The main differences between Agile and Kanban
In your work, you may have heard about both Agile methodology and Kanban boards, but it might not be readily clear what the difference between them is. The key difference is that Agile methodology is a high-level project management approach that emphasizes iterative development, while Kanban boards are visual tools that help teams optimize their workflows. In this article, we’ll define each of these terms in more depth and clearly explain the differences between the two.
This post will cover:
What is Agile?
As we mentioned briefly before, Agile is a project management methodology that promotes continuous iteration of development throughout the lifecycle of a given project. It emphasizes flexibility and collaboration, and it’s often considered an alternative to traditional sequential development. It also promotes adaptive planning, which can free teams up to respond to changes or customer feedback throughout the project. Plus, it’s a strong option for cross-functional teams, as it encourages better communication.
Ultimately, it’s a process that requires constant change and involvement at every stage of the project. In each iteration, the goal is always centered on creating a product that works well for the end user. Along the way, leadership encourages teamwork and direct communication, which helps facilitate collaboration and work through any roadblocks that might stand in the way of getting the work done. As part of that collaboration, stakeholders and developers work together to align the product with customer needs — as well as company goals — to make sure the end result is a win for all groups involved.
What is Kanban?
Kanban itself is another project management methodology that focuses on visualizing work to help improve workflow efficiency. As part of that methodology, teams often use Kanban boards. Simply put, these boards are what make Kanban work — they display task workflows, which in turn help optimize the flow of tasks between teams.
Kanban boards give teams visibility into the state of every piece of work at each stage of the process. They help teams identify, communicate, and eliminate problem areas in a process. And they give teams the ability to reprioritize work quickly, and they aren’t restricted to a sprint backlog. Plus, they’re designed to limit work in progress, which helps make sure that team members don’t end up overbooking themselves with too much work.
The differences between Agile and Kanban
With those definitions in mind, let’s take a look at both these methodologies side by side. We’ve put together a table to help you easily visualize the key differences between Agile and Kanban.
Manage both Agile and Kanban with the right tech
By knowing the difference between Agile and Kanban, you’ll be poised to help your company decide which approach or tool will help manage projects in line with your company goals. Both approaches have incredible value for teams, and it really comes down to figuring out which methodology will set your teams up for success.
No matter which approach you end up choosing, you’ll also want to evaluate whether your current software or platform can handle either Agile or Kanban.
Either way, we’ve got you covered.
With Adobe Workfront, you get a robust tool that’s built to help manage work across the enterprise. It connects your work to strategy and drives better collaboration to deliver measurable business outcomes. It integrates people, data, processes, and technology across the organization, so you can manage the entire lifecycle of projects from start to finish. So whether you go with Agile, Kanban, or any other methodology, you can shape your workflows to work much harder for your company.
If you’re ready to get started, take a product tour or watch our overview video.