{"id":13352,"date":"2026-03-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deltaagile.com\/?p=13352"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:29:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T10:29:37","slug":"what-is-scrumban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deltaagile.com\/en\/what-is-scrumban\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT IS SCRUMBAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Team members dissatisfied with Scrum sometimes say that they will “just switch to Scrumban<\/em><\/strong>“, because in Scrumban, you don’t need to plan.<\/p>

This is a common belief. Scrumban will somehow keep all the benefits of Scrum, but it will save us from the tedium of estimating the size of user stories and planning Sprints. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The next question to the concordant is, of course, what Scrumban is. There are as many answers to this question as there are interlocutors. <\/p>

This does not in any way mean that the interlocutors are wrong. There are many sources that confidently describe Scrumban and its “principles”. They often contradict each other, add their own Lean interpretations, inject their own ideas, and generally try to be as serious as possible. It seems that everyone (and their aunt) has their own Scrumban. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

After wondering how we got into this situation, I stepped back from the problem and asked myself four fundamental questions about the legitimacy of Scrumban as an agile\/lean framework:<\/p>

  1. Is there a single definition of Scrumban?<\/strong><\/li>
  2. Is there a Scrumban stewardship organisation?<\/strong><\/li>
  3. Is there Scrumban reference material?<\/strong><\/li>
  4. Are there any widely recognised Scrumban certifications?<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>

    Let’s find the answers. At the end of this article, I will also briefly summarise the ideas that really make up the Scrumban approach. They are not many, but they are interesting. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t

    1.) SCRUMBAN DEFINITION<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    There is no official Scrumban definition. The closest we can come to it, is the author of the term himself, Corey Ladas, in his original (2008) book with the abbreviated title Scrumban<\/a>. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Scrumban\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    In the book, Corey states that Scrumban system COULD (he really says could!) be A Kanban pull system within an iterative timebox<\/em><\/strong>. Interestingly, the term Scrumban is used only four times in this book (not counting the titles). <\/p>

    Another interesting thing is, that somewhere in the middle of the book, author abandons timeboxing in favour of continuous flow.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t

    2.) A STEWARDSHIP ORGANISATION<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    There is no such thing as a stewardship organisation to ensure the unity of the Scrumban approach, to update it in line with new trends and to serve as a reference for practitioners.<\/p>

    Corey Ladas himself says that Scrumban is based on “themoral foundations of free inquiry<\/a>“.<\/p>

    FRom this, I conclude that there will never be a similar organisation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t

    3.) REFERENCE MATERIAL<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    The basis from which the Scrumban trend emerged is the aforementioned book with the full title Scrumban – Essays on Kanban Systems for Lean Software Development: And Other Essays on Kanban Systems for Lean Software Development<\/a>, published in 2008 by Corey Ladas.<\/p>

    The book is a collection of essays, i.e. Ladas’ reflections on Lean practices in the context of software development.<\/p>

    Interestingly, the book was published two years before David J. Anderson published his landmark book Kanban<\/a>, which laid the formal foundations for the Lean approach in software development, established the term Kanban system and positioned it as a competitor to Scrum.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    Apart from this book, there is no other reference literature for Scrumban. Some authors and organisations have tried to monetise this trend, but the results are rather disappointing due to the lack of a Scrumban framework. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

    In addition to the original Scrumban book, the more publicised are:<\/p>