The term ‘Agile’ refers to agile methodologies. It includes techniques for project management in which an incremental and iterative approach is used to manage projects. Derived from the Agile Manifesto of 2001 and, although it emerged in the field of Software, it is already exported to cover many other projects.
If we follow an agile development we will be following an adaptive life cycle in front of the changes. It has the peculiarity that the product is evolving throughout the entire project, so it is neither designed nor planned in advance. The objective? Have greater flexibility in the presence of changes. Also, in an agile development environment, the product is created and presented to the client in short intervals known as ‘sprints’.
Agile is the ideal methodology to follow for IT projects in which there are constant changes, very quickly due to new customer decisions or changes in the environment. So it arrives so that the changes at the last minute do not stop being a problem, because it allows a great flexibility.
As for Scrum, it is a process in which a set of good practices is applied on a regular basis. We work collaboratively, as a team and partial and regular deliveries of the final product are made.
Scrum is often used in complex projects, where requirements are changing and / or are poorly defined from the start. It is also used as a solution to solve extreme situations: excessive costs, delays in delivery, not acceptable quality, etc.
The way to work in a Scrum project goes through short time cycles and a fixed duration. They are iterations of about 2 weeks and they show the client how the final product would look.
Even so, because Scrum follows the incremental development strategy of agile development frameworks, it is normal to have doubts about which methodology to follow.
SCRUM Work Framework
Differences between Agile and Scrum
Nature of Agile and Scrum:
Agile is the development methodology and is based on an incremental and iterative approach; while Scrum is one of the many implementation frameworks or agile methodology processes.
Scrum provides the incremental modules to the client every week or fortnight.
Scope of Agile and Scrum:
Agile is the philosophy, while Scrum is the process to implement the Agile philosophy. Agile is the general term that also includes other processes such as Kanban, Extreme Programming, etc. Scrum has a limited scope, since it is one of several frameworks to implement the Agile methodology. Therefore, Scrum is agile; but Agile is simply not Scrum.
Agile and Scrum planning:
The agile methodology intends to deliver and update the software on a regular basis. In Scrum, the next sprint is planned after the team has completed the current sprint activities.
Design and execution for Agile and Scrum:
Agile emphasizes maintaining design and simple execution. Under Scrum, design and execution can be experimental and innovative.
Work environment involved in Agile and Scrum:
The agile methodology is very suitable for the stable environment that has a small and expert development team; while Scrum is suitable for projects where the work environment is dynamic or the requirement is changing rapidly.
Flexibility:
The key advantage of agile methodology is flexibility, since agile adapts to changes quickly; while Scrum has a somewhat rigid and structured approach or style.
Collaboration:
Agile emphasizes collaboration, as well as direct interactions or communications among team members; while Scrum achieves collaboration through daily meetings with well-defined roles for the scrum master, the business user and several team members.
Communication:
The agile methodology prioritizes direct communication and related techniques to achieve the various objectives. Scrum does not put too much emphasis on direct communication.
Organizational change:
Agile may require several organizational changes and many development processes at the beginning or before the start of the main project itself; while Scrum may not need many organizational changes in the implementation of the project.
Delivery of Agile and Scrum:
Agile involves frequent deliveries to commercial users to obtain their comments; while, Scrum delivers a compilation to customers to get their comments, after each sprint.
Delivery time:
Agile generally involves the delivery of the product after the addition of high value or in the advanced stage of development to the commercial users, and therefore, the delivery usually tends to be towards the end of the project. On the other hand, Scrum delivers a compilation to the clients after each sprint, providing the maximum commercial value from the beginning of the project and then continuing at all times.
Team management:
In the Agile methodology, the project manager manages several project tasks. But in Scrum, there is no project manager. Therefore, the entire team handles the various problems related to the project.
Type of leadership for Agile and Scrum:
In the Agile methodology, project leadership plays a crucial role; while the Scrum process fosters a multifunctional and self-organized team. In some way, each team member is involved in the project.
Agile and Scrum monitoring:
Agile continuously monitors the stages of the software development life cycle, p. requirement, analysis, design, etc. On the other hand, Scrum provides demonstration of functionality at the end of each sprint to get regular feedback from business users before the next sprint.
Feedback:
Agile encourages periodic feedback during various processes by commercial users to make the final product more useful. Meanwhile, Scrum performs the sprint meeting daily to review and obtain feedback to determine the progress of the project in the future.
Priority:
Agile gives priority to satisfy business users by providing continuous delivery of the modules or software of the project. Scrum gives priority to empirical process control.
Measurement of progress:
The agile methodology considers the work software as the basic measure of progress. Scrum does not emphasize functioning software as a basic measure of progress.
So, between Scrum and Agile: which one to choose and why?
Although Scrum is a way to be agile, they are not the same.
Agile is much more than a methodology or a framework, it is a set of values and principles to follow to avoid the typical problems of software development. As far as we can say, Agile is something like a movement against traditional software development methodologies, so it represents the principles as such.
Scrum, unlike Agile, is not a methodology. Scrum is a framework because it is formed by a series of events, artifacts, roles, norms… for a certain purpose, so if you do not follow step by step you will not be doing Scrum.