Work is more complicated — and moving at a faster pace — than ever. If you’re trying to improve productivity in your team or organization, a number of strategies can make life easier for you and your employees — and they’re incredibly easy to implement. But which one is right for your organization?
If you’ve done some research, you’ve probably come across methodologies like agile, scrum, kanban, and lean. Agile and Kanban are two of the most popular productivity systems, helping software developers, manufacturers, marketers, sales teams, and others improve their workflows. But how do they compare?
Here’s everything you need to know about Kanban vs Agile.
What is Agile?
Agile is a family of workflow methodologies that promotes iterative development, testing, and learning-based improvement of products and processes. It originated as a response to the limitations of waterfall and traditional sequential development systems. Like many popular workflow methodologies, agile was originally developed to overcome the challenges of software development.
Traditional workflow methodologies were designed for projects with preconceived production goals. However, software development requires experimentation and innovation, meaning that outcomes are never certain. Research and feedback can completely alter the nature of a product, so developers have to be incredibly open to change.
Until Agile appeared on the scene, there was no way to structure this kind of work.
What is Kanban?
Kanban is a workflow methodology designed to visualize work, limit work in progress, and maximize efficiency. Originally developed by Toyota in the 1950s, Kanban helps teams manage workflows by breaking projects into individual tasks that move through different stages of completion.
The kanban system is built around a visual board, often divided into columns such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” Each task is represented by a card that progresses across the Kanban board as the work advances. One of the defining features of kanban is its work-in-progress (WIP) limits, which help prevent bottlenecks and ensure a continuous flow of work.
Software development teams have widely adopted Kanban to streamline operations, but the methodology is useful in various industries, including manufacturing, marketing, and customer support. Unlike agile frameworks that emphasize time-boxed iterations, kanban operates on a continuous delivery model, allowing tasks to be completed at a steady pace without predefined sprint cycles.
Kanban vs Agile: The benefits of Kanban
Kanban is tailor-made for repetitive processes. These are some of the best aspects of the methodology.
Task visualization: Dividing projects into stages helps teams understand the overall project and where they should apply their energy. Placing cards in each stage also communicates the project status to other stakeholders.
Improved efficiency: Kanban values quality over quantity. Since workers concentrate on completing a few products at a time, rather than trying to produce as much as possible, they actually complete individual products or tasks faster.
Process refinement over time: Making the workflow transparent and fully engaging all employees makes it easy to identify bottlenecks and parts of a project where work is disrupted or disorganized. All team members stay on the same page about where a process can improve and then work together to implement change — without any disruption.
The differences between Agile vs Kanban
While kanban is a part of the agile framework, there are key differences between the two methodologies:
- Structure and flexibility: Agile follows a structured, iterative approach with predefined sprints or cycles, whereas Kanban is a continuous flow system that adapts dynamically to workload demands.
- Workflow approach: Agile uses incremental development and requires regular feedback, while Kanban focuses on optimizing the process with work-in-progress (WIP) limits.
- Roles and responsibilities: Agile methodologies often include specific roles such as Scrum Master or Product Owner, while Kanban is more fluid, with teams self-managing their workflow.
- Iteration vs flow: Agile divides work into time-boxed iterations (e.g., sprints), while Kanban ensures a continuous flow of work without specific time constraints.
- Best use cases: Agile is best for projects where requirements evolve over time and iterative feedback is crucial. Kanban, on the other hand, is ideal for teams managing a steady stream of tasks, such as customer support or bug tracking.
| Feature | Agile (Scrum) | Kanban |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Iterative, structured in sprints | Continuous, flexible workflow |
| Time management | Fixed-length iterations (sprints) | No fixed time limits, work flows continuously |
| Workflow | Work is planned before each sprint | Tasks move freely based on team capacity |
| Work-in-Progress (WIP) | No strict WIP limits, but teams plan sprint capacity | Strict WIP limits to maintain workflow efficiency |
| Change management | Changes introduced in the next sprint | Changes can be made anytime |
| Best for | Complex projects requiring structured iterations | Teams needing flexibility and continuous flow |
| Project examples | Software development, product launches | Support teams, content creation, operational work |
When to use Agile vs Kanban
Agile is best for structured projects requiring iterations and regular feedback, while Kanban suits continuous workflows with flexible task management. Choosing the right approach depends on your team’s needs, project complexity, and workflow efficiency.
Use agile (scrum) when:
- The project requires structured planning and incremental progress.
- You have a cross-functional team working on development.
- Customer feedback is required at the end of each sprint.
- The project scope is likely to change over time.
Use kanban when:
- Work needs to flow continuously without waiting for sprint planning.
- You need to visualize bottlenecks and optimize efficiency.
- Tasks vary in size and priority (e.g., customer support, content teams).
- Teams prefer greater flexibility in task management.
Which one to choose?
Because they’re in the same family, it’s not productive to think in terms of kanban vs agile. It’s better to understand Kanban’s role in the agile framework to determine which would be most useful to your organization.
The agile framework is great for projects where the final goal is not clear or predetermined. Kanban is the best method in the agile framework for reducing waste and eliminating processes that don’t add value.
Agile processes prioritize constant communication between team members, whereas Kanban conveys status through a visual board. Because of this, Kanban also provides the best visual representation of work and progress. Overall, agile workflows streamline continuous development, but Kanban specifically refines processes.
Using Jotform in your workflow
Whichever you implement, Jotform can help you create complex workflows. You can automate processes for all kinds of projects, from tracking bugs to gathering feedback, with thousands of form templates. Through Jotform Workflows, you can implement workflow conditions that automatically send tasks down the correct path. Best of all, Jotform’s customizable forms integrate seamlessly with dozens of workflow management apps and tools that use Kanban principles, such as Trello and Jira. When it comes to Kanban vs Agile, Jotform lets you have the best of both worlds.
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