Lean and Scrum are both popular ways to handle projects, especially when it comes to making software and delivering products. Even though they have some things in common, they are different in many ways.
Lean and Scrum can work well together. Organisations often use Lean to improve their general efficiency and Scrum as a framework for iterative development and teamwork. The way things are done relies on the type of project, the goals of the organisation, and the preferences of the project team.
Here’s how Lean and Scrum are alike and different:
Philosophy and Origins: – Lean: The ideas behind lean came from the manufacturing industry, especially the Toyota Production System. It focuses on getting rid of waste, improving processes, and quickly providing value.
Scrum: Scrum is a system that grew out of the Agile method for making software. It puts an emphasis on iterative and incremental growth, working together, and being able to change.
2. Focus:
Lean: Lean is all about improving efficiency, cutting down on waste, and giving people what they want. Its goal is to make things easier and get rid of things that don’t add value.
Scrum: The goal of Scrum is to create high-quality products in small steps through cycles. It puts an emphasis on being able to change, always getting better, and working together in self-organizing teams.
Methodology vs. framework: Lean is a method that gives you a set of rules and tools to help you improve your processes and cut down on waste. It can be used in many different fields and processes, not just software creation.
Scrum: Scrum is a framework that gives complicated projects a way to be managed. It has specific jobs, events, and artefacts to help product development go smoothly.
4. Team Structure: Lean doesn’t tell teams what their jobs are. It supports cross-functional teams and helps everyone involved in the value stream work together.
– Scrum: The Product Owner, the Scrum Master, and the Development Team all have roles in Scrum. To make sure that Scrum practises are used well, each job has different responsibilities.
5. Iterative Approach: – Lean: Lean focuses on the constant flow of work, minimising handoffs, and cutting cycle time. Its goal is to get rid of bottlenecks and make the whole process more efficient.
– Scrum: Scrum uses an iterative method where work is done in chunks of time called sprints. Each sprint produces a piece of the product that could be shipped and gives feedback for the next version.
6. Planning and Execution: – Lean: Lean focuses on value stream mapping and figuring out where waste is to improve the flow of the whole process. It requires a mindset of continuous growth and looking for ways to get rid of activities that don’t add value.
Scrum: This method is based on a time limit, and planning happens at the beginning of each sprint. Through daily stand-up meetings, sprint reviews, and retrospectives, it focuses on short-term planning, inspection, and change.
7. Metrics and how to measure performance:
– Lean: Metrics like lead time, cycle time, and value stream mapping are used in lean to measure how well a process works and find places where it could be better.
Scrum: Metrics like velocity, burndown charts, and cumulative flow maps are used in Scrum to track the team’s progress, predict what work will come next, and find bottlenecks.
