Differences Between Agile And Scrum Methodologies
Some few years ago, while I was still at the university, my interest has always been for me to become a professional project manager. At that time, the only project management methodology known to some of us was the waterfall methodology promoted by the Project Management Institute. Early this year, I was introduced to Scrum methodology and the story never remains the same again. All that I knew than was that Scrum Methodology was another version of Agile methodology. I have never taken the time to find out the differences. In this article, I want to begin the journey. I want to attempt to differentiate between Agile and Scrum methodologies. Let’s begin this beautiful journey together in this article.
Agile methodology
Agile methodology believes in the development and release of deliverables through the iteration process. For the promoters of Agile methodology, they believe that end users would not like to wait for the project to be completed before they can actually have access to it. Therefore the Agile Project Manager can work with stakeholders and the small team in order to have an excellent project.
Also in agile methodology, the team member can work in collaboration with end-users in order to deliver products that are acceptable to end-users. Also, product development and testing also go hand in hand when an agile methodology is been adopted in a project environment.
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is another variant of agile methodology that focused on how the project value can be delivered in the shortest time possible. It focuses majorly on how the principle of accountability, teamwork, and iteration can be adopted in order to achieve project goals.
To the framers of the methodology, they believe that project requirements cannot be the same forever, therefore the project must have a way of assessing the requirements and allowing changes, even late into the project.
Now the differences…
#1 Development process
In Agile methodology, deliverables are developed in batches but it may not be handed over to end-users until the project is completed. When you are using scrum methodology, the entire project is divided into different batches. It is compulsory that completed sprints or deliverables should be handed over to end users at least every two to three weeks.
#2 Environment
Agile methodology is suitable for an environment where we have experts who are knowledgeable about project development and what the organization is about what the organization is trying to do. These team members must be very small so that they can coordinate themselves. In Scrum methodology, the environment is so volatile because Scrum framers believe change can happen at any time and the project must be able to accommodate changes even late into the project.
#3 Leadership
When it comes to Agile, the leaders represented by the project manager have a greater role to play in making sure that the project team achieves the project goals while in Scrum methodology we have a project team that is self-organized. They are allowed to coordinate themselves. If there will be any project manager, he has little or no role to play in determining the project direction.
#4 Change Issues
Another major issue with agile methodology is that it is someone rigid to change, unlike Scrum where change can occur at any stage of the project. This might be one of the reasons why Scrum is gaining more ground every day.
#5 Collaboration
Another major difference between Agile and Scrum methodologies is that Agile allows collaborations among cross-functional teams working together towards achieving project objectives but in Scrum, collaboration is achieved through daily standup meetings that normally take place every fifteen minutes before work commences for the day. This is where the agenda is been set for the day and issues are resolved collectively. Here, roles and responsibilities are given to the scrum master, product owner, and other members of the team.
#6 Structural Changes
When an organization adopts agile methodology as a means of executing a project, there are some structural changes that need to happen in the organization. This might even take place when the project is ongoing. On the other hand, only a few changes are needed for a scrum project to achieve it’s desired results.
#7 Delivery
In Agile methodology, there is a need for frequent delivery to the end-user so that you can get there feedback. This is a need to improve output for the project but in Scrum methodology, after every sprint, a build is delivered to the client and feedback is required in order to plan the next phase of the project.
#8 Monitoring
In Agile methodology, each stage of project development such as analysis, design among others are always monitored during the lifecycle of the project but in scum methodology, a demonstration of the functionality of the build or deliverable is been made. After the demonstration, end users are required to provide feedback which be used to plan the next sprint.
#9 Leadership
When it comes to leadership for the project, Agile methodology has a Project leader who will coordinate the entire project. Scrum methodology, on the other hand, does not recognize project leadership. In Scrum, the project team can decide what is good for them at every point in time.
#10 Feedback
Also, the agile method allows the use of feedback from customers to actually decide whether the products or services are meeting the need of customers or not. This also allows them to modify products based on customer feedback. Scrum, on the other hand, makes use of standup meetings and project reviews meetings to decide on features that should be included in the next sprint of the project.
#11 Deliver and Update
For Agile methodology, you have to make sure that you deliver and update working software consistently but in scrum methodology, you have a time frame that every sprint must start and finish. Once a sprint is completed, you can actually move to the next one.
#12 Design
Also, when it comes to agile methodology, the process is designed with simplicity in mind but in scrum methodology, there is room for experimental process and innovation. That means there is no uniform process design when it comes to process methodology.
#13 Customer Satisfaction
Also, when it comes to agile methodology, customer satisfaction is always the priority. That is why the agile team had to work with the customers in order to ensure that the deliverables meet customers’ expectations. One the other hand, when you are using scrum methodology, everything is based on empirical process control where the adopted strategy is been modified until it produces the best result.
#14 Communication
Agile methodologies believe so much in the face to face communication with the customer. He can easily access the project and determine whether there is a need for adjustments so that the product can be acceptable to stakeholders. In scrum methodology, the focus is on how to deliver maximum value within the shortest time possible. It is not really about having a face to face interaction with stakeholders.
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