When teams decide to “go Agile” they invariably decide between Scrum or the Kanban Method. This is often because both Scrum and the Kanban Method provide a straightforward approach to get started. However, our experience has shown us that this leaves several options off the table.

The reality is, one shouldn’t pick between two options. One should look at the principles and foundations that underlie both and select what is correct for you. While this might at first appear to be a daunting task, one that can’t be accomplished by someone new to Agile, it actually isn’t. This webinar discusses these issues and provides a checklist for creating a hybrid process.

Answers to a few questions can easily guide you to a custom-fit starting team approach. Some of these questions are:

• Can cross-functional teams be created?
• Is there agreement to start with Acceptance Test-Driven Development
• How is management involved?
• Should we use iterations or a pure flow model?

In addition to making decisions, the webinar discusses why the following should be done regardless of whether you are doing Kanban or Scrum:

• Why you should use minimum business increments
• Why you need explicit policies
• Why the product/iteration backlog should be sequenced
• Why stories should be small
• Why you need demos and retrospections on a regular cadence
• How to timebox a la Scrum or at a story level
• Why you should have as few stories open as possible while maintaining productivity

By considering a few issues, one can start with a team software management method that is avoids much of the learning curve (read mistakes) that most teams new to Agile will have to overcome.