Scrum vs. Agile

Agile is a methodology focused on lightweight software development cycles, with fast releases, iterations, and continuous improvements; Scrum is an adaptation of Agile but for achieving business objectives through a set of rules and a team organized according to the Agile methodology principles. Therefore, Scrum is a business process built on top of Agile, a method originally built for software development.

AspectScrumAgile
Framework or PhilosophyScrum is a specific framework within the Agile methodology.Agile is a broader philosophy and set of principles for software development and project management.
Roles and Responsibilities– Scrum defines specific roles, including Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team. – Each role has well-defined responsibilities.– Agile does not prescribe specific roles but encourages self-organizing, cross-functional teams. – Teams determine roles and responsibilities based on their needs.
Iterations– Scrum operates in fixed-length iterations called “sprints,” usually 2-4 weeks long. – Each sprint has a defined goal and produces potentially shippable increments.– Agile practices often involve iterative development but do not specify fixed timeframes like Scrum’s sprints. – Agile allows for flexibility in iteration length.
Artifacts– Scrum includes specific artifacts, such as the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment. – These artifacts support transparency and inspection.– Agile practices can use various artifacts depending on the chosen methodology or approach. – Agile emphasizes working software over comprehensive documentation.
Meetings– Scrum defines specific ceremonies, including Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. – These meetings provide structure and opportunities for collaboration.– Agile practices may involve meetings like stand-ups but are less prescriptive about which meetings to hold. – Agile values face-to-face communication and collaboration.
Flexibility– Scrum provides a structured framework with defined roles, events, and artifacts. – It is less flexible in terms of process adaptation.– Agile values flexibility and adaptability. – Agile practices can be tailored to the specific needs of a project or team.
Documentation– Scrum encourages minimal documentation and focuses on working software. – Documentation is often in the form of user stories and acceptance criteria.– Agile principles prioritize working software over comprehensive documentation. – Documentation is kept to a minimum but can be tailored to project requirements.
Feedback and Adaptation– Scrum promotes regular inspection and adaptation through Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives. – Teams use feedback to improve their processes.– Agile principles emphasize frequent feedback loops, allowing teams to adapt to changing requirements and customer needs.
Scaling– Scrum can be scaled using frameworks like Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) or Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for larger organizations.– Agile methodologies can be scaled by using various frameworks like SAFe, Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD), or Large Scale Scrum (LeSS).
Purpose– Scrum is well-suited for projects with clear product development goals and where a structured framework is beneficial.– Agile is a broader philosophy applicable to various projects, including those with evolving requirements and uncertain outcomes.

Scrum

what-is-scrum
Scrum is a methodology that Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland co-created for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity.

Agile Methodology

agile-methodology
Agile started as a lightweight development method compared to heavyweight software development, which is the core paradigm of the previous decades of software development. By 2001 the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was born as a set of principles that defined the new paradigm for software development as a continuous iteration. This would also influence the way of doing business.

Read Next: AgileDevOps, Scrum, Lean.

Agile vs. scrum examples 

In this example, we will analyze the transportation company Dutch Railways.

Background

The Dutch railway network is one of the most patronized in Europe.

Before the start of the pandemic in 2019, state-owned company Dutch Railways moved 36.7 million customers in September alone

This would not have been achievable, however, without the implementation of the Scrum methodology around a decade earlier.

In 2008, Dutch Railways attempted to build a new information system that displayed more accurate travel information for passengers and required less manual intervention.

The system, dubbed PUB, controlled the information displays and audio broadcast system for each train station.

But initial efforts to build the PUB using the Waterfall method failed.

Detailed requirements were sent to an IT vendor and the company expected a fully functional system to materialize with no further customer involvement.

After three years, the vendor was unable to deliver a working system and the project was canceled.

Scrum methodology

Dutch Railways then sought out another vendor that introduced Scrum to the company.

The vendor commenced with a project kick-off to prepare for the first sprint, but the selection of a suitable Product Owner was an immediate problem.

The vendor could not find anyone with the time, domain knowledge, and mandate to prioritize requirements.

In response, two business analysts were chosen to serve as Product Owners because of their experience and knowledge of stakeholders in the first attempt to build PUB.

The second problem was that these individuals did not know how to write user stories.

Whatโ€™s more, the existing system documentation was unsuitable because it could not be broken down into smaller parts that could be built, tested, and demonstrated in a sprint.

Building the software

Building the PUBโ€™s software was part of a larger ecosystem of multiple but related software systems and thus required a multi-disciplined effort.

Since meeting deadlines was important, โ€˜best-effortโ€™ estimates were made for the various functional areas after a few iterations.

At this point, Dutch Railways had also established accurate knowledge about its velocity and could thus communicate progress effectively using a burndown chart.

Scale-up to distributed teams

As part of a scale-up, two developers from India joined the project from the first sprint and worked on-site for 6 weeks to become familiar with the application domain, key stakeholders, and the development team itself.

A norming and chartering session was also held to determine how the Indian and Dutch teams would collaborate.

Early success was evident after the team built, tested, and demonstrated user stories that formed the heart of the PUB system.

Dutch Railways was pleased because progress was demonstrated quickly and it had more control over the projectโ€™s direction.

Later, the vendor created two Scrum teams of five developers and then three teams with three developers.

To track and better manage the two cohorts working in different countries, the ScrumWorks Agile planning tool was utilized.

Documentation, requirements, and testing

Since the company required extensive documentation compliant with the MIL standard, a technical writer was hired to write the documentation in Dutch.

In the process, this freed up the developers and testers to spend more time on the software. 

The vendor also noted that the one-line user stories accompanied by annotations from the Product Owner were sufficient for the Scrum team to build and test the software.

Automated unit and acceptance tests were conducted at the end of each Sprint and each was unhindered by bugs. As the system increased in size, this was maintained with only one tester per eight-person Scrum team.

Results

The end result was a 20-man-year, 100,000-plus line of code Scrum project which Dutch Railways was extremely content with.

While the nationwide deployment of PUB was hindered by problems in unrelated systems, an external audit reported that the quality of source code was very high and system maintainability was very good.

Key Highlights

  • Agile Methodology and Scrum:
    • Agile methodology is a paradigm shift in software development, focused on iterative and collaborative approaches.
    • Scrum is a subset of agile methodology, co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, aimed at improving team collaboration and delivering software capability every 2-4 weeks.
    • Scrum emphasizes flexibility, adaptability, and iterative progress.
  • Agile Manifesto:
    • The Agile Manifesto was established in 2001, outlining key principles for agile software development.
    • It promotes customer collaboration, responding to change, and delivering functional software iteratively.
  • Dutch Railways and Scrum Implementation:
    • Dutch Railways utilized Scrum to address challenges in building a new information system named PUB for accurate travel information and automated displays at train stations.
    • Previous attempts using the Waterfall method had failed due to lack of customer involvement and rigid requirements.
  • Scrum Implementation Challenges:
    • Finding a suitable Product Owner with domain knowledge and authority to prioritize requirements was challenging.
    • Lack of experience in writing user stories and inability to break down existing system documentation into smaller parts were initial obstacles.
  • Iterative Development and Progress Tracking:
    • Scrum allowed for iterative development with a focus on building, testing, and demonstrating smaller components in each sprint.
    • The concept of velocity and burndown charts helped Dutch Railways track progress effectively.
  • Scaling to Distributed Teams:
    • The project scaled up with developers from India joining the team on-site to collaborate and align with the main development team.
    • Norming and chartering sessions facilitated collaboration between Indian and Dutch teams.
  • Documentation and Testing:
    • Extensive documentation requirements were met by hiring a technical writer, allowing developers and testers to focus on software development.
    • Short user stories with annotations from the Product Owner sufficed for the Scrum team to build and test software.
    • Automated unit and acceptance tests were conducted at the end of each sprint to maintain code quality.
  • Results and Impact:
    • The successful implementation of Scrum led to a 20-man-year project resulting in over 100,000 lines of code for the PUB system.
    • Dutch Railways achieved higher project control, better progress visibility, and maintained code quality.
    • The project was deemed successful, although deployment issues in unrelated systems impacted nationwide deployment.
ContextScrumAgile
Software DevelopmentScrum is a specific Agile framework for managing and delivering software products. It provides roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Development Team), events (Sprint Planning, Daily Standup), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog).Agile is a broader methodology or mindset for managing projects that emphasizes iterative development, collaboration, and adaptability. Scrum is one of the frameworks that fall under the Agile umbrella.
Project ManagementScrum is often used as a project management approach, particularly in software development. It provides a structured way to plan, execute, and review work within defined time frames (Sprints).Agile is a project management approach that can encompass various frameworks, including Scrum. Agile principles can be applied to manage projects across different industries and domains.
Work PlanningScrum involves planning work through Sprints, which are time-boxed iterations with specific goals. Work is divided into user stories or backlog items, and the team commits to completing them within a Sprint.Agile teams plan work based on the Agile Manifesto and principles, which prioritize customer collaboration, responding to change, and delivering working solutions. The planning approach can vary.
IterationsScrum emphasizes short, time-boxed iterations (Sprints), usually lasting two to four weeks. The team aims to deliver a potentially shippable product increment by the end of each Sprint.Agile development may involve iterative and incremental progress, but the duration and structure of iterations can vary depending on the specific Agile framework or approach used.
Roles and ResponsibilitiesScrum defines specific roles, such as the Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team, each with defined responsibilities. These roles work together to deliver the product incrementally.Agile does not prescribe specific roles but encourages self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Team members collaborate and adapt their roles as needed to achieve project objectives.
Time ManagementScrum enforces a fixed duration for each Sprint, ensuring that the team works within a defined time frame. Sprints are followed by Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, and Sprint Review events.Agile does not prescribe fixed time frames but promotes adaptability. Agile teams decide on the duration of iterations based on the project’s needs and can change them as necessary.
Planning and ReviewScrum involves structured events like Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Sprint Review, and Sprint Retrospective. These events help teams plan, execute, review progress, and continuously improve.Agile encourages frequent collaboration with stakeholders and customers throughout the project, focusing on delivering value, adapting to change, and responding to feedback.
Change ManagementScrum acknowledges that changes may occur during a Sprint but aims to minimize disruptions to the Sprint goal. Changes are typically addressed in the next Sprint planning session.Agile embraces change and encourages teams to respond quickly to shifting requirements or customer feedback, allowing for ongoing adaptations to meet evolving needs.
Development FocusScrum provides a specific framework for developing software products and emphasizes the delivery of a potentially shippable product increment at the end of each Sprint.Agile is a broader mindset or methodology that can be applied to various domains, including software development, project management, and product delivery in different industries.
Continuous ImprovementScrum promotes continuous improvement through the Sprint Retrospective, where the team reflects on their performance and identifies opportunities to enhance their processes.Agile encourages organizations to foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning at all levels. Teams regularly assess their work and adapt to become more effective and efficient.

What is difference between Scrum and Agile?

Agile has become a philosophy encompassing business processes, especially for startups that follow religious principles. Scrum is primarily a collaboration methodology to build complex products. Scrum can be a methodology used within Agile to build complex products while keeping a focus on these processes to be fast, iterative, and be able to kick in feedback loops, to improve these products quickly.

What comes first Agile or Scrum?

In an HBR article from 1986, titled “The New New Product Development Game,” Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka highlighted the principles of Scrum. Thus, while the Scrum methodology did anticipate Agile, given the incredible popularity of Agile, which turned into a philosophy, Scrum has become a methodology within the broader Agile philosophy.

What are the core Agile frameworks?

Connected Agile & Lean Frameworks

AIOps

aiops
AIOps is the application of artificial intelligence to IT operations. It has become particularly useful for modern IT management in hybridized, distributed, and dynamic environments. AIOps has become a key operational component of modern digital-based organizations, built around software and algorithms.

AgileSHIFT

AgileSHIFT
AgileSHIFT is a framework that prepares individuals for transformational change by creating a culture of agility.

Agile Methodology

agile-methodology
Agile started as a lightweight development method compared to heavyweight software development, which is the core paradigm of the previous decades of software development. By 2001 the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was born as a set of principles that defined the new paradigm for software development as a continuous iteration. This would also influence the way of doing business.

Agile Program Management

agile-program-management
Agile Program Management is a means of managing, planning, and coordinating interrelated work in such a way that value delivery is emphasized for all key stakeholders. Agile Program Management (AgilePgM) is a disciplined yet flexible agile approach to managing transformational change within an organization.

Agile Project Management

agile-project-management
Agile project management (APM) is a strategy that breaks large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. In the APM methodology, each project is completed in small sections โ€“ often referred to as iterations. Each iteration is completed according to its project life cycle, beginning with the initial design and progressing to testing and then quality assurance.

Agile Modeling

agile-modeling
Agile Modeling (AM) is a methodology for modeling and documenting software-based systems. Agile Modeling is critical to the rapid and continuous delivery of software. It is a collection of values, principles, and practices that guide effective, lightweight software modeling.

Agile Business Analysis

agile-business-analysis
Agile Business Analysis (AgileBA) is certification in the form of guidance and training for business analysts seeking to work in agile environments. To support this shift, AgileBA also helps the business analyst relate Agile projects to a wider organizational mission or strategy. To ensure that analysts have the necessary skills and expertise, AgileBA certification was developed.

Agile Leadership

agile-leadership
Agile leadership is the embodiment of agile manifesto principles by a manager or management team. Agile leadership impacts two important levels of a business. The structural level defines the roles, responsibilities, and key performance indicators. The behavioral level describes the actions leaders exhibit to others based on agile principles. 

Andon System

andon-system
The andon system alerts managerial, maintenance, or other staff of a production process problem. The alert itself can be activated manually with a button or pull cord, but it can also be activated automatically by production equipment. Most Andon boards utilize three colored lights similar to a traffic signal: green (no errors), yellow or amber (problem identified, or quality check needed), and red (production stopped due to unidentified issue).

Bimodal Portfolio Management

bimodal-portfolio-management
Bimodal Portfolio Management (BimodalPfM) helps an organization manage both agile and traditional portfolios concurrently. Bimodal Portfolio Management โ€“ sometimes referred to as bimodal development โ€“ was coined by research and advisory company Gartner. The firm argued that many agile organizations still needed to run some aspects of their operations using traditional delivery models.

Business Innovation Matrix

business-innovation
Business innovation is about creating new opportunities for an organization to reinvent its core offerings, revenue streams, and enhance the value proposition for existing or new customers, thus renewing its whole business model. Business innovation springs by understanding the structure of the market, thus adapting or anticipating those changes.

Business Model Innovation

business-model-innovation
Business model innovation is about increasing the success of an organization with existing products and technologies by crafting a compelling value proposition able to propel a new business model to scale up customers and create a lasting competitive advantage. And it all starts by mastering the key customers.

Constructive Disruption

constructive-disruption
A consumer brand company like Procter & Gamble (P&G) defines “Constructive Disruption” as: a willingness to change, adapt, and create new trends and technologies that will shape our industry for the future. According to P&G, it moves around four pillars: lean innovation, brand building, supply chain, and digitalization & data analytics.

Continuous Innovation

continuous-innovation
That is a process that requires a continuous feedback loop to develop a valuable product and build a viable business model. Continuous innovation is a mindset where products and services are designed and delivered to tune them around the customers’ problem and not the technical solution of its founders.

Design Sprint

design-sprint
A design sprint is a proven five-day process where critical business questions are answered through speedy design and prototyping, focusing on the end-user. A design sprint starts with a weekly challenge that should finish with a prototype, test at the end, and therefore a lesson learned to be iterated.

Design Thinking

design-thinking
Tim Brown, Executive Chair of IDEO, defined design thinking as “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designerโ€™s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” Therefore, desirability, feasibility, and viability are balanced to solve critical problems.

DevOps

devops-engineering
DevOps refers to a series of practices performed to perform automated software development processes. It is a conjugation of the term โ€œdevelopmentโ€ and โ€œoperationsโ€ to emphasize how functions integrate across IT teams. DevOps strategies promote seamless building, testing, and deployment of products. It aims to bridge a gap between development and operations teams to streamline the development altogether.

Dual Track Agile

dual-track-agile
Product discovery is a critical part of agile methodologies, as its aim is to ensure that products customers love are built. Product discovery involves learning through a raft of methods, including design thinking, lean start-up, and A/B testing to name a few. Dual Track Agile is an agile methodology containing two separate tracks: the “discovery” track and the “delivery” track.

eXtreme Programming

extreme-programming
eXtreme Programming was developed in the late 1990s by Ken Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Ward Cunningham. During this time, the trio was working on the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (C3) to help manage the company payroll system. eXtreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology. It is designed to improve software quality and the ability of software to adapt to changing customer needs.

Feature-Driven Development

feature-driven-development
Feature-Driven Development is a pragmatic software process that is client and architecture-centric. Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is an agile software development model that organizes workflow according to which features need to be developed next.

Gemba Walk

gemba-walk
A Gemba Walk is a fundamental component of lean management. It describes the personal observation of work to learn more about it. Gemba is a Japanese word that loosely translates as “the real place”, or in business, “the place where value is created”. The Gemba Walk as a concept was created by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System of lean manufacturing. Ohno wanted to encourage management executives to leave their offices and see where the real work happened. This, he hoped, would build relationships between employees with vastly different skillsets and build trust.

GIST Planning

gist-planning
GIST Planning is a relatively easy and lightweight agile approach to product planning that favors autonomous working. GIST Planning is a lean and agile methodology that was created by former Google product manager Itamar Gilad. GIST Planning seeks to address this situation by creating lightweight plans that are responsive and adaptable to change. GIST Planning also improves team velocity, autonomy, and alignment by reducing the pervasive influence of management. It consists of four blocks: goals, ideas, step-projects, and tasks.

ICE Scoring

ice-scoring-model
The ICE Scoring Model is an agile methodology that prioritizes features using data according to three components: impact, confidence, and ease of implementation. The ICE Scoring Model was initially created by author and growth expert Sean Ellis to help companies expand. Today, the model is broadly used to prioritize projects, features, initiatives, and rollouts. It is ideally suited for early-stage product development where there is a continuous flow of ideas and momentum must be maintained.

Innovation Funnel

innovation-funnel
An innovation funnel is a tool or process ensuring only the best ideas are executed. In a metaphorical sense, the funnel screens innovative ideas for viability so that only the best products, processes, or business models are launched to the market. An innovation funnel provides a framework for the screening and testing of innovative ideas for viability.

Innovation Matrix

types-of-innovation
According to how well defined is the problem and how well defined the domain, we have four main types of innovations: basic research (problem and domain or not well defined); breakthrough innovation (domain is not well defined, the problem is well defined); sustaining innovation (both problem and domain are well defined); and disruptive innovation (domain is well defined, the problem is not well defined).

Innovation Theory

innovation-theory
The innovation loop is a methodology/framework derived from the Bell Labs, which produced innovation at scale throughout the 20th century. They learned how to leverage a hybrid innovation management model based on science, invention, engineering, and manufacturing at scale. By leveraging individual genius, creativity, and small/large groups.

Lean vs. Agile

lean-methodology-vs-agile
The Agile methodology has been primarily thought of for software development (and other business disciplines have also adopted it). Lean thinking is a process improvement technique where teams prioritize the value streams to improve it continuously. Both methodologies look at the customer as the key driver to improvement and waste reduction. Both methodologies look at improvement as something continuous.

Lean Startup

startup-company
A startup company is a high-tech business that tries to build a scalable business model in tech-driven industries. A startup company usually follows a lean methodology, where continuous innovation, driven by built-in viral loops is the rule. Thus, driving growth and building network effects as a consequence of this strategy.

Minimum Viable Product

minimum-viable-product
As pointed out by Eric Ries, a minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort through a cycle of build, measure, learn; that is the foundation of the lean startup methodology.

Leaner MVP

leaner-mvp
A leaner MVP is the evolution of the MPV approach. Where the market risk is validated before anything else

Kanban

kanban
Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy.

Jidoka

jidoka
Jidoka was first used in 1896 by Sakichi Toyoda, who invented a textile loom that would stop automatically when it encountered a defective thread. Jidoka is a Japanese term used in lean manufacturing. The term describes a scenario where machines cease operating without human intervention when a problem or defect is discovered.

PDCA Cycle

pdca-cycle
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle was first proposed by American physicist and engineer Walter A. Shewhart in the 1920s. The PDCA cycle is a continuous process and product improvement method and an essential component of the lean manufacturing philosophy.

Rational Unified Process

rational-unified-process
Rational unified process (RUP) is an agile software development methodology that breaks the project life cycle down into four distinct phases.

Rapid Application Development

rapid-application-development
RAD was first introduced by author and consultant James Martin in 1991. Martin recognized and then took advantage of the endless malleability of software in designing development models. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a methodology focusing on delivering rapidly through continuous feedback and frequent iterations.

Retrospective Analysis

retrospective-analysis
Retrospective analyses are held after a project to determine what worked well and what did not. They are also conducted at the end of an iteration in Agile project management. Agile practitioners call these meetings retrospectives or retros. They are an effective way to check the pulse of a project team, reflect on the work performed to date, and reach a consensus on how to tackle the next sprint cycle. These are the five stages of a retrospective analysis for effective Agile project management: set the stage, gather the data, generate insights, decide on the next steps, and close the retrospective.

Scaled Agile

scaled-agile-lean-development
Scaled Agile Lean Development (ScALeD) helps businesses discover a balanced approach to agile transition and scaling questions. The ScALed approach helps businesses successfully respond to change. Inspired by a combination of lean and agile values, ScALed is practitioner-based and can be completed through various agile frameworks and practices.

SMED

smed
The SMED (single minute exchange of die) method is a lean production framework to reduce waste and increase production efficiency. The SMED method is a framework for reducing the time associated with completing an equipment changeover.

Spotify Model

spotify-model
The Spotify Model is an autonomous approach to scaling agile, focusing on culture communication, accountability, and quality. The Spotify model was first recognized in 2012 after Henrik Kniberg, and Anders Ivarsson released a white paper detailing how streaming company Spotify approached agility. Therefore, the Spotify model represents an evolution of agile.

Test-Driven Development

test-driven-development
As the name suggests, TDD is a test-driven technique for delivering high-quality software rapidly and sustainably. It is an iterative approach based on the idea that a failing test should be written before any code for a feature or function is written. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an approach to software development that relies on very short development cycles.

Timeboxing

timeboxing
Timeboxing is a simple yet powerful time-management technique for improving productivity. Timeboxing describes the process of proactively scheduling a block of time to spend on a task in the future. It was first described by author James Martin in a book about agile software development.

Scrum

what-is-scrum
Scrum is a methodology co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity.

Scrumban

scrumban
Scrumban is a project management framework that is a hybrid of two popular agile methodologies: Scrum and Kanban. Scrumban is a popular approach to helping businesses focus on the right strategic tasks while simultaneously strengthening their processes.

Scrum Anti-Patterns

scrum-anti-patterns
Scrum anti-patterns describe any attractive, easy-to-implement solution that ultimately makes a problem worse. Therefore, these are the practice not to follow to prevent issues from emerging. Some classic examples of scrum anti-patterns comprise absent product owners, pre-assigned tickets (making individuals work in isolation), and discounting retrospectives (where review meetings are not useful to really make improvements).

Scrum At Scale

scrum-at-scale
Scrum at Scale (Scrum@Scale) is a framework that Scrum teams use to address complex problems and deliver high-value products. Scrum at Scale was created through a joint venture between the Scrum Alliance and Scrum Inc. The joint venture was overseen by Jeff Sutherland, a co-creator of Scrum and one of the principal authors of the Agile Manifesto.

Six Sigma

six-sigma
Six Sigma is a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating errors or defects in a product, service, or process. Six Sigma was developed by Motorola as a management approach based on quality fundamentals in the early 1980s. A decade later, it was popularized by General Electric who estimated that the methodology saved them $12 billion in the first five years of operation.

Stretch Objectives

stretch-objectives
Stretch objectives describe any task an agile team plans to complete without expressly committing to do so. Teams incorporate stretch objectives during a Sprint or Program Increment (PI) as part of Scaled Agile. They are used when the agile team is unsure of its capacity to attain an objective. Therefore, stretch objectives are instead outcomes that, while extremely desirable, are not the difference between the success or failure of each sprint.

Toyota Production System

toyota-production-system
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an early form of lean manufacturing created by auto-manufacturer Toyota. Created by the Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1940s and 50s, the Toyota Production System seeks to manufacture vehicles ordered by customers most quickly and efficiently possible.

Total Quality Management

total-quality-management
The Total Quality Management (TQM) framework is a technique based on the premise that employees continuously work on their ability to provide value to customers. Importantly, the word โ€œtotalโ€ means that all employees are involved in the process โ€“ regardless of whether they work in development, production, or fulfillment.

Waterfall

waterfall-model
The waterfall model was first described by Herbert D. Benington in 1956 during a presentation about the software used in radar imaging during the Cold War. Since there were no knowledge-based, creative software development strategies at the time, the waterfall method became standard practice. The waterfall model is a linear and sequential project management framework. 

Read Also: Continuous InnovationAgile MethodologyLean StartupBusiness Model InnovationProject Management.

Read Next: Agile Methodology, Lean Methodology, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Kanban, Six Sigma.

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