A statistical analysis of the effects of Scrum and Kanban on software development projects

Traditionally, software development processes have relied on the use of the Waterfall and Vee models. Later, Agile methodologies were used to handle the challenges of managing complex projects during the development phase. Agile methodologies are a group of incremental and iterative methods that are more effective, and have been used in project management. Kanban and Scrum are two powerful Agile project management approaches in software development The objective of Scrum and Kanban is achieved by optimizing the development process by identifying the tasks, managing time more effectively, and setting-up teams. A review of the literature reveals that there is a lack of statistical evidence to conclude which methodology is more effective in dealing with the traditional project management factors of budget handling, risk control, quality of the project, available resources, having clear project scope, and schedule handling. This research statistically compares the effectiveness of the Scrum and Kanban methods in terms of their effects on the project management factors for software development projects. Numerical analysis is performed based on survey responses from those with experience in the Scrum and Kanban methods. Results suggest that both Scrum and Kanban lead to the development of successful projects, and that the Kanban method can be better than the Scrum method in terms of managing project schedule. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.