Scrum vs Kanban

Scrum and Kanban are both Agile, but they solve the planning problem differently. Scrum time-boxes work into Sprints (usually 1–4 weeks), assigns fixed accountabilities (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Developers), and runs a set cadence of ceremonies — Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective. Progress is tracked with velocity (story points completed per Sprint), and scope for a Sprint is locked once it starts. Kanban has no Sprints or prescribed roles. Work items move through columns on a board (e.g. To Do → In Progress → Done), and the team sets explicit work-in-progress (WIP) limits per column to prevent overload and expose bottlenecks. New work can be pulled in at any time rather than waiting for the next iteration boundary. Progress is measured with cycle time and throughput rather than velocity. The practical choice comes down to how predictable and change-tolerant the work is: Scrum suits teams that can commit to a batch of work for a fixed period (product development, feature teams), while Kanban suits continuous, interrupt-driven work (support queues, ops, maintenance). Many teams blend the two — a hybrid known as Scrumban. CertScope's CSM® course covers Scrum in depth and contrasts it with Kanban so teams can pick the right fit.