thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Commonly confused · Project Management & Agile

Scrum vs Kanban: What's the Difference?

Scrum organizes work into fixed-length sprints with defined roles, events, and a sprint goal. Kanban is a continuous-flow method that visualizes work on a board, limits work in progress, and optimizes flow without prescribing roles or iterations.

ScrumKanban
CadenceFixed sprints (one month or less)Continuous flow
RolesProduct Owner, Scrum Master, DevelopersNo required roles
Work limitsSprint scope set at Sprint PlanningExplicit WIP limits per column
Change during iterationSprint goal protected; scope can be clarified and renegotiatedAllowed any time capacity frees up
Key metricsVelocity, burndown, sprint goal successCycle time, lead time, throughput, cumulative flow
BoardOften reset each sprintPersistent
Remember it

Scrum runs in sprints; Kanban keeps the work flowing.

Exam tip

If the scenario stresses WIP limits or cycle time, the answer is Kanban. Fixed timeboxes, a sprint goal, and the three accountabilities mean Scrum.

Tested on

More Project Management & Agile look-alikes