What is Scrumban?

Anushree Chatterjee

“Agile is an attitude, not a technique with boundaries. An attitude has no boundaries so that we wouldn’t ask ‘Can I use agile here?’ but rather ‘How would I act in the agile way here?’ or ‘How agile can we be here?’”

– Alistair Cockburn (signatory of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development)

Agile methodologies have become very popular these days. You’ll see them prevalent these days as they are great at delivering in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.

But of all of them, the two you might have heard about the most are Scrum and Kanban. As helpful as these two methods are, they have certain limitations. To make the best of both, we have Scrumban, a hybrid approach.

Let’s understand Scrum and Kanban first before moving on to an in-depth dive into Scrumban.

What is Scrum and Kanban?

Scrum

Scrum is like a plan where teams work in short, fixed periods called sprints (usually 2-4 weeks). At the start of each sprint, the team plans what they will work on. Then, at the end of the sprint, they review what they’ve done.

It’s great for teams that need to focus on delivering specific features within a set time frame. However, it can feel too rigid for some teams that need more flexibility.

Kanban

Kanban is more flexible and focuses on continuous delivery of work. Instead of having fixed time periods like sprints, tasks are worked on as needed, and the goal is to improve the flow of work.

The work is visualized on a Kanban board, and tasks move through stages (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done). One feature of Kanban is setting Work in Progress (WIP) limits, which means that the team limits the number of tasks they’re working on at any given time to avoid overload.

Learn more about these methodologies over here: Scrum vs. Kanban vs. Lean: Choosing Your Path in Agile Development.

The Scrumban Methodology

Scrumban takes the structured planning of Scrum and the flexibility of Kanban to create a more adaptable system. It allows teams to work in a flow-based environment while still having some level of organization through the structure of Scrum. It’s a great middle ground for teams who might feel limited by the rigidity of Scrum but also don’t want to lose the organization and progress tracking that Scrum provides.

Some teams start with Scrum and later realize they need more flexibility (like Kanban provides). On the other hand, some teams start with Kanban but miss the clear roles and planning that Scrum provides. Scrumban acts as a bridge between Scrum and Kanban that allows teams to gradually move from one methodology to the other. Teams can take elements of Scrum (like sprint planning) and combine them with Kanban’s continuous flow and flexibility.

The Scrumban Framework

You’ll see the Scrumban framework borrowing features from Scrum and Kanban. However, some of them are unique to Scrumban.

Features from Scrum

These are the features Scrumban borrows from Scrum to bring structure and planning into the workflow.

• Sprint Planning: Scrum uses sprints, but it’s more flexible. Instead of a rigid sprint cycle, the team can adjust based on what’s most important.
• Roles: Scrumban keeps the Scrum roles, such as the Product Owner and Scrum Master, though these roles can sometimes be adjusted depending on the team’s needs. The Scrum Master helps with continuous improvement, and the Product Owner helps with task prioritization.
• Daily Standups: Scrumban usually keeps the daily standups from Scrum. This is a quick meeting where the team checks in on progress, talks about what they’re working on, and mentions any blockers. It’s about staying aligned and making sure everyone knows what’s going on.

Other Scrum elements that are used here include retrospective meetings and artifacts like product backlog.

Features from Kanban

These are the features Scrumban takes from Kanban to create flexibility and focus on workflow.

• Visual Boards: Just like in Kanban, Scrumban uses visual boards to track the flow of tasks. This helps everyone see where the work is and what’s next, making it easy to spot issues like bottlenecks.
• Work in Progress (WIP) Limits: Kanban emphasizes limiting the number of tasks being worked on at any one time. In Scrumban, WIP limits are applied to keep the team focused and prevent overloading. For example, the team may decide that no more than three tasks should be in the “In Progress” column at once. This makes sure that the team doesn’t start too many things and helps finish work faster.
• Continuous Flow: Kanban focuses on a smooth flow of work, where tasks move continuously through the system without being bound by strict sprints. Scrumban adapts this idea by removing the rigidity of Scrum’s fixed sprints and allowing work to flow freely as tasks are completed.
• Pull System: Kanban uses a pull system, where work is “pulled” into the process when there’s capacity to do it instead of tasks being pushed onto team members. In Scrumban, when someone finishes a task, they pull the next task from the backlog if they’re ready, maintaining a smooth and steady workflow without overload.

Unique Features of Scrumban

These are the features that make Scrumban distinct and combine the best of both Scrum and Kanban.

• Flexible Sprints: Unlike Scrum, where sprints are rigid and fixed in length, Scrumban introduces flexible sprints. The team can still work in short cycles, but these cycles aren’t locked in place. This flexibility allows the team to adjust the duration based on their workload and priorities.
• On-Demand Planning: Unlike Scrum’s fixed sprint planning, Scrumban uses “on-demand” planning. This means planning sessions are triggered when the backlog falls below a certain threshold instead of adhering to rigid schedules.
• No Timeboxed Ceremonies: Scrumban is less strict about having all the Scrum ceremonies (e.g., sprint planning, sprint reviews, retrospectives). While Scrum teams have mandatory ceremonies at the start and end of each sprint, Scrumban can be more flexible with how often or even whether these meetings happen. For example, retrospectives might be held only when needed, not every sprint.
• Hybrid Task Management: Scrumban often features a hybrid approach to task management. While it incorporates Kanban’s “pull” system, where team members pull tasks as capacity allows, there can also be elements of a “push” system, where tasks are initially placed into a “To Do” column. This blending of approaches provides a balanced workflow.
• Evolving Workflow: In Scrumban, the workflow can be continually improved and adjusted. Teams can adapt their boards and processes based on what they learn over time. This focus on continuous improvement and adapting as you go is a unique feature of Scrumban.

The Scrumban Process

Here’s an easy guide to help you set up Scrumban in your team.

• Visualize Your Work – Set Up a Board
  The first step in the Scrumban process is to visualize your work on a board. This is usually done using a Kanban board, which has different columns representing stages of work, like “To Do“, “In Progress“, and “Done“.
  Each task or work item is shown as a card or sticky note. The task moves across the board as it progresses through the stages. This makes it easy for the team to see what needs to be done, what’s being worked on, and what’s completed.
• Set Work In Progress (WIP) Limits
  One of the key ideas in Scrumban is to prevent the team from juggling too many tasks at once. So, WIP limits are set to define how many tasks can be worked on in each stage at the same time. For example, the team might decide that there can only be 3 tasks in the “In Progress” column at once. This helps the team focus on finishing tasks instead of starting too many at once and spreading themselves too thin.
• Product Backlog and Pull System
  In Scrumban, work is pulled into the system when team members have capacity to handle it. Prepare a backlog so that items are readily available for the team to work on.
• Work in Flexible Cycles
  The beauty of this process is that teams can work in cycles that aren’t rigid. Depending on the develerables, you can decide cycle lengths.
• Daily Standups
  Just like in Scrum, Scrumban teams have daily standups. This is a short meeting where the team quickly checks in, usually by answering three simple questions:
  • What did I do yesterday?
  • What am I working on today?
  • Is there anything blocking my work?
  These meetings help the team stay aligned and catch any issues early before they become bigger problems.
• Review and Improve
  Scrumban emphasizes continuous improvement. After each cycle, the team reflects on their process and looks for ways to make it better. This might involve:
  • Adjusting WIP limits if the team is feeling overwhelmed or underutilized.
  • Changing the workflow if certain tasks are consistently getting stuck.
  • Improving the board setup to make it easier to track work.
  The goal is to constantly learn from experience and tweak the process to make it more efficient over time.
• Use Metrics to Improve
  Make use of metrics like cycle time and throughput to see how well the team is working. This will also help you figure out what adjustments and improvements are needed.

When to Use Scrumban?

Here are the key moments when Scrumban is the best bet forward.

Scrumban vs. Kanban vs. Scrum

Here’s a brief overview of the three Agile processes.

Challenges with Scrumban

While Scrumban offers a lot of flexibility and benefits, it also comes with some challenges.

• Balancing flexibility with structure
• Lack of clear deadlines
• Overuse of flexibility
• Difficulty tracking progress
• Challenges when transitioning to Scrumban
• Lack of focus on long-term planning and goals
• Team needs to be self-disciplined
• Ambiguity in roles

Conclusion

If you’re planning to switch to Scrumban, remember to work with what you have as you build a new process for your team. As Agile is all about adaptability, you need your team to work with you to achieve the desired results.

Additional Resources

• The Role of QA in Agile Development
• Mastering Agile with BDD: Unleashing the Power of Behavior-Driven Development
• Higher Failure Rates for Agile Software Projects: A Comprehensive Analysis
• A Roadmap to Better Agile Testing
• The Strategy to Handle Defects in the Agile Development Methodology
• Agile Software Testing

“We spent so much time on maintenance when using Selenium, and we spend nearly zero time with maintenance using testRigor.”

Keith Powe VP Of Engineering - IDT