Recently, we released a blog post on Baby-Stepping Your Way into Agile Using Kanban Principles and in it, Jacqueline discussed how to use Kanban principles to get started in an agile approach or overcome an implementation frustration. We’ve often found that going full-blown Scrum/Agile right out of the gate can cause more harm than good. A Kanban approach can provide a team flexibility for their agile implementation that can allow your team to get started down an agile track without disrupting their progress.

Before you make a decision on how to proceed, it is important to understand Kanban and Scrum’s similarities and differences. Both Scrum and Kanban are subsets of Agile. They also share many project elements; however, the way each uses the element can differ. In general, Kanban elements provide a more flexible approach. In the infographic below, we’ve noted the key concepts of each approach to help you determine which is right for you. Additionally, we’ve included a reference to the Agile Value that relates to each element. It is important not to lose sight of the overall agile methodology.