Scrum and Kanban for Marketers: Which Agile Framework Is Right for You?

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Samita Nayak
Samita Nayak
Samita Nayak is a content writer working at Anteriad. She writes about business, technology, HR, marketing, cryptocurrency, and sales. When not writing, she can usually be found reading a book, watching movies, or spending far too much time with her Golden Retriever.

Agile marketing is transforming how teams operate by increasing efficiency and flexibility. Two of the most popular Agile frameworks, Scrum and Kanban, offer distinct approaches to managing marketing projects. So, which one works for your team? Let’s get down to business on Scrum and Kanban so you know what to choose.

ALSO READ: The Agile Manifesto for Marketers

Understanding Scrum

Scrum is an Agile framework: an organized, structured approach, usually with the focus on working in short, time-boxed periods known as sprints (usually 2-4 weeks). Each sprint is designed to deliver a specific set of tasks, after which the team reviews its progress in a retrospective. Roles like a Scrum Master and Product Owner are defined to keep the process organized and ensure smooth communication.

Benefits of Scrum for Marketing:

Here are a few benefits of scrum for marketing.

Clear Goals and Deadlines

Sprints push the teams towards specific deliverables at set times, which increases accountability.

Role Definition

Scrum-defined roles make the definition of decision-making and clarity regarding responsibility more streamlined.

Improvement Is Continuous

Retrospectives at periodic intervals provide the teams with exactly what worked and what did not, leading to continuous optimization.

Disadvantages of Scrum for Marketing

Check out the disadvantages of scrum for marketing.

Rigidity of Structure

The sprint structure may be too rigid for marketing teams that have unpredictable or dynamic priorities.

Role-Specific Needs

Teams may have issues while adopting roles like Scrum Masters for which certain training is required.

Understanding Kanban

Kanban is a workflow management framework that visualizes the tasks and represents them on boards as cards. Kanban does not have sprints; it is a flow of work items based on priority. Teams just pull out the work item from the backlog, as and when capacity permits them.

Benefits of Kanban in marketing:

Below are a few benefits of Kanban in marketing.

Flexibility

Kanban teams can easily change priorities in flight, hence ideal for marketing environments that change objectives rapidly.

Graphic Tracking of Progress

The board provides a graphical view of work done and not done to help teams spot bottlenecks early.

No Speed Pressure

There is no pressure to perform within a sprint cycle as teams focus on continuous delivery.

Drawbacks of Using Kanban in Marketing

Following are a few drawbacks of using Kanban in marketing.

No Definition of Time Structure

Without sprint, certain teams find it difficult to define their deadlines or momentum.

No Formal Role Definitions

Scrum lacks the role definitions of Kanban; hence responsibility can get confused.

Which Framework Is Right for Your Team?

The choice between Scrum and Kanban will depend on the requirements of your team. If marketing projects are well-defined with clear deadlines, nothing is better than Scrum’s structure. It ensures that your team maintains discipline and consistency about what needs to get done. Meanwhile, if the team performs much stronger in a flexible and adaptable environment, then Kanban might be right. It allows you to adjust priorities as new tasks come in.

To Conclude

Scrum and Kanban are excellent frameworks for marketers, and every one of them has its benefits. Scrum is more suitable for teams where structure and set goals are necessary, whereas Kanban thrives the best in dynamic fast-moving environments. You will know exactly what Agile framework to choose for your marketing effort depending on the workflow of your team, your specific requirements for the project, and the flexibility you need.

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