Summary: Kanban offers flexibility and visibility. Scrum offers structure and accountability. Both are great frameworks for getting product delivery and value to your customer faster. So which on should you use? In this article, I will highlight the pros and cons of both Kanban and Scrum, offer suggestions on how to fuse the two together, and offer my thoughts on which is best for marketing teams.

A Quick Review of Kanban and Scrum

At first glance, it is easy to look at Kanban and Scrum and think they are very similar. While they do share some characteristics, the two frameworks have significant differences. Before I get into the pros and cons of Kanban and Scrum, let’s look at a quick definition of each.

What is Kanban?

Kanban is a visual workflow management method for defining, managing, and improving the process for delivering output continuously. Kanban offers this continuous output and continuous improvement at the same time because you can see work flowing through the system and make adjustments quickly. The visual representation of Kanban is the Kanban Board, which can be maintained using digital kanban tools like Trello or Miro, or on a giant physical board with sticky notes. Kanban is a Japanese word that means “visual board, sign”. Kanban’s roots come from the Toyota Production System back in the 1950s as a way to help assembly line workers see the flow of work constructing a car. The Kanban approach is a “pull system”, which I will explain a little bit more below. Kanban can be found across a variety of different industries, companies, and teams. It’s flexibility makes it a popular workflow method.

What is Scrum?

Scrum is a popular framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. The Scrum framework is part of the Agile methodology, and is very commonly used by software industry development teams, but it is not uncommon to find Scrum present in research, sales, marketing, and advance technologies. Scrum teams have very specific roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Scrum development Team) and defined ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Sprint Review, etc.), which give it boundaries necessary for many types of teams. Where Kanban offers a visual element, the Kanban Board, Scrum does not have a required Scrum board

Kanban vs Scrum: The Pros and Cons

As you can see, there are many core differences between Kanban and Scrum - from how they are executed to how they are used. Now I am going to dig down and examine the pros and cons of each framework so you can make the best informed decision on which to choose.

The Pros of Kanban

Pro #1: Work Happens as Capacity Allows

Unlike Scrum, where work is thoroughly planned out and only a certain amount of work can be done within a set period of time, Kanban allows new work requests to enter the visual board and jump in the queue of work to be done whenever. Then, depending on how quickly work is flowing through the team, it is not out of the question that a piece of work that comes in one day could be worked on as soon as that same day or very soon after. Work that is waiting in queue can be “pulled” into work-in-progress as soon as there is capacity to work on it. Kanban is a “pull system” that relies on visual cues to show when a team has capacity to work on something new.

For example, if your team has a work-in-process limit of five items, once one of those items is complete, that item moves over to the next column, freeing up a space in the work-in-process column for something to slide in from the waiting column. Work can happen as soon as there is capacity. This is a huge advantage for Kanban, allowing work on an item to start sooner than an item in Scrum, which may have to wait until the next Sprint starts, even though there might be capacity in the middle of the current Sprint.

Pro #2: Kanban is Less Process Heavy, More Flexible

Scrum has a fairly structured, defined framework, with specific rules on how work is planned, worked, and reviewed. Kanban focuses less on process as much as Scrum, instead focuses on limiting work-in-process and continuously moving work through the system.

Kanban is also very flexible when it comes to how your Kanban board is laid out. You can create as many columns as your process requires, which makes it very customizable.

Pro #3: Focus is on Continuous Delivery

When I think of Kanban, I picture a car assembly line. Cars get built and roll off the end… and more finished cars just keep coming. The line never stops, and the best car manufacturers know their cycle time down to the second. They continuously roll new vehicles off the assembly line. If car manufacturers followed Scrum, they would only roll out a certain number of cars every two weeks and then stop. Kanban offers this continuous flow of completed work that never stops.

Pro #4: Great for Teams That Get a Lot of Requests

For teams, like marketing for example, that get a lot of work requests coming at them every day, Kanban can be a great workflow management solution. Because of Kanban’s continuous delivery process, work requests can come in, be prioritized, and sent to WIP as soon as capacity allows.

The Cons of Kanban

Con #1: Harder to Plan Out and Project Large Release Initiatives

Because Kanban is a continuous delivery process, larger projects can be harder to track and get done because they can get fragmented and mixed in with all the other work in the system.

Con #2: May Cause Poor Productivity Due to Lack of Time-Boxing

Kanban does lack some accountability that you get from Scrum. Because of the continuous delivery model, work is not time-boxed for completion. If you do not watch it closely enough, individual work tasks in work-in-process and sit there for a while if productivity slips.

Con #3: Easier to Misuse Process

Because Kanban does not have a heavy process or built in controls like predefined daily meetings, known as daily stand ups, review sessions, and retrospectives, Kanban can be easier to misuse and actually become detrimental to your team’s output goals. Because of this, monitoring your Kanban process is important, and using Kanban’s flexibility to build in controls when needed is a must.

Con #4: Can Be Difficult to Manage Different Priorities / Influx of Work

One edge Scrum has over Kanban is that priority of work is better defined. Kanban offers little control over how work is prioritized, instead is focused on pulling work into WIP when capacity allows it. Kanban is flexible enough to build in priority lanes for important tasks, but there are no set protocols.

Kanban is built around the controlling the work-in-process, so sudden influxes in work can cause what looks like a huge stack of work waiting to be done.

The Pros of Scrum

Pro #1: Creates Accountability

Scrum provides a well thought out guide and set of protocols for Scrum teams to follow, including strong definitions of roles and responsibilities. The Product Owner owns the backlog, the Scrum Team handles getting the Sprint work completed, the Scrum Master removes impediments, etc. These roles, when combined with the Scrum ceremonies, create accountability for getting value delivered.

Pro #2: Clear “Definition of Done”

For work to leave the product backlog and be placed in a Sprint backlog, it needs to be clearly defined and have a clear Definition of Done. No work starts on a work item until that is in place. This is a positive for Scrum because it takes out an ambiguity of what something is complete, and helps drive lower amounts of rework down the road.

Pro #3: Accommodates Change of Plans

Scrum operates in short, iterative Sprints, allowing for reviews to take place to get feedback on the direction of the project. This Sprint Review is key for being able to pivot before work gets too far down the road.

Pro #4: Allows for planning of large initiatives

One of the cons for Kanban was being able to plan and manage large initiatives, but that is one of Scrum’s biggest advantages. By completing work in short Sprints, and utilizing Scrum’s built-in feedback loops, large projects can be better controlled.

Pro #5: Better Metrics

Scrum has a number of metrics that can be used to measure success, like in work effort estimations and velocity. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and Scrum gives you metrics to measure!

Pro #6: Delivering a Known Value

As mentioned in a couple of the other positive attributes of Scrum, it’s requirement of having a Definition of Done, accountability, and ability to change project requirements more effectively, all of this leads Scrum to deliver expected value, in a predicted timeframe.

The Cons of Scrum

Con #1: Can Lead to Scope Creep in No End-Date is Defined

While Scrum time-boxes work to be completed during a Sprint, it does not require an end date to a project. Sprints can be completed, Sprint Reviews can occur, and that might trigger more requirements which then get added to the Backlog. This can result in a project never really ending, and ultimately leading to scope creep.

Con #2: Harder to Manage in Larger Teams

Scrum Teams are meant to be smaller in size, allowing them to work closely together and complete more value, faster. So if you have a larger team and a lot of work to get done, Scrum might not be for you.

Con #3: Changes to Team Structure and Mess Up Velocity

Members of teams change all the time, employees leave companies, have unexpected emergencies, etc. If these employees are members of a Scrum team, these changes to a team can affect the output and alter the planned velocity.

Con #4: Requires Team Buy-In, Which Can Cause Frustration and Not Meeting Team and Sprint Goals

Scrum is a one-for-all, all-for-one model, requiring all members of the Scrum team to agree to the Sprint work and support each other to complete the full Sprint on time. This means everyone has to be on the same page to get everything done, and as you can imagine, that can lead to disagreements on the work and how to get it done. This can lead to problems such as work delays, lack of productivity, and missing Sprint Goals.

Con #5: Velocity Can Be Skewed Depending on Team and Product Variables

No matter how well you refine a backlog item, sometimes there are things out of your control. 3rd party vendors, issues with software, etc. can all happen which can lead to a Sprint not being fully completed, a Sprint having to be cancelled, and product delays. Scrum's rigid framework doesn't account for these issues very well, given the tight Sprint cycles.

Scrumban: A third viable option

As you read above, both Kanban and Scrum have their pros and cons. Kanban offers flexibility and continuous delivery, while Scrum offers better accountability and more accurate delivery predictions.

So what if you still cannot decide which is the right methodology marketing team? Well, both Kanban and Scrum are frameworks that can be flexed to meet your needs, which is why a third, hybrid option is out there.

Scrumban might be the solution. Scrumban framework allows you to organize your workflow under a Kanban methodology, but pull in parts of Scrum that might be beneficial to your team. For example, for a certain level of accountability, you could use Scrum's daily stand-up ceremony to get quick, daily updates on work-in-process items.

Here are the six best practice elements I would recommend you have in place to implement a Scrumban model, which takes the best from both Kanban and Scrum.

1. Visualize the Work - Get your team's work on a visual Kanban board, whether that be digital or a physical whiteboard in your office. This element is one of the most powerful pieces of Kanban, and my personal favorite.

2. Impose WIP Limits - I like Kanban's continuous delivery, so I would skip Scrum's Sprints and instead release all work to the queue column and pull work into WIP when capacity is available. For those use to Scrum, the key here will be to limit WIP once you find what capacity your team has.

3. Add More Columns if You Need Them - Start with the basic columns on your Kanban board if you are new to the Kanban framework (To Do, Doing, Done). Then customize the Kanban board to your team's needs. For example, I suggest adding a "Ready for Work" column before "Doing" and a "Ready for Testing" column after the "Doing" column. This helps prevent bottlenecks from forming inside the Kanban board.

4. Start Ordering Work Cards by Priority and Pull Them in That Order - Work items should be taken in order by priority, no matter the available team member's skillset.

5. Stop Estimating - If you want to be lean, get rid of estimating. Estimating doesn't add any value to the end output, so just get rid of it. Instead of sizing work, this time should be spent on prioritizing. Team members who are use to Scrum will find this difficult in the beginning!

6. Trigger Planning and Review Sessions When Needed - While Kanban teams do not have any formal ceremonies, in Scrumban, you can take some from Scrum and mix them in when needed. For example, when the number of items in the To Do column drops below a certain level, that should signal a planning meeting to prioritize what is in there and discuss what other work should be added. I would also recommend a regular retrospective session to discuss learnings from the work being done and how optimizations to the process can be made. These meetings are less rigid than Scrum's Sprint Planning session or Sprint Retrospective meetings, but offer the same results.

Kanban vs Scrum: What Works Best for a Marketing Team?

I have been managing Marketing teams for over 20 years. In my experience, while there are some larger, complex projects a marketing team might work on, much of the work comes from a very wide variety of sources. Many requests come in fast and require quick action, including many from cross-functional teams that need marketing support. Marketing requires a system that is extremely flexible and allows work to continuously be done, without many stops.

That said, I believe Kanban is the best solution for a marketing team.