the work-in-progress
column as capacity allows, shifting the focus from timeboxed efforts to priority-based task execution.
Adaptability of Scrumban Scrumban's versatility is twofold: it's applicable in various contexts beyond software development and has evolved significantly since its inception, with teams customizing it to fit their unique needs.
Cycle Time as a Core Metric Scrumban primarily utilizes cycle time, the duration from task initiation to completion, as a measure of success. This is distinct from lead time, which is the time from task request to delivery. Consider the coffee shop analogy: lead time is from ordering to receiving your drink, whereas cycle time begins when the barista starts making it.