Kanban vs. Scrum: Which One Fits a Small Dev Team
Kanban vs. Scrum: Scrum plans work in sprints, Kanban runs it continuously with work-in-progress limits. Here's how they differ and how to pick the right approach.
Overview & context
The difference between Kanban and Scrum is how a team plans work: Scrum splits it into sprints with a fixed goal, while Kanban lets it flow continuously and only caps the number of tasks in progress. A small team with one to three apps rarely needs the full Scrum framework, but pure Kanban doesn't always fit either. This article compares the two, gives a simple rule for choosing and shows how to keep the board and backlog links next to each app.
1. Kanban vs. Scrum: the main differences
Scrum works in sprints, time boxes of one month at most. The team picks tasks at the start and shows finished work at the end. Kanban has no time boxes: tasks move across the board columns continuously and the team only limits how many it has in progress at once.
Both are agile and both use a board and a backlog. They differ in how many rules they prescribe, which is why small teams often combine them.
| Scrum | Kanban | |
|---|---|---|
| Rhythm | Fixed-length sprints, one month at most | Continuous flow, no fixed time boxes |
| Planning | The team picks tasks from the backlog at the start of a sprint | A task is pulled when capacity frees up |
| Scope changes | Not changed during a sprint, they wait for the next one | Any time, a new task goes in by priority |
| Limits | Sprint scope set during planning | Work-in-progress (WIP) limit per column |
| Roles | Product owner, scrum master, developers | No prescribed roles |
| Meetings | Planning, daily scrum, review and retrospective | None prescribed, the team picks its own |
| What you measure | Velocity, sprint goal | Cycle time, throughput |
| Fits best | Building new features on a plan | Maintenance, support and ad hoc requests |
2. What Scrum is and what it asks of a team
Scrum is a framework with three roles, five events and three artifacts. According to the Scrum Guide, the team plans a sprint, syncs every day in the daily scrum, shows the result in the sprint review and improves in the retrospective.
For a small team that's a fair amount of overhead. With five people or fewer you can shorten the meetings, but the fixed sprint, a prioritized backlog and estimates stay. Estimates are covered in the article on story points.
3. What Kanban is and what a WIP limit does
Kanban is a way of managing work that visualizes tasks on a board and limits how many are in progress. A WIP (work in progress) limit sets how many tasks a column can hold, for example three in In progress. When the column is full, a developer finishes a task first and only then pulls the next one.
That makes bottlenecks visible on the board: for example, if tasks pile up in Review, the team can't keep up with code reviews of the finished work. The method is described in the Kanban Guide.
4. Kanban or Scrum: what a small team should choose
For a small team the rule is simple: the more of your work is new features on a plan, the better Scrum fits. The more of it arrives unpredictably, the better Kanban fits. Customer bugs, maintenance and small tweaks are hard to plan into a sprint because you don't know how many will come and they often arrive in bursts.
Scrumban is shorthand for the combination: sprints and roles from Scrum plus a board with WIP limits from Kanban. If that's how you already work, there's no extra rule to follow.
5. How to set up a Kanban or Scrum board
You set up a board the same way in Jira, YouTrack, GitHub Projects, GitLab and Linear: as columns that match your actual workflow. Jira and YouTrack also offer a Scrum or Kanban template when you create a board.
- 1
Name the columns after your real workflow
Four or five columns are enough, for example To do, In progress, Review, Testing and Done.
- 2
Set a WIP limit on In progress and Review
For a team of three, a limit of 3 on In progress works well. A limit on Review keeps code reviews from falling behind.
- 3
Order the backlog by priority
The task at the top goes next. In Scrum the team picks from it during sprint planning, in Kanban a developer pulls it as soon as they have capacity.
- 4
Agree on your definition of done
Write down a few conditions (definition of done), for example that the code is merged to the main branch, has passed review and is deployed to the test environment. Branching is covered in the article on Git branching strategies.
- 5
Keep debt and fixes visible
Label cleanup tasks so you can see them in the sprint or in the queue. The article on technical debt shows how.
6. Where to keep the board and backlog links of an app
Save the board and backlog links right next to the app, so you have them at hand whether you're developing, testing or rolling out the app. A team that runs a sprint board for development and a kanban board for support has two links per app. Without a shared place, people usually keep them in their browser bookmarks.
In AboutTheApp you add the link to a board, backlog or saved filter in the Issue Tracking category. The link is part of the app, visible to team members and to customers you share it with.
AboutTheApp doesn't connect to Jira, YouTrack or GitHub Projects and doesn't pull tasks from them. It only stores links to the places where your team tracks work.
- 1
Open the app in the dashboard
In the AboutTheApp dashboard open the app in the editor and go to Resources.
- 2
Add the sprint board
Click Add resource, choose the Issue Tracking category and paste the board URL. Use a label like "Sprint board".
- 3
Add the kanban board and the backlog
Add the kanban board for support and maintenance, the backlog or a saved filter, for example with customer bugs, the same way.
- 4
Mark internal links as private
Only logged-in team members and people with the unlock code see a private link.
- 5
Add a link for one customer only
If a client has their own board, switch the scope to that customer and add the link there. Other customers won't see it.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Kanban and Scrum?
Scrum splits work into fixed-length sprints and prescribes roles and meetings. Kanban has no sprints: tasks flow across the board continuously and the team caps work in progress with a WIP limit.
Should a small team use Kanban or Scrum?
If most of your work is new features on a plan, choose Scrum. If bugs, maintenance and small requests dominate, choose Kanban. For mixed work, use a sprint board for development and a kanban board for maintenance.
What is a WIP limit in Kanban?
A WIP limit is the maximum number of tasks a board column can hold at once, for example three in In progress. When the column is full, the team finishes work in progress before starting something new.
Is Scrumban a separate framework?
No, it's a name for a combination. The team uses sprints and roles from Scrum and a board with WIP limits from Kanban.
Does Kanban need a backlog and estimates?
It needs a backlog, ordered by priority. Kanban doesn't require story point estimates. The team tracks how long a task takes to cross the board instead.
Where should I keep the link to the board and backlog of an app?
Next to the app. In AboutTheApp you add links to the sprint board, kanban board and backlog in the Issue Tracking category, mark internal ones as private and add a client's tool link to that customer only.
In short
Scrum fits development on a release plan, Kanban fits continuous work and maintenance. A small team often mixes both. Whichever you choose, keep the board and backlog links next to the app.
AboutTheAppWant your boards and backlog next to the app?
Create an app in AboutTheApp for free and attach links to the sprint board, kanban board, repository and environments.