Scrum vs Agile: Note these Top Differences and Similarities

Agile and scrum are two of the most commonly cited software development best practices. While both of these processes share some similarities, there are also plenty of differences that will help you understand which approach is right for your team.

If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you’ll know that when it comes to choosing a development methodology, we like to stay grounded in reality. As such, instead of preaching one particular development method to our clients, we like to break down the pros and cons of each option and recommend the one that’s best suited to your team’s needs.

In this blog post, we’ll be taking a quick look at how scrum and agile differ from each other so you can decide which process is right for your project.

What is Agile?

Agile development is an iterative approach that incorporates aspects of Scrum and Waterfall development. While the two are sometimes regarded as opposed, there are significant commonalities between them. Scrum and Agile both use principles to guide their procedures. However, not all Agile processes are created equal. Each team in an Agile process will have its own unique set of duties and procedures, necessitating a customized Agile strategy. Given the parallels between the two, we wanted to look at how they vary to better understand our own development processes.

Agile is about the process, not the product. Successful Agile teams will have a clearly defined set of metrics to measure their progress and will be able to demonstrate that their development efforts are moving forward in an incremental manner. It’s important for the team to be able to produce a working, tested product that can be demonstrated to stakeholders. However, agile teams don’t spend all of their time on that part of the process; they also need to work on other aspects as well. The development team needs to produce working software. They need to collaborate with stakeholders and make sure that everyone is happy with how things are going. They need to provide regular status reports so management can see how things are progressing and what needs improvement.

More so, the Agile teams will document everything they do in order for everyone else involved in the project (and future developers) to understand what they’re doing and why it’s being done that way.

What is Scrum?

Scrum is an agile software development technique that is built on iterative and incremental procedures. Scrum is an agile framework that is adaptive, rapid, flexible, and successful in delivering value to the client throughout the project’s development. Extreme Programming, Agile Software Development, and Agile Project Management are other terms for Scrum. Ken Schwaber created the Scrum approach in 1991 at General Electric’s Crotonville training site in upstate New York. Scrum was given its moniker since it begins with “Scr” (short for sprint). A sprint is a distinct unit of work that typically lasts two weeks, with each sprint culminating in a “sprint review” when all members of the project team assembled to assess how effectively they completed their tasks during that sprint.

Scrum’s fundamental goal is to meet the needs of the customer through an atmosphere of communication transparency, group accountability, and continual improvement. The development process begins with a rough understanding of what needs to be produced, followed by the creation of a list of characteristics ordered by priority (product backlog) that the product’s owner desires.

The product owner works with the development team to determine what is to be produced, how it is to be produced, and who will do the work. The project manager focuses on the process of creating projects and managing the team members.

Comparison Between Scrum and Agile

Given that Agile and Scrum both rely on an iterative process, constant client interaction, and collaborative decision-making, it is easy to see why they are commonly misinterpreted. The main difference between them is that Scrum is a specific Agile approach that is used to assist a project, whereas Agile is a project management philosophy that uses a core set of values or principles.

Agile and Scrum differ significantly from one another as well.

Differences between Agile and Scrum

Agile and Scrum are both iterative processes, but Agile has more of a focus on rapid change and innovation, whereas Scrum is more focused on building a high-quality product. Both of them also differ in their focus on the client; Scrum focuses on the team, whereas Agile focuses more on the customer.

More so, Agile has a greater emphasis on collaboration than Scrum. For example, Agile encourages teams to work together in person and via virtual meetings to solve problems. In addition, Agile teams often use regular stand-ups with short individual or group presentations as part of their daily routine. This helps them to share information with one another quickly so they can make decisions and implement improvements quickly. These daily stand-ups are called “daily scrums”.

Scrum emphasizes incremental delivery over an extended period of time (often referred to as “waterfall” or “watering hole” development). This approach is based on the idea that a project is unlikely to be completed on time or within budget. Scrum teams focus on completing one feature or piece of functionality at a time and delivering it as soon as possible.

Scrum also emphasizes the importance of cross-functional teams, where each person has a specific job to do and is accountable for their work. In Scrum, the team members are all in the same room together during daily stand-ups, which helps them to coordinate their work and communicate with one another effectively.

Similarities between Agile and Scrum

The fact that both approaches were created with a similar objective in mind should be one of the first things to take into account when choosing between them. Each technique’s major goal is to aid teams in producing software more quickly. Teams must be able to function as effectively as possible in order to do this. Due to this, there are certain parallels between the two techniques.

The Scrum approach only provides a more focused means of attaining the objective. They both focus on fostering a flexible atmosphere, having collaborative iterations, and more. The Scrum approach can be more constrictive since it has been reduced to a framework, yet it is more adaptable in a fast-changing context.

Furthermore, while the Scrum process is always Agile, not all Agile methods are. Before implementing either methodology in a company or for a particular project, you must train and instruct team members on the guiding principles of Agile and Scrum. Moreover, Agile and Scrum both guarantee a simple transition and timely project execution.

Scrum vs Agile: Selecting the Best Project Methodology

If you have a solid understanding of Agile and Scrum, how they interact, and why they are crucial, you can apply them to your own projects. It shouldn’t be a choice between an Agile strategy and the Scrum method, though, considering the contrasts between the two.

Agile is a philosophy or set of rules that place a strong emphasis on adaptability, inventiveness, and responsiveness. Agile is a methodology that is based on the principles of these philosophies. It is a process that includes Scrum and other agile principles.

Scrum is an iterative development process that has several agile principles: maintainability, testability, customer collaboration, and technical excellence.

These are all important factors to consider when deciding between using Scrum or Agile for your project. The agile philosophy emphasizes flexibility and creativity, and the Scrum methodology utilizes these practices, but it also requires you to adhere to certain standards in order to provide effective results.

In addition to the advantages of both approaches outlined in this article, there are a number of distinctions between them that make it challenging to pick one over the other without first comprehending how they complement one another. One way to start understanding how they work together is by learning what Scrum and Agile have in common and what makes them different.

FAQs on Scrum vs Agile

What is the difference between the Agile and Scrum process?

The main difference between Agile and Scrum is that Agile is a mindset for successfully delivering software to a client, whereas Scrum is a proven technique for software development teams to use.

Is Scrum a methodology or a framework?

Scrum is an agile project management technique that is commonly used in software development. Scrum is frequently seen as a technique. However, rather than considering Scrum as a methodology, consider it a framework for managing a process.

Does Agile work for all projects?

Not every project can benefit from using agile. Of course, that depends on your definition of agility. Every project may be Agile if you define it as, for instance, requiring all team members to wear t-shirts bearing the term “Agile” on them.

Why scrum is not a pure Agile model?

Scrum provides no thorough or formal prescriptions on how to design and plan the work, actions, and behavior of all participants engaged in product development under time constraints, let alone how such designs and plans must be documented, authorized, saved, and so on.