Struggling to Make Scrum Work? Meet Kanban
When people talk about the software development process, one of the first things they debate is which process framework best fits their project. If you're following the latest trends, you'll find no shortage of ways to make Scrum fit.
I'm a big fan of the Scrum framework — it would be my first choice, without question. It really does increase productivity, and it builds a high level of customer confidence, because at the end of each sprint you present the customer with exactly what your team did. But to run it properly, you need people prepared for it, from the highest role in the company down to everyone engaged with the application.
I see a lot of people and companies struggling to make Scrum run smoothly, and one of the biggest problems I notice is the sprint scope: it isn't well defined, and defects and stories keep getting pulled into the middle of the sprint, constantly reshuffling priority. If that's a situation you're facing, it might be why your Scrum process keeps falling short. Changes to the sprint backlog aren't prohibited by the Scrum Guide, but they're definitely not good practice.
For scenarios like this, one of the best frameworks to reach for — and one that's easy to adopt for a team already running Scrum — is Kanban.
What Kanban Actually Is
Kanban is another agile framework, inspired by the Toyota manufacturing process and focused on a high level of output. One of its main characteristics is keeping everybody working constantly, without fixating on how long a task will take — the goal is to deliver each task to the customer as soon as it's ready.
So what's the actual difference?
In traditional Scrum, you plan to deliver everything you committed to on the last day of the sprint, or shortly after. In Kanban, the last step to finish a task is delivering it to the customer, and you're continuously pulling in new work — there's no time box like Scrum has.
The Board
Another important piece of Kanban is the board used to track everything the team is working on.
By now, you'll see boards like this in most Scrum teams too. But it's worth knowing: the board isn't a Scrum requirement. It comes from Kanban.
Where to Go From Here
Scrum and Kanban aren't rivals — they solve different problems. Scrum gives you a rhythm and a commitment ceremony; Kanban gives you continuous flow and less friction when scope won't sit still. If your sprints keep getting hijacked by mid-sprint changes, that's a signal worth listening to, not a failure to push through.
If you want to go deeper on Kanban, these are worth a read: