If you’re new to the world of agile software development, you may be wondering what the difference is between agile and scrum. While both approaches are based on agile principles, they differ in terms of their focus and methodology. Here’s a quick overview of the key differences between agile and scrum.
What is Agile?
- Agile is a software development methodology that emphasizes iterative development, team collaboration, and customer feedback. Agile was first introduced in the early 2000s as an alternative to traditional waterfall methods, which emphasize linear progress and strict adherence to plans.
- Agile methods instead focus on delivering working software quickly and efficiently, with the goal of providing maximum value to the customer. Agile teams typically work in sprints, or short cycles of development, in order to rapidly deliver new features and get feedback from stakeholders.
- While Agile is primarily used in software development, it has also been applied to other areas such as product management and marketing. Agile is now one of the most popular development methodologies in the world, and its principles are being adopted by organizations across all industries.
What is Scrum?
Scrum is an iterative, incremental framework for managing product development. It defines “a set of roles, events, artifacts, and rules” that facilitate cooperation between cross-functional teams. Scrum was originally designed for software development, but it can be used in other contexts as well.
- Scrum teams typically consist of a ScrumMaster, who is responsible for facilitation; a product owner, who represents the stakeholders; and the development team, which is responsible for the actual work. Scrum events include sprint planning, sprint review, and sprint retrospective.
- Scrum artifacts include the product backlog (a list of work to be done) and the sprint backlog (a list of work to be done in the current sprint). Scrum is based on three pillars: transparency, inspection, and adaptation. Transparency means that all aspects of the process are open to scrutiny.
- Inspection means that Scrum teams regularly examine their process and outcomes. Adaptation means that Scrum teams can make changes to their process in order to improve their effectiveness.
Difference between Agile and Scrum
Agile and Scrum are both frameworks that can be used to manage software development projects. Agile is a more general framework that can be used for any type of project, while Scrum is specifically designed for software development projects. Agile focuses on continuous improvement and delivery, while Scrum focuses on delivering working software in a timely manner.
Agile also emphasizes flexibility and change, while Scrum emphasizes predictability and stability. Agile is more suitable for projects that are unpredictable or require constant changes, while Scrum is more suitable for projects that are relatively stable and predictable.
Conclusion
The two frameworks, Agile and Scrum, are often confused with one another. While they have similarities, there are key differences between the two. In our experience, Scrum is a more rigid framework while Agile allows for more creativity and change.
