Scrum vs. agile project management – A simple explanation of the differences

“We already work in an agile way – we use Scrum!” I hear this sentence over and over again. These two terms are related, but they don’t mean the same thing.

“Agile working” is a broad term that refers to a set of values and principles in our daily work that emphasize flexibility, a willingness to learn, teamwork, and rapid iterations. This also applies to projects, but not only to them.

“Scrum”, on the other hand, is a very specific framework for implementing agile principles that focuses on ‘added value’ for users in iterative development cycles. Scrum was primarily used as a development methodology for software, but it is also used in all other product and service developments.

But how do these two terms interact in today’s project management? I have been dealing with this question for quite some time in my projects, but also in expert panels, such as in our Agile Project Unplugged format.

Scrum is an agile development process

Scrum is an iterative and incremental framework for agile development that defines clear roles and processes. It is based on transparency, review and adaptation and was developed in the early 2000s. It has revolutionized development work and is one of the most popular agile methods worldwide due to short iteration cycles, known as “sprints”, and close collaboration with users. Known from software development, Scrum is now also used in other product developments.

Structure of a Scrum team

The Scrum team consists of up to 15 people, including a product owner, a scrum master, and the development team. The product owner defines and prioritizes the product backlog, while the scrum master moderates the process and removes obstacles. The development team designs, builds, and tests the product increments (small, working versions of the product) that are delivered at the end of each sprint.

Scrum process flow

Scrum is a process that consists of defined steps and in which a team works together to develop a product incrementally. The team is self-organizing, cross-functional and delivers a working product at the end of each sprint. Important elements are the daily stand-up meetings to discuss progress and problems.

One of the most important features of a Scrum process is sprints. These usually last between one and four weeks, during which the team works on prioritized items from the constantly updated product backlog, a list of features and requirements.

Scrum provides a flexible and adaptable framework that helps teams respond quickly to new requirements with a focus on delivering value to users. By following the Scrum process and adopting its principles, teams can increase their collaboration, communication, and productivity, leading to better product outcomes.

Scrum is not a project management method

An important advantage of Scrum is its ability to adapt to the needs and priorities of users. This is also what agile means. This is where the possible linguistic confusion or connection between “Scrum” and agile project management may have arisen.

While the scrum approach is optimally oriented towards the needs of the product users, projects have a clear start, middle and end phase. They pursue specific goals, a time frame and a clear distribution of resources. During the project, it is crucial to monitor progress and, if necessary, change the plan to ensure that the project remains on track in terms of time and costs.

The Scrum framework does not provide any helpful approaches for the deterministic aspects of project management. The recommended team size of 10 people may be insufficient for many projects. Furthermore, the self-organization of the teams, which is an integral part of Scrum, is often not feasible in projects, especially in complex ones. Even the sprints, which are considered a central element in Scrum, do not meet the common requirements of projects.

Ultimately, the success of a project depends on how effectively it achieves its goals and how well it works within the budget and available resources. However, the way to get there can be designed very differently. There are various methods in project management that can be applied. Each of these methods has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the decision in favor of a particular approach is based on the specific requirements of the project and the organization.

Agile project management works anticipatorily

Agile project management is a contemporary way of organizing projects that is characterized by adaptability, flexibility, and iterative progress. Unlike traditional project management methods, which are often based on fixed plans and specifications, agile project management assumes that mastering the unpredictable in the course of a project is not only useful but often necessary.

In current projects, unexpected situations rarely arise from sudden technological changes or uncontrollable external circumstances, such as a pandemic. Instead, it is we humans who work on or are affected by a project and who have an increasingly strong influence on the success of the project. However, we humans do not always act rationally and predictably. People are complex beings and think and act in a context-sensitive way (see Introduction to Agile Project Management).

So when we work with people, the emerging dynamics, moods and needs at the beginning of a project are not always visible. The core task of agile project management is to identify and take into account these potential influences as early as possible in a project. Agility is therefore not just the ability to adapt quickly and optimally to the unforeseen. Agile project management anticipates human behavior and tries to adapt proactively to it (cf. Wikipedia “Agility”).

Three agile project management methods

For “trivial” tasks or in trivial project phases,

• which are manageable in terms of scope and time,
• where the measures to achieve the objectives are known from the outset and can be fulfilled with the available resources, and
• where people and organizations can exert little influence on the course of the project,

the classic “waterfall” method is still the best and, above all, an efficient choice.

However, if at least one of the above criteria does not apply to a project, it is best to use an agile management method.

PRINCE2 is a framework of processes and roles that is suitable for larger project teams and longer project durations. It focuses on the management aspects of projects and, in addition to best practice guidelines, also specifies roles that are responsible for stakeholders and project risks. This ensures that unforeseen aspects are integrated and taken into account at the highest project management level.

Lean project management, on the other hand, is suitable for projects that need to reach their goal as quickly as possible. It combines classic project management with the ideas and principles of lean management. The focus here is on maximizing stakeholder benefit while minimizing costs, as well as consistently delivering partial results throughout the project. This approach is particularly suitable for production, development and construction projects.

Systemic project management is particularly used in projects in which stakeholders exert considerable influence and/or where a change in the stakeholders’ behavior is an important part of the project. In systemic project management, stakeholders and (sub-)organizations are regarded as “social systems” and managed according to their internal logic (“culture”).

Scrum in agile project management

Particularly in software development, Scrum and the needs of (agile) project management often conflict. The popular shortcut of introducing Scrum roles such as “business owner”, “product owner” or “scrum master” into the project team has already failed numerous times.

In order to do justice to both approaches in the context of operational tasks, such as software development, project managers must understand the scrum principles and create the necessary space for them.

Experienced project managers are therefore wondering how they can optimally implement Scrum principles in an (agile) project management context. A colleague of mine has done just that with his “SCRUMFRAME” approach, which he has developed into a management model for hybrid projects (see Scrumframe, Hans-Peter Ritt).

Karl Hitschmann

Ich arbeite seit über 20 Jahren als Management-Berater, Autor und Leadership Facilitator mit Führungskräften aus unterschiedlichen Branchen. Im Jahr 2008 begründete ich mit BUSINESS DESIGN eine Agentur für die systemische Geschäfts- und Organisationsentwicklung, die mit namhaften Banken, Versicherungen und Industrieunternehmen schlagkräftige Geschäftsmodelle und leistungsfähige Organisationen entwickelt. Agile Project Management ist dabei zu einem fixen Bestandteil unserer Arbeit geworden: https://www.business-design.biz/agile-project-management.