3812ICT Agile Business Analysis: A Comparison of Agile Frameworks

This report provides a detailed comparison of three popular Agile frameworks: Scrum, Kanban, and XP. It outlines the working principles, advantages, and disadvantages of each framework, offering a comprehensive analysis for students and professionals. Scrum is presented as an iterative and incremental approach prioritizing customer requirements, while Kanban is described as a visual workflow management system focused on resource utilization. XP is highlighted as a project management technique for improving software quality through small releases and continuous integration. The report concludes by emphasizing that the choice of framework depends on the specific requirements of the project.

Running head: AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Agile Business Analysis
Name of Student
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Author Note

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AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
1. Scrum...............................................................................................................................2
2. Kanban.............................................................................................................................3
3. XP....................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................4
References............................................................................................................................6

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AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Introduction
The report aims to discussing the scenario in which the agile framework works. Agile is a
specific approach which is defined by a set of values and principle. The report will be discussing
the three agile flavours which are scrum, Kanban and XP. The report will be discussing the pros
and cons of each flavours so that a comparative assessment of each of the agile processes can be
done. The analysis of Scrum, Kanban and XP are evaluated in the paragraphs below.
1. Scrum
This section will be discussing one of the main agile flavours which are scrum. It is one
of the best and most widely used agile frameworks.
Working Principle: This agile flavour follows an iterative and an incremental approach
of product development. In the agile scrum, the customers’ requirements are given priority, and
the project requirements are updated according to the needs of the customer (Permana, 2015). It
is observed that agile scrum make use of a specific set of rules, processes and artefacts, which
are sprints, backlogs and standups. It has been observed that the scrum teams are generally small
with only two defined roles of scrum master and project owner (Permana, 2015). The other
members of the team however, does not have any proper delineated role, which is a major
limitation of this agile flavour.
Pros: The main advantages of agile scrum are as follows-
1. It is a cost effective approach of product development using agile.
2. Even in high competitive environment, agile scrum emphasizes on creativity and
innovation, which in turn maximizes the business value (Usman, Soomro & Brohi, 2014).

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AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Cons: The main disadvantages of agile scrum flavour are as follows-
1. Lack of scalability is one significant problem associated with agile scrum (Permana,
2015).
2. Agile scrum is found to be inappropriate for projects that follows a plan driven
approach.
2. Kanban
The agile flavour Kanban is found to be originated in the manufacturing industry and is
gradually adapted in software development (Al-Baik & Miller, 2015). The Kanban flavour
focuses on completion of a particular project work on basis of the available resources.
Working Principle: Kanban flavours generally follows a visual approach. This approach
involves making use of post-it notes on whiteboard that helps in visual representation of the
workflow required (Al-Baik & Miller, 2015). Thus, it can be said that the Kanban approach helps
in mapping the workflow of a project.
Pros: The main advantages of Kanban approach are as follows-
1. The Kanban approach has the ability to drive down the project cost
2. The use of Kanban approach helps in reduction of risk as the entire workflow is easily
mapped in this process (Kirovska & Koceski, 2015).
Cons: The main disadvantages of Kanban agile flavour are as follows-
1. Kanban agile flavour is generally less effective for situations that involves shared
resources.

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AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
2. Kanban involves less scope of change management in project development as
fluctuations in the demand of the customer can result in fluctuation of the entire Kanban system.
3. XP
The agile flavour XP is a project management technique that is frequently used with
scrum. However, there are certain significant disadvantages of agile XP and Scrum. XP is a
technique that is used for managing the projects involving improvement of the quality of a
software (Rumpe & Scholz, 2014). It is associated with small releases and continuous integration
leading to development of an improved product.
Working Principle: The XP flavour works for small releases and therefore, it operates in
short iterations of one to two weeks. Each iteration is generally associated with a release and in
XP each iteration is no longer than three months.
Pros: The main advantages of XP are as follows-
1. It allows the software developers to focus on improved product coding.
2. The use of XP considerably reduces the risk of programming and project failure
(Hobbs & Petit, 2017).
Cons: The main disadvantages of agile XP are as follows-
1. The agile flavour XP is mainly focused on codes rather than the design of the software
2. XP cannot be considered as good option for developers and programmers, who are
separated geographically.
Conclusion

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AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
The report discusses the working principle of three significant agile flavours which are
XP, scrum and Kanban. The report discusses the pros and cons of each of the agile flavours to
draw a comparative assessment of the three agile flavours. It has been observed that the all the
three flavours are used as per the requirements of the system.

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AGILE BUSINESS ANALYSIS
References
Al-Baik, O., & Miller, J. (2015). The kanban approach, between agility and leanness: a
systematic review. Empirical Software Engineering, 20(6), 1861-1897.
Hobbs, B., & Petit, Y. (2017). Agile methods on large projects in large organizations. Project
Management Journal, 48(3), 3-19.
Kirovska, N., & Koceski, S. (2015). Usage of Kanban methodology at software development
teams. Journal of Applied Economics and Business, 3(3), 25-34.
Permana, P. A. G. (2015). Scrum method implementation in a software development project
management. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and
Applications, 6(9), 198-204.
Rumpe, B., & Scholz, P. (2014). A manager's view on large scale XP projects. arXiv preprint
arXiv:1409.7060.
Usman, M., Soomro, T. R., & Brohi, M. N. (2014). Embedding project management into XP,
SCRUM and RUP. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 10(15).