Can Lean and Scrum be friends?
I recently attended an Introductory Lean workshop and found that there are a few parts of the Lean methodology which support and fit nicely with Scrum.
Lean is a business improvement methodology that focuses on getting the right things at the right time to the customer whilst minimising waste and being flexible and able to change.
Below I’ve identified some of the common ground by linking the 5 Lean principles to elements in Scrum.
Lean Principle 1 — Specify Value
Lean concentrates on getting the right thing to the customer at the right time. This aligns to Scrum with it’s focus on prioritising backlog items in backlog grooming sessions.
Lean Principle 2 — Map the value stream
This looks at all the steps needed to deliver value to the customer. It is used to identify and eliminate waste. The 8 types of waste are described in the table below.
This can be a good tool in retrospectives when the team is reflecting on how they worked together and looking for ways to improve.
Lean Principle 3 — Create flow
This involves making the product move smoothly through a process from one value added step to another in a simple and visible way.
In Scrum flow is achieved through the Daily standup which provides an opportunity for the team to quickly communicate team progress and identify impediments early. The sprint board promotes transparency and visibility of this progress.
Lean Principle 4 — Implement pull
Pull activities into the next step when the customer demands the value.
The Scrum equivalent is the product owner grooming the backlog so that the highest priority items reflecting the highest customer value sit at top of the backlog ready to be pulled into the next sprint.
Lean Principle 5 — Work towards perfection
The lean principle of continuous improvement is perhaps where lean and scrum are most aligned. Scrum embeds team improvement through retrospectives which facilitate continuous inspection and adaption.
This is not a comprehensive breakdown and there are a number of aspects of Lean which I think do not mesh well with Scrum but that’s for another post.
The beauty of Scrum is that it provides the framework but gives the team freedom to explore techniques and processes in implementation and Lean is a good candidate for this.
