Shape Up, Scrum, and Kanban: Which Agile Methodology is Right for Your Team?

A Practical Comparison for Agile Teams and Project Managers

Over the last decade, various approaches for planning, execution, and continuous improvement have arisen. Shape Up, Scrum, and Kanban stand out for their distinct approaches and systems. Understanding their distinctions is critical in determining the best fit for your team and project.

Photo by Lala Azizli on Unsplash

This article provides a comprehensive comparison of three, focusing on six critical aspects:

1. Approach to Planning and Execution
2. Roles and Responsibilities
3. Flexibility
4. Documentation and Artifacts
5. Focus and Outcomes
6. Strengths and Limitations

By examining these key areas, this comparison aims to clearly understand how Shape Up, Scrum, and Kanban differ and offer insights into their practical applications.

1. Approach to Planning and Execution

Shape Up

Shape Up runs in six-week cycles that are divided into three phases: shaping, betting, and building.

• Shaping: Before work starts, product leaders (product and tech leaders), shape ideas into well-defined projects, ensuring they are feasible and valuable.
• Betting: Stakeholders and product leaders evaluate shaped initiatives and choose which to prioritize and work on during the cycle.
• Building: Teams operate on specific projects with a defined scope and deliverables. Following each cycle, there is a two-week cooling-down phase for maintenance and contemplation.

Scrum

Scrum employs shorter development cycles known as sprints, which typically span two to four weeks.

• Backlog: Features are added to a product backlog, and prioritized by the Product Owner.
• Sprint Planning: At the beginning of each sprint, the team chooses items from the backlog to work on, resulting in a sprint backlog.
• Sprint Execution: The team focuses on sprint backlog items, to deliver shippable increments by the conclusion of the sprint.

Kanban

Kanban focuses on continual planning and visualizing the workflow.

• Planning: When job items are entered into the system, work is prioritized and managed continuously.
• Execution: Improves flow and efficiency by visualizing the workflow and managing work-in-progress (WIP) restrictions.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

Shape Up

• Product Leaders: Responsible for shaping work and ensuring it’s ready for the Betting Table.
• Stakeholders: Participate in the betting process to decide which projects to pursue.
• Development Teams: Focus on executing the shaped projects within the six-week cycle.

Scrum

• Product Owner: Manages the product backlog, prioritizes work, and ensures the team delivers value.
• Scrum Master: Facilitates the Scrum process, removes impediments, and ensures the team adheres to Scrum principles.
• Development Team: Self-organizing and cross-functional, responsible for delivering the work committed to during the sprint.

Kanban

• Roles: Typically fewer defined roles; often rely on existing team structures.
• Responsibilities: Everyone is responsible for managing their work according to the Kanban board and WIP limits.

3. Flexibility

Shape Up

• Fixed Scope: Each cycle has a fixed scope defined during the shaping phase, minimizing scope creep and ensuring focus.
• Strategic Flexibility: The betting process allows stakeholders to strategically prioritize work based on business value and feasibility.

Scrum

• Dynamic Scope: Product backlog and sprint backlog can be adjusted based on new insights, changes in priority, and feedback from sprint reviews.
• Iterative Adaptation: Frequent sprint reviews and retrospectives promote continuous improvement and adaptation.

Kanban

• Flexibility: Highly flexible; changes can be made at any time as work items are continuously added and prioritized.
• Adaptability: Adaptable by visualizing and managing work processes, allowing for ongoing adjustments and improvements.

4. Documentation and Artifacts

Shape Up

• Shaped Work: Create detailed problem definitions and solution sketches during the shaping phase.
• Betting Table: Documentation of the projects chosen for the cycle, as well as the reasoning behind these decisions.
• Post-Cycle Review: A reflection on the cycle’s outcomes during the cool-down time.

Scrum

• Product Backlog: The product manager maintains an ordered list of desired product work, known as the product backlog.
• Sprint Backlog: A list of tasks and deliverables for the current sprint put together during sprint planning.
• Increment: The total number of accomplished product backlog items at the end of a sprint that are potentially shippable.

Kanban

• Kanban Boards: These boards are visual tools that help teams organize and track process phases and current work items.
• WIP Limits: Limits on the number of items in each process stage to increase flow and avoid bottlenecks.
• Cycle Time Metrics: Data on how long it takes for work items to be completed from beginning to end, used to assess efficiency.
• Lead Time Metrics: Data on the time it takes from when a request is made to when it is fulfilled, which helps to determine overall delivery speed.

5. Focus and Outcomes

Shape Up

Shape Up prioritizes delivering important, well-defined features within a specific timeline. Less frequent planning and review sessions minimize administrative overhead while increasing focus on delivery.

Scrum

Scrum prioritizes continuous delivery, providing shippable increments at the end of each sprint. Regular reviews and retrospectives ensure ongoing progress and adaptability to change.

Kanban

Kanban emphasizes continuous flow and process optimization, rather than predefined deliverables. Aims to deliver work steadily and incrementally while enhancing process efficiency.

6. Strengths and Limitations

Shape Up

Shape Up’s strengths include clear problem definition, smart prioritization, decreased scope creep, and focused execution. Limitations may be less adaptable to mid-cycle modifications or unanticipated work.

Scrum

Scrum’s strengths include flexibility, continual feedback, adaptable planning, and an emphasis on team participation. Limitations include scope creep, planning overhead, and problems sustaining a clear long-term vision.

Kanban

Kanban’s strengths include flexibility, continual improvement, and process visualization. Limitations include less formal planning, which can be difficult to manage without defined priorities.

Shape Up, Scrum, and Kanban all address various team needs and project requirements.

Shape Up is ideal for teams seeking a disciplined yet adaptable approach, with six-week cycles and clearly defined responsibilities to ensure focused execution and minimal scope creep. Scrum is perfect for teams that value incremental progress and continuous feedback since it uses regular sprints and defined roles to encourage cooperation and adaptability. Kanban enables exceptional flexibility and focuses on process optimization, making it excellent for companies intended to improve workflow efficiency without fixed planning intervals.

Each of these approaches has advantages and can dramatically improve productivity and delivery when done correctly. Explore these frameworks, try out their methods, and find the best fit to boost your team’s performance and create remarkable outcomes.

I hope you found this article useful. If you have any questions or additional points to add to the topic, please feel free to leave a comment.

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