Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Hybrid Methods
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The Agile Manifesto
In 2001, seventeen practitioners wrote the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. It states four values: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; and responding to change over following a plan. It is accompanied by twelve principles, including early and continuous delivery, welcoming changing requirements, frequent delivery, close collaboration, sustainable pace, simplicity, and regular reflection (Beck et al., 2001). The things on the right still have value; the things on the left are valued more.
Scrum
Scrum is a lightweight framework in which a small team delivers work in fixed-length Sprints of one month or less (Schwaber & Sutherland, 2020).
| Element | Description |
| Accountabilities | Product Owner (maximizes value; manages the Product Backlog), Scrum Master (establishes Scrum and helps the team improve), Developers (create the Increment). The 2020 guide replaced "roles" with "accountabilities" and removed the idea of a separate development team (Mountain Goat Software, n.d.) |
| Events | The Sprint (container for all other events), Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective |
| Artifacts and commitments | Product Backlog with the Product Goal; Sprint Backlog with the Sprint Goal; Increment with the Definition of Done |
| Pillars | Transparency, inspection, and adaptation |
Scrum's five values are commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage.
Kanban
Kanban visualizes work on a board with columns such as To Do, Doing, and Done. Its key practices are to limit work in progress (WIP), manage flow, make policies explicit, and improve continuously (Anderson, 2010). It suits continuous, variable work, such as support requests or a steady stream of experiments or analyses, and requires no fixed iterations.
| Scrum | Kanban | |
| Cadence | Fixed Sprints | Continuous flow |
| Commitment | Sprint Goal | WIP limits |
| Changes | Between Sprints (generally) | At any time |
| Metrics | Velocity, burn-down | Cycle time, throughput |
Other Agile Approaches
Extreme Programming (XP) emphasizes technical practices such as pair programming, test-driven development, and continuous integration. Lean thinking focuses on value and waste. Scaling frameworks such as SAFe and LeSS address many teams working together, though they are beyond the needs of most student projects.
Does Agile Work?
Serrador and Pinto (2015), in a study of 1,002 projects, found that the use of agile methods was associated with higher stakeholder satisfaction and efficiency. As with any method, results depend on how it is applied, and on the project context.
Hybrid Approaches
Real projects often mix methods: a predictive overall plan with milestones and budgets, and agile delivery inside phases. The key is to agree on which parts follow which rules, and to keep reporting simple.
Agile Thinking for Research
You can borrow agile habits for a thesis even though a thesis is not a software product:
Keep a backlog of tasks, and re-prioritize weekly.
Work in one- or two-week cycles with a clear goal for each.
Hold a short weekly review and retrospective with yourself or a peer.
Show early drafts to your supervisor, rather than waiting for a perfect chapter.
Keep work in progress low: finish one section before starting three more.
CHAPTER 15