Site: http://www.informationweek.com/devops/project-management/best-agile-method-for-your-team-scrum-vs-kanban/a/d-id/1324164?
Summary
The article, “Best Agile Method For Your Team: Scrum Vs. Kanban” is about how to bring agile to your company. The article talks about two different approaches companies can take which are Scrum and Kanban. As a result, many companies nowadays are switching over to agile more and more every year from their traditional Waterfall approaches. Waterfall has been around since the 1950s and is linear, rigid, and very documentation based. Changes cannot be made once a spec has been completed which means many errors are prone to happen. In addition, this is why Scrum and Kanban seem lucrative to companies. Scrums principles consist of rapid iterations with constant communication. Scrums also have time boxes which are called sprints and usually do not last over 30 days. The sprints consist of the details, expectations, and requirements of the projects. Unlike Waterfall the sprints can be changed if necessary. In addition, Kanban is more of a visual management process. The differential between Scrum and Kanban is that Kanban really emphasizes the importance of the project and its requirements. They are the heart of process. With that being said the article goes on to say that choosing the appropriate method depends on the company. Kanban fits companies that are more linear and Scrums fits companies that are multi-threaded and ready to begin working on the next sprint.
Relevance
This article is related to the class for many reasons. We spent the first five weeks learning about Waterfall and Agile approaches. The class really emphasized how Waterfall is an approach that should not be used in this day and age and that companies should pursue more of an agile approach. When reading this article a lot of the information was similar to what was shown in class. Agile allows for better system development and also results in less errors. Waterfall is too outdated and more prone to mistakes and errors. It is hard to believe the majority of companies still use Waterfall but according to the article many companies are starting to switch over every year.
Important
The information from the article would be significantly helpful for me as an MIS professional for many reasons. For example, if I was working with a company who has a Waterfall method implemented then I could see more in depth all the flaws associated with it. As a result, I could look more into Agile approaches and possibly bring it up to management to inform them of the benefits. Consequently, upper-management could possibly implement it and this could result in better system developments and less error. It would also allow us to go back and fix or change specs on previous parts of the project that Waterfall would not allow.
Actually, we covered the difference between Kanban and Scrum in class (and in a video on VoiceThread). So, this isn't very "new" news. It has less do to with Waterfall vs. Agile as it has to do with Kanban as a visual display and Scrum. (It's also covered in the Agile Methods book.)
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