Agile project management methods have been firmly established for some time now, and for good reason. They enable teams to respond to innovations quickly and efficiently, improving productivity so you can achieve success.
What is Kanban?
Kanban is now recognized as an effective project management method that simplifies and optimizes work processes through visual representation. It enables teams to organize tasks transparently, create flexibility around competing priorities, and help increase team productivity.
Kanban originally comes from the Japanese and means “visual board” or “card”. It was created in the Japanese automotive industry at the end of the 1940s by Taiichi Ohno, an engineer at Toyota. Kanban aimed to increase efficiency in production through visible workflows and reduce any form of waste.
Key features of Kanban
Flexibility
One of the key features of Kanban is its flexibility. In contrast to other agile methods that prescribe fixed roles and time frames, Kanban adapts to the existing work process of a team. The work is divided into smaller tasks, which are displayed on cards and arranged on a Kanban board. This board is divided into different columns that represent the different stages of the work process. From “To do” to “In progress” to “Done”. Tasks are moved across the board as they're worked on until complete.
Transparency
Another feature of Kanban is transparency. As the Kanban board provides a visual representation of the workflow, everyone in the team can see the status of a task and the overall progress of the project at any time. This transparency promotes communication and collaboration within the team and helps to identify bottlenecks at an early stage.
Continuous delivery
With Kanban, instead of waiting for an entire project to be completed, teams can deliver individual tasks or features as soon as they are ready. This approach helps to create value for customers more quickly and to collect feedback that can be incorporated into the further development process.
Kick off your Kanban projects with the Kanban template in MeisterTask. Work with predefined sections like “To Do”, “In Progress” and “Done” to get up and running quickly.
What is Scrum?
Scrum is a structured agile method characterized by fixed roles, regular sprints and clearly defined processes. It enables teams to work on predefined tasks in fixed time frames, known as sprints, which promotes continuous development and rapid feedback. It was developed by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, two members of The Agile Alliance, and described in The Scrum Guide.
Scrum is a great choice for projects where you can’t define everything upfront. It helps teams stay flexible and focused, working in short, clear cycles to deliver usable results fast.
Unlike Kanban’s free-flowing style, Scrum adds more structure. This makes it a strong fit for complex projects that need a clear framework to handle changing requirements.
Key features of Scrum
Scrum roles
A Scrum team consists of three primary roles:
Product Owner: The Product Owner is a representative of the project stakeholders who is available throughout the development process to answer questions, review completed work, and prioritize requirements.
Scrum Master: The Scrum Master leads the development team, keeps everyone focused on their work, teaches others on the team about Scrum, and leads all the Scrum meetings.
Development Team: The Development Team is a group of three to nine developers who are responsible for doing the work that’s described and prioritized by the Product Owner.
Scrum cycle
The most important events in the Scrum cycle include:
Sprint planning: a meeting at the beginning of each sprint where the team selects the tasks to be completed.
Daily standup: Short daily meetings to share progress and identify impediments.
Sprint review: A meeting at the end of each sprint to present the work and gather feedback.
Sprint retrospective: A discussion about what went well and what could be improved to make the next sprint more efficient.
Key features
Key elements used in Scrum include:
Product backlog: An organized list of all desired work on the product.
Sprint backlog: The list of tasks that the team will work on in the current sprint.
Increment: The sum of all product backlog entries completed during a sprint.
Kanban vs. Scrum: the similarities
At their core, Kanban and Scrum are all about making work easier — and better. Both use simple, visual boards that show what’s happening at a glance, helping teams stay aligned and identify roadblocks early.
Collaboration: Teamwork sits at the heart of both methods. Whether you're planning sprints or managing a flow of tasks, Kanban and Scrum create space for open communication, shared ownership and smooth collaboration.
Continuous improvement: Scrum teams pause to reflect at the end of each sprint. Kanban teams keep a close eye on their workflows and tweak them as they go. Either way, the goal is the same: getting better, step by step.
Kanban vs. Scrum: the differences
Scrum and Kanban are great tools for teams that want better teamwork and faster results — even though they use different ways to get there. For example, while Kanban allows tasks to be added and prioritized dynamically, Scrum holds the team to a predefined scope of work for the duration of a sprint.
Roles and responsibilities: Scrum defines specific roles for the team (Product Owner, Scrum Master and Development Team), whereas Kanban does not prescribe fixed roles. This means that with Kanban, responsibilities can be handled more flexibly, whereas with Scrum, each role has clear responsibilities and tasks.
Delivery cycles: Scrum works in defined sprints with the aim of creating a potentially deliverable product increment at the end of each sprint. This promotes regular evaluation of progress and rapid feedback. Kanban, on the other hand, focuses on continuous flow and allows for flexible adjustment of priorities and tasks, which supports continuous delivery of results, but without the fixed timeframes that Scrum imposes.
Kanban or Scrum: choosing the right method for your team
Your decision for Kanban or Scrum should be based on various considerations:
What kind of project are you planning?
What are the dynamics of your team?
How complex is the project?
What time frames are available to you?
Carefully weigh the strengths and weaknesses of both methods so you can decide which method is the perfect choice for your team. You'll want to pay particular attention to:
Project type and team dynamics
For teams working on projects with rapidly changing priorities or where tasks cannot be planned well in advance, Kanban provides the flexibility needed. It is ideal for continuous improvement and can be easily adapted to existing workflows without changing the structure of an entire team.
Scrum, on the other hand, is better suited to projects where clear goals and outcomes are defined, and the team can benefit from regular iterations and reviews. Scrum promotes a structured way of working, clear responsibilities and regular feedback. This makes the method ideal for teams that focus on the fast and efficient delivery of product increments.
Complexity and delivery timeframe
High complexity projects that can be broken down into smaller, manageable pieces often benefit from the structure that Scrum provides. The regular review at the end of each sprint allows the team to stay on track and manage complexity one step at a time.
Kanban, on the other hand, can be more beneficial in environments with less strict timeframes and continuous delivery. Teams that need to respond flexibly to changes without being constrained by fixed delivery dates often find Kanban the right methodology.
Kanban vs. Scrum: advantages and disadvantages
Putting the method into practice: Kanban and Scrum examples
Kanban and Scrum aren’t just for tech teams. Both methods are widely used across industries to help teams stay organized, adaptable and productive.
For example, a production team could use a Kanban board to track parts through the manufacturing process. From raw materials to assembly and quality checks, every step is visible and easy to manage. If a bottleneck appears — for example, a delay in sourcing components — the team can spot it early and act fast.
Learn how manufacturing company VERWO uses Kanban boards in MeisterTask to manage quality control, project communication and more. Read the full case study.
On the other hand, an R&D team designing a new machine part would benefit from Scrum. Working in two-week sprints, they might build a prototype, test it, gather feedback from production teams, and quickly improve the design. This cycle repeats, helping the company bring better products to market faster.
Scrum can also support large factory upgrades. Imagine a company is updating multiple production lines. With many moving parts — from machinery installation to staff training — a structured approach is key. Scrum's clear planning, short cycles, and regular reviews keep teams focused and on schedule.
The combination of Kanban and Scrum: Scrumban
Scrumban is an agile methodology that combines the structure of Scrum with the flexibility of Kanban. It retains the role-based structure and repetitive sprints of Scrum, but integrates Kanban's principles to enable continuous work.
In Scrumban, sprints are used to plan and review work, but the team is not limited to a fixed sprint backlog. Instead, new tasks can be added during a sprint if capacity is available. This allows for greater adaptability and a faster response to change.
Advantages of the Scrumban method
Flexibility and structure: Scrumban offers the best mix of structured planning and flexibility in task fulfillment. Teams benefit from clear objectives and regular iterations, but at the same time have the freedom to adapt the workflow to unexpected changes.
Improved time management: By using Kanban's pull system within Scrum sprints, the team can work more efficiently and reduce waiting times between tasks.
Focused work with room for customization: While Scrum sets fixed goals for each sprint, the integration of Kanban allows for the addition of tasks that fall outside these goals but are still a priority. This leads to a more balanced workflow that considers both urgent needs and long-term goals.
Scrumban is ideal for teams who struggle with the rigidity of Scrum or who are looking for more structure in their Kanban process. You can combine the advantages of both methods and further improve your team's workflows.
MeisterTask: simplify Kanban and Scrum for more efficiency
With MeisterTask, the most important aspects of Kanban and Scrum — such as individual status columns for different phases of the project, clear task assignments and set deadlines — are easily implemented. Features such as checklists and custom notifications facilitate organization and provide a clear overview of project progress. This helps to optimize workflows, identify bottlenecks at an early stage and increase productivity.
In short, MeisterTask is the ideal tool for teams looking for the agility of Kanban and the structure of Scrum, without the complexity that often comes with implementing these methods. It makes Kanban and Scrum easier, faster and more efficient — and helps you take your projects to the next level.
MeisterTask is the perfect solution for us to organize our distributed team. It also allows us to keep track of all our colleagues who work 100% remotely. The cloud software, the easy-to-use Kanban board and the practical MeisterTask app make it possible.
Jana Ingendahl
CEO, Ingdilligenz
Consultancy Ingdilliginz combines project management best practices with MeisterTask's Kanban boards to manage complex sustainability projects. Read their success story here.
Top 5 practical tips for the use of Kanban and Scrum
Adapt and review: It is essential for Kanban teams to regularly adapt and review the board to ensure it is always in line with current requirements and workflows.
Involvement and understanding: When using Scrum, it is important that all team members are fully involved in the method and understand the importance of daily standups and sprint planning.
Manage task load: Avoid overloading the team with too many tasks. Use an effective WIP (Work In Progress) limit with Kanban and set realistic sprint goals with Scrum to prevent this.
Start with Kanban for newcomers: Teams that are new to the world of agile methods could benefit from starting with Kanban to familiarize themselves with agile principles before moving on to more complex frameworks.
Scrumban as a bridge: For teams that a) already have a strong grounding in project management methods and b) need more flexibility, Scrumban can be a great option.
